Rural champions

Leaders of France's western regions say they must take the lead in managing CAP reform

Until last year, the common agricultural policy (CAP) was the biggest budget heading in the EU, and while the Lisbon agenda for growth and jobs has overtaken it in terms of budget allocations, it nonetheless remains a major economic and strategic policy of the EU. It is also a policy of vital importance to French regions, and as France prepares to take over the EU presidency, it is not surprising that reform of the CAP will be one of its main policy areas during the next six months.

For our four regions in the west of France, CAP reform is particularly important, and that is why we will focus our efforts on this area during the presidency. Agriculture plays a vital role in the four western regions of Bretagne, Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charentes and Basse-Normandie: a quarter of all French agricultural land and nearly a third of the country’s agricultural output in value terms comes from these four regions. Some 350,000 people work in the agro-food industry in our regions, making the so-called Grand Ouest the biggest agricultural employer in the entire EU. It is clear, therefore, that CAP reform is, and must be, our top priority.

The debate over the reform of the CAP is already well advanced in Brussels. On 20 May, the European commission put forward its proposals for the so-called CAP health check – the latest phase in the already ground-shaking series of reforms of the EU’s flagship policy and the first since 2003. The health check is, above all, designed to pave the way for major reforms of the CAP planned for 2013 which will see the biggest changes yet to the way farmers are supported in the EU.

That is why our four regions decided in 2007 to take a common approach when it came to our response to the health check and the further reforms planned for 2013. This response was delivered in February 2008: in it, our four regions asked what our goals should be with the CAP, and what Europe’s strategy should be when it comes to defending the agricultural sector in international negotiations, notably at the WTO. We also asked what the future role of agriculture should be in Europe, and how could Europe make the CAP a fairer, more balanced policy. The answer to all these questions, we believe, is to create a CAP that is far more closely linked to Europe’s agricultural regions, the people who live and work there, and their economic, social and environmental hopes and expectations.

With this in mind, our regions have put forward some simple but nonetheless ambitious proposals for how we believe the CAP of tomorrow should be structured. First, we need to ensure that there is enough food for everyone. In a world where the population is growing and resources are becoming scarcer, Europe’s ability to feed itself is key. We believe that Europe’s agricultural policy must remain common to the EU as a whole, and continue to be a top priority for political leaders. It must also be clearly distinguished from rural development policy, which does not have the same objectives.

Second, the CAP must be economically viable. Liberalisation of the policy will put European agriculture at greater risk of devastating crises, and we believe that the EU must retain some control over agricultural markets – which will mean fighting our corner more effectively at the WTO. The economic success of European farming is a prerequisite for sustainable development of the sector, and for ensuring that people continue to live and work in the European countryside.

Third, agriculture is a key player in the fight against climate change. European farming is extremely diverse, with a focus on high-quality production of products such denomination of origin, organic, GM-free foods that are produced with respect for the environment and biodiversity. We believe this makes us better positioned to cope with the challenge posed by climate change.

Finally, we believe that the CAP should be given a more regional dimension. The CAP is a policy that is decided at national and European level but whose effects are seen almost entirely at the local level. Like most European regions, the regions of France must be given the freedom to adapt the CAP to the situation on the ground.

These proposals are just the first stage in the process. The four regions of the Grand Ouest have joined forces with other regions of Europe in order to present our point of view but also to listen to that of others and, if possible, to find a compromise that is acceptable to all. The diversity of farmers and farming within the EU inevitably means that there are a vast number of differing views on this issue, but most regions nonetheless agree on one thing: food and farming are still of vital importance to Europe and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

That is why we have been particularly active within the CPMR, the conference of peripheral maritime regions, whose members are 159 coastal regions across Europe. The size of this organisation gives its views a certain weight, and it is currently working on a response to the health check proposals ahead of a conference planned for 23 October in Nantes, to which both agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel and French agriculture minister Michel Barnier are invited. This conference, which is jointly hosted by the French presidency, will provide an opportunity for Europe’s regions to make their voice heard on CAP reform. But it is about more than simply talking – the regions must also be the pivotal focus of a reform CAP, streamlined and regionalised to make it fit for purpose in the 21st century.