The European Commissioner with responsibility for Agriculture, Dr Franz Fischler, has rejected criticisms of the CAP review and said changes were needed to sustain European farming as a business.
The EU needs a competitive farming sector that is environmentally friendly, and provides safe, economical and hygienic food, he said today at a meeting of EU agriculture ministers.
"As it stands, however, the CAP cannot meet these goals. So we cannot afford to take a "wait-and-see" approach - we must take action now to adapt and develop policy," he said.
Rejecting criticisms of the review as "wide of the mark", Dr Fischler said the proposals would free farmers from red tape and encourage them to produce at high standards for the highest market return, rather than for the maximum possible subsidy.
The review, he added, did not envisage cutting subsidies, but rather, restructured the way in which subsidies were allocated by:
- decoupling production from direct payments,
- making direct payments conditional on cross-compliance with environmental, food safety, animal welfare and occupational safety standards,
- substantially increasing our support for rural development,
- introducing a new farm audit system,
- bring in new rural development measures to boost quality production, food safety and animal welfare, and to cover the some of the costs of the farm audit.
He also rejected criticisms that the Commission had exceeded the terms of what was agreed at the European Council in Berlin in 2000.
"Such comments forget that the Berlin decisions did not rule out any new proposals from the Commission, they merely set the minimum scope of the mid-term review," he said.
"It is also forgotten that after Berlin a further summit was held in Gothenburg at which the heads of state and government called for agricultural policy to be made more sustainable."
The mid-term review of the CAP, he added, made it more likely that in the next WTO Round Europe would gain acceptance from trading partners for demands such as recognition for origin labelling, animal welfare, food safety and the precautionary principle.
"I am fully aware that many farmers and farming organisations are not exactly queuing up to welcome these proposals," Dr Fischler said.
"But I still believe it is important to be proactive, as open as possible and aware of the different interests of society. What we need now is a broad-based discussion, and I am pleased to declare it open."