20/06/2011

Keeping the grass green
European Parliament sets out its position on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy

by Lasse Boehm, Press Adviser

Feeding Europe's 500 million citizens is not as easy or obvious as it seems. We have become so used to over-stocked supermarket shelves and bargain prices, that we forget where our food comes from - and at what cost. Barely two generations ago, buying products 2-for-1 or throwing away unused but still edible foodstuffs would have been unthinkable.

The success of the CAP

Much of this development is due to the EU's common agricultural policy (CAP), which enabled farmers to invest in modern technology, thus raising their output, as well as trade their products all across Europe. Want some real Parmesan cheese? You do not have to drive to Italy to get it, it's enough to go down to your local supermarket.

What future for the CAP?

With the current CAP running out in 2013, the European Parliament is now set to vote on how to sustain this success in the future. EPP Member Albert Dess, who is in charge of steering the dossier through parliament, set out two priorities in his report: ensuring the continued access to affordable and good-quality foodstuffs for consumers, and providing the necessary framework for farmers to continue their work, while making sure they can contribute to the protection of the environment.

Our priorities

In doing so, the EPP Group once again takes the lead, as the European Commission has not come out yet with its legislative proposal, which is expected before the summer. With this headstart, Dess managed to secure a broad cross-party consensus in the European Parliament's agriculture committee ahead of the crucial vote in plenary, boiling down more than 1000 amendments to 85 compromises.

These set out how to achieve stability for European farmers, reduce Europe's dependency on food imports, and cut red tape for farmers and national authorities alike. Key points include a commitment to a strong and sustainable CAP based on the 2013 level of payments in the next multiannual financial framework for the EU budget, a fair distribution between Member States, and the need to keep the current two-pillar structure of direct payments to farms (pillar one) and rural development (pillar two).

In addition, farms are to be subject to less administrative red tape, and should be enabled to implement additional measures to protect the environment. The goal behind this report: making sure the grass remains green - not only for the sake of the environment, but also for European consumers and farmers alike.