In Germany, agricultural structure policies are formulated within an institutional framework associating the National State, the federated States (the Landers) and the European Union. This institutional framework is conceived as a double interlocked federalism; it is criticized by a theory which considers it prevents the development of accurate policies as it has a strong tendency to lower conflicts and to favor status quo ante. This article, based on an empirical analysis of the agricultural structure and the agri-environmental policies in Germany, gives results which moderate the predictions of the theory.
