The New Approach Of The Common Agricultural Policy For 2014-2020

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the central pillars of the European Union, not only because a large share of the EU’s budget is used for it, but also due to its impacts on rural development and environment. The purpose of this paper is to identify the main features and objectives of the CAP over its 55 years of existence as well as the main changes brought by the CAP Reform 2013 which guides the European Union's agriculture for the period 2014-2020. The article analyzes the CAP budget for the 2014-2020 financial framework, the new funding directions for the two pillars - agriculture and rural development - the changes and conditioning required for public financing in the field. Our comparative analysis of programs and priorities established by Romania, Hungary and Poland demonstrates the greater flexibility offered by the New Approach of the CAP to Member States regarding the establishing the hierarchy of rural development priorities and their financing.