THE SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH FOR THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AT EU LEVEL

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution and current state of agricultural sustainability in the European Union, recognizing the sector's significant impact on the environment, economy and society. Using a bibliographic and bibliometric analysis of literature from 2010 to 2024, the authors use databases such as Web of Science, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Sciendo and VOSviewer software to help identify key themes and concepts, revealing a growing interest in topics such as energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, digitization, sustainable farming practices and sustainable intensification. The findings indicate that agricultural sustainability is a complex, multidimensional concept, involving environmental, economic and social dimensions that are often difficult to reconcile. The study finds significant progress in some EU countries, but also persistent discrepancies, particularly between Western European and Central and Eastern European nations, underlining the need for more coherent and context-specific policies. The paper concludes that successful progress towards sustainability depends on integrating all dimensions of sustainability into agricultural strategies, highlighting the roles of digitization and sustainable intensification, and that collaboration between policy makers, farmers and the private sector is essential to achieve sustainability in European agriculture as well.