Perspectives of Central and Eastern European Countries on Research and Innovation in the New CAP

The Commission's proposals on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2020 made the Research-Innovation-Advice nexus a key priority with the aim of promoting sustainable growth in agricultural productivity and rural development. The proposal allocates euro10 billion for this priority through the EU's Horizon Europe research programme, and it envisages strengthening the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems as well as knowledge exchange through the European Innovation Partnership. We argue that despite the evident productivity gaps between farms in the EU Member States from Central and Eastern Europe (EU-CEE) and the EU-15, greater support for research and innovation is not a priority for EU-CEE countries because of structural differences in their agricultural sectors as well as a comparative disadvantage in research and innovation relative to more developed countries of the EU-15. Other policy priorities for the future CAP - such as increasing the size of the CAP budget, which represents euro365 billion in the post-2020 financial period, external convergence, and capping of direct payments - relegate support for research and innovation to a secondary priority in the EU-CEE. This position of the EU-CEE might not only affect the final agreement on the CAP but also its actual implementation.