The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of greening measures in the European Union during the period of 2014-2020. Studies carried out in various EU Member States by the European Court of Auditors and other independent authors estimated changes in farming practices as a result of greening over the period of 2014-2020 to be between 2% and5% of the EU’s agricultural area. The widest audit of greening performed by the European Court of Auditors in 2017 shows that the greening process induced changes of approximate 5% were divided as follows: 1.8% for crop diversification, 2.4% for ecological area and 1.5% for permanent grassland. Contrary to the low efficiency of greening, the payments made were on an average €80 per hectare, while the costs for its implementation are on an average €25-30 per hectare. Although the payments far exceed the costs incurred, little benefits were achieved on improved soil quality, biodiversity conservation and a reduction in Greenhouse Gases (GHG) by 2% only at EU level. Had the European Commission’s original and more ambitious proposal been adopted, GHG reductions would have reached 5% threshold level. Conclusively, greening is a complex measure having significantly low effectiveness in context of the degree of environmental protection offered by it.