What place for agriculture?

Agriculture and rural development have constituted, ever since the origins of the EEC, one of the main sectors of European Community policy. To this day no less than 42% of the total EU budget (almost 60 billion euro in 2010) takes the road of “Green Europe”, through aid to farmers and agricultural enterprises, interventions in favour of livestock farming, of “ecological growth” and, in a very small part, of environmental protection in response to climate change. In various cases the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) functions according to rules and subsidies that protect farmers and consumers from external competition, especially that posed by the poor countries. With a view to an overall revision of the EU budget and the definition of the “financial perspectives”, i.e. the plurennial budget of the Union post-2013, a wide-ranging consultation between the Twenty-Seven has been begun. The basic question is in substance the following: what place should the primary sector occupy in the future Europe?The view of citizens and that of the Executive. A great deal of discussion of these issues took place in Brussels and Strasbourg in recent weeks. All the EU institutions debated the question posed by the CAP, while the mass media reported some stories connected with the proposals recently made by the Commission on genetically modified organisms (GMO) (the Executive proposed to give, or to delegate to some member states the freedom to permit, limit or ban the cultivation of GMOs in their territory, thus de facto renouncing any determination of fixed common rules at the EU level). On the development of the CAP the Commission itself had begun a public consultation last spring to “listen to the views of citizens” and “professionals” in the sector. The consultation enjoyed considerable success (5,800 replies, and interventions from 170 special-interest associations, think tanks, and NGOs). A first review of the results of the debate took place in Brussels on 19 and 20 July, with an international conference attended by 600 delegates. A “communication” by the Commission dedicated to the future of the CAP is expected in November 2010. A sector that concerns all Europeans. “Agricultural policy and its future concern everyone, not only farmers and businesses in the sector – explained European Commissioner Dacian Ciolos -. Our agriculture produces food for our tables, protects the environment and the territory, and creates jobs. At the same time it produces and fosters European culture and identity; and often the European identity tout court“. The Romanian Commissioner with the portfolio for agriculture (the sector in which he has worked since his studies at university and later at a professional and political level as Minister in his home country) then continued: “European agricultural policy has developed since the 1960s, and today it has to tackle new challenges in the globalized context. It permits Europeans to be fed at sufficiently affordable prices, but there are at least four increasingly important spheres with which it has to come to terms”. Taking into account also the replies to the public consultation, Ciolos listed them: “I think that the first issue on which we need to reflect is that posed by the economic challenges, namely the competitiveness of the sector, the quality of its produce, the role of producers’ organizations, and employment…”. The second sphere relates to “the environmental challenges” posed by “the exploitation of resources, intensive cultivation, the need to preserve water, biodiversity, and our local traditions themselves”. A further question that Ciolos skated round is linked just to GMO. The third sphere regards the territories and the need to safeguard their “diversity”. The fourth and final sphere is that of “the quality” of crops and of the goods placed on the market. Questions and proposals. During the international Conference on the Public Debate on the CAP post-2013, the preliminary results of the consultation were published. The first question was formulated as follows: why do we need a common agricultural policy? “To ensure food supplies, of course, but not only that”, summed up the Commission. “Many citizens, many NGOs and think tanks emphasized the importance of guaranteeing equal conditions of competition between farmers, the agricultural and food industry and the distribution sector”. Another concern expressed is that of the protection of the diversity of agricultural products throughout the EU. Second question: what do citizens expect of agriculture? “That it should offer safe food at affordable prices, that it should make a sustainable use of the soil and preserve the vitality of rural communities”. Third question: why reform the CAP? “To combat the volatility of prices of food products and ensure decent living standards for European farmers; to help tackle the challenge of providing sufficient food in the world; to equip ourselves with the necessary means to better tackle the problems of the environment, secure the quality and safety of food, and improve the competitiveness” of the sector.