Brussels, 16/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 15 February, the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers circulated to agricultural experts a working paper and a questionnaire on the future of the common agricultural policy (CAP), specifically on market measures after 2013. These documents will help structure the EU agriculture ministers' debate at their next meeting in Brussels on 22 February.
The European Union must have an agriculture model with the necessary instruments to stabilise markets and address the issue of price volatility, the Spanish Presidency working paper says, setting out the expected changes after 2013: new trade conditions, new financial perspectives, the disappearance within the EU of export refunds and increased market volatility. In the agrifood industry and the distribution sector, greater emphasis will have to be placed on the value chain of agricultural supplies, on interbranch organisations and on agriculture sector and competition policy compatibility. The Spanish Presidency argues for market management mechanisms: - they act as market stabilisation tools in the event of supply variations (the Presidency gives intervention in the cereals sector as an example); - and also serve to mitigate the negative effects of market imbalances (for example, in crises following epizootics).
A strong, renewed CAP. European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Cioloº made his first official visit to Spain on Monday 15 February. After meeting Spanish Environment, Rural and Marine Environment Minister Elena Espinosa, the commissioner said: “The European Union needs a better tailored, reformed CAP to answer the challenges of food security, growth and jobs in rural areas”. European agriculture must, he went on, meet the demands of the market and the expectations of society in public goods, the environment and climate change. He called for an “extensive debate” on the future of the CAP with member states and society as a whole across the EU.
“The common agricultural policy should be part of the debate on the future of Europe in the context of the 2020 strategy,” Espinosa said. During the day, Commissioner Cioloº also visited an olive oil cooperative in Mora, where he stressed the need for a “more dynamic, concerted European policy” to promote high quality European agricultural products. (L.C./transl.rt)