Assessing the Impacts of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in Land Use in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia
Authors:
Ajda Pistotnik (Policy Lab), Arne Kušej (Policy Lab)
Abstract:
This case study examines the socio-environmental impacts of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on land use and rural livelihoods in Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia, three countries shaped by a post-socialist ‘triple transition’ of agrarian reform, market liberalisation, and EU integration. Despite CAP’s stated aims of sustainability and rural renewal, its area-based direct payments reinforce land concentration, marginalize smallholders, and fuel rural depopulation. The research addresses a gap in studies of the CAP’s distributive effects in Southeast Europe by asking: How does CAP shape land use and access in these countries, and what does this reveal about the social justice dimensions of the EU’s green transition? Findings show that large agribusinesses (e.g., Perutnina Ptuj, Panvita, Agrokor/Fortenova, Al Dahra) capture subsidies and land, while small farmers—especially women and youth—face systemic exclusion. Conceptually, the study contributes to critical agrarian, political ecology, and degrowth literature, highlighting how CAP’s green transition policies reproduce structural inequalities.
