EU Agricultural Policy – Current priorities and challenges

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4.8 • 13 Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2017

⏱️ 6 minutes

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Summary

The Commission's public consultation exercise on the simplification and modernisation of the Common Agricultural Policy closed on 2 May 2017. It received in excess of 320,000 online responses. The initial results of this exercise will be presented at a stakeholder event in July. As a prelude to these results, some key features of EU agriculture are outlined along with an overview on prospects for the main agricultural markets. A number of stakeholder organisations and think tanks have already issued their reflections on the future shape of EU agricultural policy. It is expected that the Commission will publish a communication towards the end of the year on the current performance of the CAP including potential policy options for the future.

Source: © European Union - EP

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcast on priorities and challenges of the EU agricultural policy.
0:11.6	The Common Agriculture Policy is one of the EU's oldest policies. It is deeply rooted in the European integration project and has been reformed in many occasions to be better
0:21.3	able to respond to the challenges of the time. Today's cap is a multifunctional policy supporting
0:26.9	market-oriented, sustainable agricultural production whilst keeping rural areas alive. But what kind
0:33.0	of agricultural policy do we want for the future? Join the debate. With close to 40% of the EU budget
0:42.8	assigned to it, the common agricultural policy supports European farmers in meeting the needs of
0:48.0	500 million Europeans. Its main objectives are to ensure a decent standard of living for farmers
0:53.7	and a stable food supply for consumers.
0:56.5	Because of its longevity, the cap has changed a lot since it was established in 1962, and it continues to change today.
1:03.2	One of the major reforms took place in 2013 when three new objectives were set to ensure viable food production,
1:10.3	the sustainable management
1:11.2	of natural resources and the development of vibrant rural areas throughout the EU.
1:16.2	Although its initial objectives are still being pursued, the weight given to the different
1:20.3	objectives and the instruments to achieve them have changed considerably, with sustainability
1:25.0	becoming the keyword. Over the years, the Common Agriculture Policy has moved away from supporting product prices
1:31.3	to supporting producers' income and rural development.
1:35.3	Whether or not the current objectives and instruments need to be changed in the future is the subject of intense debate.
1:41.3	But before entering into this discussion, let's look at the situation today.
1:45.0	The EU is broadly self-sufficient in most agricultural primary commodities, which means that
1:52.0	EU farmers are able to meet the consumption demands of EU citizens in most agricultural foods.
1:57.0	Albeit with some exceptions, such as soy beans, maize and rice.
2:01.6	But we are big producers of wheat, milk powder and pig meat.
	...

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