Europeans aware of need for strong common social/agricultural policy

EUROPEANS are primarily aware of the need for a strong common policy, focused on agriculture and serving society as a whole.

That was the underlying message from a two-month public consultative process conducted by the European Commission on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, speaking at the opening of a two-day conference on the CAP post-2013 in Brussels yesterday, said four major themes had emerged.

These relate to addressing the economic challenges; the environmental challenges; the challenge of maintaining rural life in all areas of the EU; and the issue of quality and diversity.

Mr Ciolos said agriculture produces food, but, at the same time, it produces and supplies rural culture and identity in Europe. The CAP has fed the European project for 50 years. It has been able to accumulate experience and can provide for the future.

Some 600 delegates from all over the EU are attending the conference as the Commission prepares to shape a blueprint on the CAP after 2013, which it plans to publish later this year.

Over 5,800 contributions were received from the general public during the consultative process. There were more than 1,000 responses from Germany and Poland. But there were also more than 100 each from France, Latvia, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Britain and Ireland (142).

Mr Ciolos, said the strong response triggered by the public debate shows that people feel strongly about the CAP. He said his fundamental belief is that the CAP is not just for farmers. It is for all EU citizens, as taxpayers and consumers.

Irish Farmers Association president John Bryan, who is in Brussels, said the conference will emphasise the benefits for farm families and Europe’s 500 million consumers from a strong, well-funded CAP after 2013.

“With world population rising by 80 million a year and demand for higher value and quality produce increasing, Irish farmers are well positioned to substantially increase output that will drive exports and jobs in the economy,” he said.

Mr Bryan said the CAP must support active and productive farm families in producing a safe and sustainable supply of quality food for European consumers.

The single farm payment has been critical to securing the survival of farm families through severe price fluctuations in recent years.