By Paolo De Castro - 9th December 2011
The CAP is one of the most significant policies in the EU’s history and must be reformed to reflect Europe’s needs, argues Paolo De Castro.
On 12 October, with the presentation of the European commission’s proposed legislation concerning the common agricultural policy (CAP) post-2013, the biggest economic policy implemented by the union in its 50-year history, a significant new era began. Over the last 20 years, this policy has experienced considerable reforms. These reforms, now more than ever before, need to be set in a very particular context.
Volatile markets and increasingly fierce competition have, and continue to, put a strain on the capacity of large sections of Europe and their productivity, from north to south, from east to west. In this environment, productive potential has to deal with two of the biggest challenges faced by agriculture: food security and the environmental and social responsibilities of the millions of farmers working in rural Europe. These challenges have been clearly described and identified as absolute priorities by two CAP 2020 reports approved by the parliament with overwhelming majorities in the last year. And it is in this context, and with these assumptions, that the proposals presented last week should be assessed.
More than 600 pages detail everything we need to know, but, when first looked at, they seem to be inadequate and fall short of the considerable challenges currently faced by farmers. For example, the CAP needs to be able to guarantee enough flexibility to confront the crisis as well as the volatility of the markets, but the proposals seem instead to offer even more rigidity.
In this context, the limit of five per cent of national resources indicated by the commission for the component corresponding to payments (may be derogated to 10 per cent) is still not enough to help stabilise income in the production areas hit by the crisis. Similarly there is a lack of mechanisms in the first pillar to help face up to market risks and manage the phenomenon of volatile prices.
The addition of certain tools to the commission’s rural development policies does not seem to respond to the need, which was also specified by the parliament, of a dynamic, timely and simple approach to managing applicability. The CAP needs to be simpler and more streamlined, yet the commission is proposing even more onerous bureaucracy for farmers. There is a chapter on active farmers and the environmental component of direct payments which, as they are structured, run the risk of further weighing down an already heavy administrative burden and adding even more complicated controls. Environmental sustainability is a major challenge, but only if it does not bring in more bureaucracy, and as long as the economic sustainability of European companies is guaranteed. This is a very important point, given the current risks, which are much more numerous and extensive than in the past.
We are embarking on a legislative process that in the few months will help to establish the agricultural policy of the future. A complex task which, in light of the new codecision procedure, will see parliament take on a vital role in the establishment of an ambitious reform to face up to global challenges, to help farmers and the five hundred million citizens of Europe.
Paolo De Castro is chair of parliament's agriculture and rural affairs committee
