Deliverable D7.5 Policy brief: Advancing Capacity & Analytical Tools for Supporting Common Agricultural Policies Post-2027 2 December 2024 This the first in the series of policy briefs in the ACT4CAP27 project. This policy brief is addressing the urgent need for advanced tools to guide the post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform. The brief highlights the challenges of incorporating sustainability, equity, and resilience into CAP reforms, particularly in light of climate change, biodiversity loss, and shifting demographics. Current policy models often fall short of capturing these complexities, especially regional variations and the impact of emerging technologies and geopolitical shifts like Ukraine’s potential EU accession. The Policy Brief emphasizes the importance of evidence-based policymaking under the EU’s Better Regulation agenda. It calls for enhanced modelling, the integration of real-time data, and more sophisticated scenario analyses that account for both environmental and social factors. Recommendations include developing clear environmental benchmarks, promoting strategic dialogue among stakeholders, shifting from area-based subsidies to results-driven payments, and fostering innovation and knowledge transfer in agriculture. By supporting more holistic and data-driven policy tools, the ACT4CAP27 project aims to empower policymakers to create effective, inclusive, and future-proof CAP policies. This Policy Brief contributes as a step toward ensuring that the CAP meets Europe’s sustainability goals while addressing critical social and economic challenges in the coming decades. Funding acknowledgement Funded by the European Union. Grant Agreement No. 101134874. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. UK Research and Innovation Project Code: 10130119 Citation Balázs, K. (2024). D7.5: Policy brief: Advancing Capacity & Analytical Tools for Supporting Common Agricultural Policies Post-2027 (final version). ACT4CAP27 Horizon Europe project GA Nr. 101134874. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14290211 Legal notice This document was produced under the terms and conditions of Grant Agreement No. 101134874for the European Commission. It does not necessary reflect the view of the European Union and in no way anticipates the Commission’s future policy in this area. The European Commission is not liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse of this publication. © ACT4CAP27, 2024 The reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that reuse is allowed provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated.For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the BrightSpace consortium, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective right holders. Project information ACT4CAP27 Horizon Europe project Grant Agreement No. 101134874https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101134874CALL: Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green DealWORK PROGRAMME Topic ID: HORIZON-CL6-2023-GOVERNANCE-01-2 Advancing analytical capacity and tools to support EU agri-food policies post 2027 ACT4CAP27 Project coordination: Wageningen Economic Research, The Hague, NLContact: act4cap27@wur.nl | Website: act4cap27.eu Project duration: 1 March 2024 – 28 February 2029