The European Commission announced that on November 20, it will present a new proposal to cut agricultural payments for big farmers and instead finance more rural development projects. The exact figures of the subsidy cuts remain uncertain and will only be decided upon next Spring.
Still, Commission agricultural spokesman Michael Mann said on November 7 that "'perhaps' the plan could entail a 10% reduction in payments for all farms receiving more than €100,000, 25% for those getting more than 200,000, and 45% for those above €300,000." (http://www.euractiv.com/en/cap/eu-plans-subsidy-cuts-big-farms/article-168205)
The proposal will no doubt face stern criticism, but not necessarily from the usual suspects, or in this case, the usual opposers of CAP reform. In fact, France (which historically has been opposed to CAP change) will not be drastically affected since while it receives a high level of total subsidies, it is composed primarily of smaller farms. Instead, Great Britain and Germany will likely be against the new set of reforms since most of Europe's biggest farms are concentrated in these two countries.
Nonetheless, NGO farmsubsidy.org reported that the cuts will only affect 0.3% of subsidy recipients, thereby reducing CAP subsidies by €554 million (only 1.7% of all payments).
So, ultimately, whether or not this new set of CAP reform will effectively pass is one question. The other, and perhaps even more important query, is whether these changes will actually alter how Europe deals with the big business that is farming, and by extension, agricultural spending.
- Jillian -
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Another Round of CAP Reform...
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1 comment:
There are often discussions about the CAP and demands for reforms, but when it comes to really changing the policy itdelf not much is done. Now the idea is to grant a privilege to small farmers. Although this is a good idea, it won't solve the main problem of the CAP: too much money is spent (and sometime lost through fraud and mismanegement) on subsidizing costly and polluting agriculture practices. The CAP accounts for nearly 40 per cent of total EU expenditure, while much more money could be spent on renewable energy, integration of immigrants, support for regional initiatives, etc.
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