Published in Giaoutzi, M. and B. Sapio (2012), Recent Development in Foresight Methodologies, Springer Verlag, New York, pp. 275-296. Chapter 17 Building Strategic Policy Scenarios for EU Agriculture – AG2020 Maria Giaoutzi and Anastasia Stratigea 17.1 Introduction The agricultural sector is one of the most important production sec- tors of the global economy, as it largely determines not only the population’s survival and quality of life, but also the development potential of a significant part of the European territory – the rural re- gions. Agriculture is largely associated with the economic prosperi- ty, tradition, production systems, culture, etc. of European farmers. Given the multifunctional role of the agricultural sector, which largely affects the environmental, social and economic development of rural regions, it has become an imperative for future policies in agriculture to focus on sustainability targets, incorporating at the same time the quality-safety dimension in agricultural production. To reach the goal of sustainable agricultural development a process of exploring the future is required, determining trends, key drivers and uncertainties, which may form the basis for strategic decisions in the field. The focus of this chapter is on the presentation of the strategic policy scenarios approach developed in the AG2020 1 project for EU agri- culture, with emphasis on the description of the policy framework. Section 17.2 presents the building process of the AG2020 strategic policy scenarios framework for sustainable agriculture in Europe, and Section 17.3 presents the policy framework developed in the AG2020 context. Finally, Section 17.4 draws certain conclusions re- lating to policy and methodological aspects. 1 AG2020 Project: Foresight Analysis for World Agricultural Markets (2020) and Europe, Contract No.: 44280-AG2020, STREP, January 2007 – December 2009.