Does the European Green Deal in agriculture stop nutrient leaching and limit the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea?

CCB • November 2, 2020

by Maria Staniszewska

The European Commission, taking into account the huge negative impact of current agricultural practices on the environment, has prepared two strategies: the From Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy. The EC proposed: reducing the use of chemical pesticides on crops and antibiotics in farming by half, reducing the use of fertilizers in farming by 20%, allocating at least 25% of agricultural land to organic farming, and separating 10% of the land from the total agricultural area on each farm and leaving it uncultivated, creating areas of high biodiversity, such as mid-field trees or buffer strips. These strategies were to be implemented under the CAP over the next 10 years.

The idea was to direct a significantly larger stream of money to those farmers who would implement specific and significant measures to support and regenerate nature, and to reduce the benefits that go to those whose farming practices are harmful to the environment. This means that direct payments were to be linked to the fulfilment of environmental goals called GAEC – Good agricultural and environmental conditions. EC prepared 10 GAEC and amongst them, the three following were newly added:

  1. Protection of wetlands and peatlands (GAEC 2),
  2. Mandatory use of the nutrient sustainability tool (GAEC 5),
  3. Crop rotation instead of crop diversification (GAEC 8). 

Each of these three measures is very important for improving the ecological status of Baltic Sea and for reducing the leakage of nutrients.

Unfortunately, after a series of voting sessions two weeks ago , the European Parliament has actually dismantled this concept. The three main factions in the EP: the European People’s Party, Socialists and Democrats and Renew Europe took a much weakened form of the reform and then voted it as a single package, without the possibility of discussing and voting on individual issues.

The most important issue was “enhanced conditionality” where 60% of direct payments depended on the fulfilment of environmental conditions specified in 10 GAEC. The problem is that during the work in the EP, several of these conditions were relaxed and one was even fully removed.

First of the conditions relaxed was the principle (GAEC 9) which stated that the farmer is to dedicate 10% of his farmland for the protection of the environment by “giving it to the wilderness” and thus not utilizing it for agriculture. The EP limited this area to 5%, with the possibility of using this area for nitrogen-fixing crops or for catch crops. The last 7 years proved that this solution does not help biodiversity.

The other condition affected was GAEC 2 – The provisions reduced the protection of swamps and wetlands, i.e. ecosystems that absorb carbon dioxide as well as nutrients, and the ban on plowing permanent grasslands in Natura 2000 protected areas was lifted.

Finally, GAEC 5, which mandated the use of the practically tool limited nutrient leaching, has been completely removed from the requirements.

Unfortunately, it seems that the last 3 years that numerous institutions and organizations have devoted to preparing the reform have been largely wasted. Furthermore, it seems that under the new CAP there is no chance of stopping the eutrophication in the Baltic Sea.

Don't reopen the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Implement it.

By CCB • June 15, 2026
The European Commission's evaluation confirms what environmental NGOs across Europe have long argued: the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)'s challenge is not its design, but its implementation.

Joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2027

By CCB • June 10, 2026
The poor status and decline of many Baltic Sea fish populations have been thoroughly documented over several decades, indicating that the entire ecosystem is in great distress. So far, policy interventions have not reversed, or even halted, the negative trend concerning many of these populations. The European Commission itself recently recognised in its Common Fishery Policy (CFP) evaluation report that progress on stock rebuilding is lacking and the number of stocks “ threatened by collapse due to impaired recruitment has increased during the reporting period ”. Fish populations that once formed the cornerstone of the Baltic Sea fishery, such as the eastern and western Baltic cod and the western Baltic herring, are now doing so poorly that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) is advising zero catch for these stocks. Yet, even with the targeted fishery being closed for some years now, none of these three stocks are showing sufficient signs of recovery. The condition (such as size and weight-at-age) of many flatfish populations, such as plaice, also raises alarm bells. The salmon spawning migration has fallen short of the target level in the past three years5. As a result, even the healthiest salmon stocks are now unlikely to produce enough smolts corresponding to sustainable levels in the coming years. To address the crisis facing Baltic populations and the broader ecosystem, political will and ambition to improve fisheries management, alongside full implementation of the CFP provisions, are needed. The recent INI report on the Baltic Sea Multi-Annual Plan shows that the European Parliament recognises the importance of ecosystem-based fisheries management as well as the need for consideration of environmental legislation when making decisions on fishing opportunities.6 Fisheries managers must now act swiftly and decisively on the commitment the Commission and Baltic Sea Member States made at last year’s October Agrifish Council to rebuild Baltic Sea stocks. This document presents the joint NGO recommendations regarding Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2027, prioritising long-term ecosystem health and sustainable fisheries management over short-term economic interests. The recommendations are based on the ICES advice, the objectives and requirements of the CFP8 and the Baltic Multiannual Plan (MAP), specifically to apply the precautionary approach and implement an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, and the objective of achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Last year’s overarching joint Briefing Series on TAC-setting, co-signed by almost 30 organisations across the EU and the UK, including environmental NGOs, recreational fishers, and fishing rights owners, remains valid and provides further context, background and detailed explanations on the cross-cutting issues raised in this document. Read the Joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2027 here .