The Unintended Consequences of the Common Agricultural Policy for Local Communities – Reading EU Law and Politics in Ikaria, Greece

BENELEX working paper No 24 Cardwell, P. and Grangers, M-P. (eds) Research Handbook on the Politics of EU Law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, Forthcoming

19 Pages Posted: 23 Oct 2019

See all articles by Maria Gaglia Bareli

Maria Gaglia Bareli

University of Crete

Miranda Geelhoed

Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance

Louisa Parks

University of Trento

Elisa Morgera

Strathclyde Law School

Elsa Tsioumani

International Institute for Sustainable Development

Date Written: October 14, 2019

Abstract

This paper discusses the unintended consequences for local communities of major EU-wide policies. It focuses on agriculture-related policies, namely on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with a secondary focus on animal welfare and food safety legislation. A case study of the Greek island of Ikaria is used to explore this theme. More specifically, the case examines the impacts from the implementation of these policies on the livelihoods of traditional goat pastoralists and their relationship with other inhabitants of Ikaria, as well as on the delicate ecosystem of the island. The effects of progressive reforms of the CAP and the introduction of stringent food safety and accompanying animal welfare rules illustrate the ways in which the law and politics of the EU intertwine and translate into unintended consequences such as environmental degradation and the erosion of traditional practices, leading to loss of community cohesion.

Keywords: European Union law, Common Agricultural Policy, unintended effects, pastoralism, Ikaria

Suggested Citation

Gaglia Bareli, Maria and Geelhoed, Miranda and Parks, Louisa and Morgera, Elisa and Tsioumani, Elsa, The Unintended Consequences of the Common Agricultural Policy for Local Communities – Reading EU Law and Politics in Ikaria, Greece (October 14, 2019). BENELEX working paper No 24 Cardwell, P. and Grangers, M-P. (eds) Research Handbook on the Politics of EU Law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3469656 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3469656

Maria Gaglia Bareli

University of Crete ( email )

Rethymno, RETHIMNO GR-74100
Greece

Miranda Geelhoed

Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance ( email )

16 Richmond Street
Glasgow 1XQ, Scotland G1 1XQ
United Kingdom

Louisa Parks (Contact Author)

University of Trento ( email )

Via Giuseppe Verdi 26
Trento, Trento 38152
Italy

Elisa Morgera

Strathclyde Law School ( email )

Lord Hope Building
141 St James Rd
Glasgow 1XQ, Scotland
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.strath.ac.uk/research/strathclydecentreenvironmentallawgovernance/

Elsa Tsioumani

International Institute for Sustainable Development ( email )

161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor
Winnipeg
Manitoba, R3B 0Y4, Manitoba
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
144
Abstract Views
702
Rank
364,889
PlumX Metrics