The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a key policy of the European Union related to agriculture, rural development and fisheries. It was introduced with the aim of ensuring stability, food safety, sustainable development and competitiveness of agriculture in EU member states. The CAP is based on several main principles. One of them is to ensure a fair and stable income for farmers through direct payments, which are allocated based on the area of agricultural land or other criteria. This helps to maintain the income of farmers and reduce market fluctuations. An important aspect of agriculture in Croatia is support for rural development. In addition to food production, agriculture can provide opportunities for the development of rural areas through the creation of new jobs, the diversification of the rural economy, and the preservation of traditional values and culture. In short, the EU's Common Agricultural Policy is a policy that supports agriculture, rural development and fisheries with the aim of ensuring stability, food security, sustainability and competitiveness in the agricultural sector. The aim of the thesis is to provide an overview of the key aspects of the CAP, including its fundamental principles, goals and instruments and the impact it has on agricultural production, rural development, the environment and society in general. The purpose of the work is to investigate the future of the Common Agricultural Policy in the European Union and the Republic of Croatia. Many scientific methods were used in the work, such as the historical method, the method of description, the method of classification and the statistical method.