The enormous commitment of the European Union to funding the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), especially after the enlargement to Eastern Europe, is meeting with the growing support of two thirds of EU citizens. A recent Eurobarometer survey conducted on a sample of 25,000 people in the pre-Christmas period (which can be downloaded from the website of the General Directorate for Agriculture of the European Commission http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/survey/index_fr.htm) reveals in fact that the latest reform of the CAP, which involves the shift from aid to production to direct aid to farmers and greater support for the rural economy as a whole, represents a step in the right direction to improve the quality of food products and develop the sector, still of prime importance in nine out of 25 member states. In particular, 57% of those interviewed think that the CAP ought to guarantee the health and safety of products, 55% believe in the role of agriculture as a means of protecting the environment, while 48% think that the success of the CAP depends on the competitiveness of European agriculture on world markets.
