[goupillon]

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but the CAP is a pet hate of mine

Despite being very pro-european on a number of matters, there is one issue that really gets me angry about the EU, namely the CAP and the utter hypocrisy of certain countries in Europe who insist on protecting and blocking reform of this policy while at the same time attempting to portray themselves as generous in aiding developing countries.

The CAP eats up roughly 50% of the current EU Budget through its price subsidies, it is the most obvious form of protectionism still apparent in the EU, in a sector which is crucial for the least developed countries to encourage thier own economic growth. Furthermore most of the subsidies go to large agri-businesses and sugar Barons in France and Germany. Something like 7% of the biggest farms account for 50% of where the CAP funds go, many of these farms are owned by multi-nationals and the EU is therefore indirectly subsidising these companies. Considering it is commited in its trade and development policy to reducing tariffs, perhaps it should also reduce its export subsidies for agricultural goods.

Here is the blurb from the webstite: Trade

Increased trade boosts world growth to everybody’s advantage. It brings consumers a wider range of products to choose from. Competition between imports and local products lowers prices and raises quality. Liberalised trade enables the most efficient producers to compete fairly with rivals in other countries, whose governments have to cut import duties used to protect national firms.

Agriculture

Born 50 years ago when the founder members of the EU had not long emerged from a decade or more of food shortages, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) began by subsidising production of basic foodstuffs in the interests of self-sufficiency. The CAP of today, on the other hand, emphasises direct payments to farmers as the best way of guaranteeing farm incomes, food safety and quality, and environmentally sustainable production.

[Ombrageux]

The CAP is a mainly French protectionist backward program.

The CAP must be abolished.

The CAP will be abolished when it becomes completely unsustainable through Polish and perhaps Turkish and Ukrainian membership.

[Clansman]

You forgot Romania, DT. I think about 40%, or maybe more, of their total economy is agriculture. The CAP is a farce as is the CFP, (what the hell are Spanish and Portugese fishermen doing in Scottish waters and how the hell is opening up scottish water to the whole of the EU going to help with the stock depletion?) Both the CFP and the CAP need to go. The former will have to go to get Iceland and Norway into the EU, or an independent Scotland as and when that happens, the CAP will go for the reasons DT gave.

[aaker]

The CAP Is absolutely the worst thing about the European Union. I totaly agree with DumbTeen!

[Mac]

It's very difficult to reconcile the protectionist instincts of the CAP with such initiatives as the Commission for Africa, which should represent a Europe-wide effort to finally address the issues of poverty and bad governance in various Third World states. As long as the CAP remains in place, the EU expose themselves to the charge of hypocrisy at every turn.

[Zel]

I have stated my discomfort with the current CAP in the thread about the subsidies for the British royal family (http://www.politicsforum.org/forum/view ... hp?t=40516).

And I gave you my oppinion on why protectionism is neede for European farmers. And I will renew this statement. The CAP must be reformed but it must not be ended.

What Europe needs is a shift from quantity sudsidies to quality and social subsidies for farmers. As farming goes beyond food production in many areas of Europe (cultivation of land etc.) this has to be taken into account. The CAP the way it is will die when the transition periods for the new members are over, then they have to come up with a new system.

Apart from that the EU needs the money it get by reducing CAP spendings. The stabilization pact for the balkans, infrastructural and research funds all are in need of a larger budget.