COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION ON THE INFORMATION POLICY ON THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY
Date: 2021-12-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: EAGF, EU initiative, co-financing, common agricultural policy, dissemination of EU information, eligibility criteria, information policy, principle of additionality, public awareness campaign

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 7.12.2021  SWD(2021) 385 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  ON THE INFORMATION POLICY ON THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY {SWD(2021) 980 final}  
 
 
The  document  sets  out  the  results  of  the  Commission’s  evaluation  of  the  CAP  information 
policy, underpinned by an external support study1. This covers specific information measures 
on the CAP  carried out  by the Commission  – media, on-line  communication and events;  as 
well as by third parties through the grant scheme. 

Overall,  the  evaluation  concludes  that  the  objectives  of  increasing  the  understanding  and 
improving  the  perception  of  the  CAP  have  been  achieved  to  a  large  extent,  while  it  also 
identified  some  room  for  improvement.  Synergies  between  the  Commission’s  own  actions 
and actions under grants benefit the impact of information measures on the CAP. The mix of 
activities  was  effective  as  reflected  in  Eurobarometer  surveys,  which  indicated  that  nearly 
three  out  of  four  Europeans  are  aware  of  the  CAP  and  consider  that  the  CAP  benefits  all 
citizens, not just farmers. 

The specific  information  measures are  efficient, as they  generated benefits  that justified the 
resources  allocated.  Splitting  the  budget  between  actions  carried  out  directly  by  the 
Commission and those implemented by grant holders has been evaluated as appropriate.  

The  evaluation  found  that  the  CAP  information  policy  is  overall  coherent  with  the 
Commission’s corporate communication policy, with communication aspects related to other 
CAP  instruments  or  other  relevant  EU  policies.  In  relation  to  information  actions  by  the 
Member States, national authorities tend to place a stronger focus on stakeholders and less on 
information actions aimed at the general public.  

The information activities carried out directly by the Commission and indirectly by the grant 
beneficiaries  are  considered  relevant  for  their  target  audiences,  both  stakeholders  and  the 
general  public,  while  the  multiannual  strategy  provides  flexibility  to  adapt  to  evolving 
political priorities and changing circumstances.  

The information policy on the CAP has achieved EU added value, complementing activities 
carried out by national authorities and other actors. Moreover, as a primary, reliable source of 
information on the CAP, the information policy also ensured that information on the topics of 
food,  farming,  and  rural  development  was  readily  available  and  disseminated  by  various 
multipliers among citizens and stakeholders. 

Lessons learnt  

The  evaluation  indicated  potential  for  further  complementarity  between  CAP  information 
measures  and  the  Commission  corporate  communication,  in  particular  considering  the  shift 
brought by the European Green Deal  at the end of 2019.  There is further scope to highlight 
the contribution of the CAP in achieving the Green Deal sustainability objectives.  

Furthermore,  there  is  room  to  build  on  positive  examples  of  working  together  and  enhance 
cooperation  with  the  national  authorities  as  regards  communication  and  messaging  to  the 
general  public  on  the  contribution  of  the  CAP  to  EU  health,  food  and  environmental 
objectives.  

It is important to keep the CAP information measures, including its media network, and social 
media  and  web-based  communication,  under  constant  review  in  order  to  improve  their 
capacity to reflect the political priorities, as well as target and reach wider audiences on CAP 
related topics. The aim is to continue to present topical issues in attractive, user-friendly ways. 

1 Evaluation support study on the information policy on the Common Agricultural Policy - final report. 

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