Customization of EU Agricultural Policies in the Member States – A Qualitative Comparative Analysis

With the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy, EU agricultural policymaking is in the middle of far-reaching transformation processes. Many policy proposals aim to transform food systems towards more sustainability. However, also in the past the EU has passed policies to foster sustainability in agricultural production, e.g., regarding pesticide reduction or animal welfare. For the future realignment of EU agricultural policies it is of relevance to gain an in-depth understanding of how these policies are implemented in the member states. By means of a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), we explore the conditions that shape the implementation of agricultural policies in the 27 member states. Explanatory variables are drawn from the literature on EU customization in order to explain variance in how member states implement EU demands, which is also crucial for the design of future policies.