Brussels, 31/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a letter to EU heads of state and government ahead of talks (at the European Council on 6 and 7 February) on the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020, the European agricultural lobby, COPA-COGECA, calls for EU farm spending to be kept at its current level. It warns that further budget cuts would jeopardise food security, growth and employment in the rural areas of the EU which is crucial in the current economic crisis.
In the letter, COPA President Gerd Sonnleitner and COGECA President Christian Pèes underline that the farming sector remains a major source of employment (26 million people work in farms within the EU). Also, since 2009, the EU has gone from being a net importer of foodstuffs to being a net food exporter, and the sector is now the fifth largest in terms of exports. They say that “without the support provided to farmers under the CAP (Ed.: common agricultural policy), there would be a very substantial rise in unemployment in rural areas and the agri-food sector as a whole”. They point out that the cost of the CAP is less than 1% of EU governments' total public expenditure. “A strong CAP, backed by a strong budget, will not only ensure continued food security and employment. With the right reforms, geared to reinforcing the economic position of farmers and their cooperatives, it will also enable the agri-food sector to contribute further to sustainable growth”, they add by way of conclusion.
The COPA-COGECA is to organise a high level meeting in Brussels on 6 February, bringing together some 400 farming and agri-cooperative representatives to press for a strong CAP appropriately funded. (LC/transl.jl)