Brussels, 06/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a statement approved on Wednesday 6 February, European farmers and agricultural cooperatives call on the heads of state and government to reach a decision “to provide a strong financial framework for the European Union until 2020”. Fresh spending cuts would threaten food security as well as growth and jobs in rural areas, Copa-Cogeca warns.
In their statement, farmers say that the agreement on the next financial framework must “maintain the current common agricultural policy budget for 2014-2020”. This is wishful thinking as Herman Van Rompuy's text last November already planned for an €18 billion reduction to agricultural spending (compared to the European Commission's initial proposal), in other words -1.9% for the first pillar (direct aid and market-related expenditure), and -9% for the second pillar (rural development). Indeed, everything would seem to point to Van Rompuy's new draft making additional cuts of between €10 billion and €20 billion (on top of the savings of €80 billion already contained in his November proposal).
The agricultural organisations recall that over 500 million European citizens depend on a secure and sustainable supply of food. The 26 million people working on farms and the 10 million employees in the related agri-food sectors in Europe “need a reliable framework in which to work”.
Food security cannot be taken for granted, according to the statement. Consumers in the EU expect stable food prices and the highest food safety, animal welfare and environmental standards in the world. “Farmers can only deliver if they are paid for their efforts”. Over the coming years, farmers and their cooperatives will be faced with new challenges. Climate change is already resulting in more violent storms, more prolonged droughts and changes in the growing season, while market volatility is on the increase. Farmers will have to adjust their plans and undertake new investment to cope with these changes.
Gerd Sonnleitner, the head of Copa, has said that the common agricultural policy budget “must not be reduced. A strong budget is needed.” Antonia Figueiredo, Cogeca's vice-president, has said that farmers need to make agriculture more efficient, profitable and modern. She has called for a swift agreement to “stop this climate of uncertainty with which farmers are confronted”. (LC/transl.fl)