The Mac Sharry Plan and integration of EU policy on agriculture and nature conservation

Over the past few decades the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU) has resulted in major surpluses of agricultural products. However, it has also resulted in severe environmental pollution and degradation. For these reasons, in the early 1990s, the CAP was reformed by means of the Mac Sharry Plan (MSP) (Commission of the EC 1991). This Plan aims to: 1) reduce agricultural surpluses and expenses, 2) adopt a more market-oriented approach, 3) keep a sufficient number of farmers in the countryside, and 4) render agriculture more benign to nature and the environment. The last of these aims has not yet been adequately elaborated in the MSP and it is uncertain whether the adopted measures will really lead to less agricultural pressure on nature and the environment.