Organic farming represents a paradigm that emphasises a balance between production and environmental sustainability. In the European Union (EU), organic farming has evolved into a global production system with harmonised standards and increasing market demand. Compared with conventional agriculture, it produces greater environmental benefits. The European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy highlight the role of organic farming in achieving the EU’s climate and environmental goals, aiming to use at least 25% of the total agricultural area for organic farming by 2030. This research assesses the contributions of Member States towards achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal and F2F strategy and increasing the number of organic farming areas in the future. The research assessed the performance of EU Member States during the period of 2018–2022 and for the projected period up to 2030, using indicators outlined in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan. EU Member States were classified by their historical growth in organic farming areas and their required future performance to meet targets. The results showed that the increase in organic farming areas across the EU is a sign of a shift towards more sustainable farming, although performance varied among Member States. Overall, performance tended to improve in seventeen Member States, remained stable in nine, and declined in only one.

Organic farming represents a shift in the paradigm that emphasises a balance between production and environmental sustainability. In European Union (EU), organic farming dates to the early 20th century and has now evolved into a global production system with harmonized standards and increasing market demand. Compared with intensive agriculture, it brings greater environmental benefits. The European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy highlight the role of organic farming in achieving the EU’s climate and environmental goals, with an aim to achieve at least 25% of the total agricultural area under organic farming by 2030. The present research aims to assess the overall situation in the EU and the Member States' contributions to achieving the European Green Deal’s and F2F strategy's objective of increasing organic farming areas in the future. The research assessed the performance of EU Member States in the period 2018-2022 and in the projected period up to 2030 by employing indicators prescribed by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan. The EU Member States were classified by historical growth of organic farming area and required future performance. The research found that an increase in organic areas in the whole EU was a sign of a shift towards more sustainable farming, with performance varying between the Member States. For example, in 2018-2022, Austria achieved the target, Estonia approached its target; overall, the performance tended to improve in 17 Member States, was stable in 9 and only one Member State performed poorly.

Background and Aim: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing One Health threat driven by the excessive use of antimi­crobials (AMs) in human and veterinary medicine. Recognizing this, the European Green Deal’s Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy set a target to reduce veterinary AM sales by 50% by 2030 compared to 2018 levels. Understanding the performance of European Union (EU) Member States (MS) is critical to evaluate progress and identify gaps. This study assesses the perfor­mance of EU-27 MS in reducing veterinary AM sales during the progress period (2018–2022) and estimates their likelihood of achieving the 2030 reduction target. Materials and Methods: Data from the European Medicines Agency (European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption) and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plans were analyzed. Indicators included AM sales (mg/pop­ulation correction units [PCUs]), trends from 2018–2022, and national targets for CAP Strategic Plans result indicator R.43 (“Limiting antimicrobial use”). MS were grouped by performance level, strong, average, limited, or insufficient, using the zero unitarization method, and results were visualized with color-coded classifications. Results: Between 2018 and 2022, AM sales for food-producing animals declined by 31% across the EU, with notable reduc­tions in Portugal (−57%), Malta (−48%), France (−44%), and Latvia (−43%). However, sales increased in Poland (+7%) and Lithuania (+36%), and the largest absolute sales remained concentrated in Spain, Poland, Italy, and Germany (over 70% of total EU sales). PCU analyses revealed uneven intensity of AM use, with Spain and Poland showing high usage rates, while Germany and France demonstrated more efficient use. During the progress period, 20 MS were rated as strong contrib­utors, while three MS showed limited contributions. For the target period (2023–2030), only six MS (e.g., Italy, Romania, Latvia, and Malta) are projected to maintain strong contributions, whereas seven MS, including Poland, Lithuania, and Denmark, are unlikely to achieve the target. Conclusion: The EU-27 achieved substantial reductions in AM sales during 2018–2022, yet performance remains uneven across MS. While some countries have already met or are close to the 2030 target, others require accelerated policy inter­ventions, veterinary stewardship, and stronger CAP alignment. Achieving the EU-wide 50% reduction by 2030 will depend heavily on high-consumption MS adopting best practices from leading countries. Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial sales, EU Member States, European Green Deal, Farm to Fork strategy, policy performance.

Organic farming has developed rapidly in the European Union (EU), yet its structure and specialization profiles differ significantly across Member States. The differences are determined by agroclimatic conditions, historical traditions, market structure, and policy choices, which form a complex and diverse spatial pattern that has not been sufficiently and systematically analysed to date. Therefore, the present research aims to analyse the structure of relative specialization in organic farming across EU Member States and changes therein by performing an analysis of location quotients (LQ) and their changes (ΔLQ), as well as to identify specialization patterns and their development trajectories. In examining the differentiation and evolution of the structure of organic farming in the EU between 2014 and 2020, the research employed a location factor and changes therein, as well as hierarchical cluster analysis to assess 11 main organic land use categories, their structure, and development trajectories in the 27 EU Member States. The results showed that there were seven structural clusters that indicated the intensity of specialization and seven dynamic clusters that revealed changes in specialization over time. National clusters, however, could also be divided into three main categories: grassland-based, industrial crop-based, and mixed-crop-based regions. An analysis of changes in the amount of area under organic farming relative to the organic land area identified revealed that the organic farmland was not synonymous with increasing relative specialization. This indicated that EU policies, in particular support payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), differed across EU Member States. Achieving the European Green Deal's target of 25% of total agricultural area under organic farming by 2030 will require region-specific policy approaches. The analyses also identified several methods for aligning national initiatives with the objectives of the European Green Deal.

This research assessed the capacity of 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) to achieve the European Green Deal target of reducing nutrient losses by 50% by 2030 while maintaining soil fertility. In view of the persistently elevated concentrations of nitrates in groundwater and the uneven implementation of EU environmental policies at the national level, the research performed retrospective and forward-looking analyses. Two indicators have been used to assess the performance of EU Member States: (1) the proportion of groundwater monitoring stations with nitrate concentrations above 50 mg/l and (2) the result indicator R.22 (sustainable nutrient management) for the Strategic Plans (SP) under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The analysis was performed over two periods: the progress period (2016-2019 vs 2012-2015), showing historical changes, and the target period (2024-2027 vs 2016-2019), identifying necessary future changes to achieve the target. Methodologically, the research employed several techniques: calculation of an aggregated indicator using the zero unitarization method, a quartile approach to interpret the intensity of required progress, grouping, and comparison. The research results revealed that despite the continued application of the Nitrates Directive and the common EU policy framework, progress in reducing periodic pollution of groundwater with nitrates has not resulted in a common and sustained improvement at the EU level. The classification of Member States revealed significant differences in their performance, indicating fragmented and national-context-dependent implementation of nutrient policies. The forward-looking performance assessment showed that performance deteriorated in most EU Member States over the target period, indicating that high policy objectives without consistent implementation and structural changes in farming practices are not enough to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal (EGD). The analysis showed that only eight Member States would meet the target by 2030. This requires differentiated, performance-based policy planning tailored to country-specific circumstances and risk profiles.