Agricultural land market regulations in the EU Member States

Liesbet Vranken, Ewa Tabeau, Peter Roebeling, Pavel Ciaian and Marian Rizov

EconStor Research Reports from ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics

Abstract: Agricultural land is an essential asset for societal development in general, and for food production and the development of rural regions in particular. Recognising the need to protect and sustain some of the economic, social and environmental benefits, agricultural land markets are subject to various regulations across the countries of the world, as well as across the EU. EU Member States (MS) have put in place various national laws establishing different conditions and restrictions for agricultural land market transactions covering rental markets, sales markets or both. The adoption and implementation of agricultural land market regulations are under the jurisdiction, and are the decision, of Member States. There is no specific (secondary) EU legislation regulating land market transactions. However, the acquisition of farmland falls within the area of EU law related to the free‑movement principles governing the functioning of the EU internal market. The EU treaties prohibit imposing restrictions on the movement of capital, which is one of the four fundamental freedoms of the EU internal market. The EU treaties also recognise the distinctive nature of agricultural land and allow the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments in farmland, if they are proportionate to the protection of legitimate public interests, including, for example, preserving agricultural communities, developing and maintaining sustainable agriculture, or preventing land speculation.

Keywords: Land markets; EU member states (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Agricultural land market regulations in the EU Member States (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:esrepo:331328

DOI: 10.2760/86127

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