Brussels, 29/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - 200 participants from the regions throughout Europe and the agricultural sector met up in Nantes on 23 October 2008 to promote a territorial-based treatment for the common agricultural policy (CAP) after 2013. The seminar was organised by the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) and hosted by Jacques Auxiette, President of the Pays de la Loire Regional Council. Mariann Fischer-Boel, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Michel Barnier, the French minister for agriculture and fisheries were among the participants.
Michel Barnier established a link between regional and agricultural policy and affirmed that “the opponents of regional policy are the same as those who oppose agricultural policy: they are those who want to reduce the EU budget, which is already not very high. Agricultural policy can go hand in hand with growth and competitiveness, just as cohesion policy does”. The former commissioner for regional policy also underlined that “in the current financial maelstrom, Europe is resisting thanks to its real economy, which includes agriculture”. Speaking on behalf of EU ministers, Mr Barnier assured the regions that his 26 colleagues would fight to keep the CAP.
Claudio Martini, President of the Tuscany Region and CPMR stated “the CAP health check gives states the possibility of taking a further step in the direction of regionalisation” and added: “Given that there is not one example in Europe where the handover of responsibilities to the regions has resulted in failure as far as territorial policies are concerned, the states are invited to seize this opportunity”. Even if the CAP is worked out at a Community level, it does in fact have a territorial impact and the regional level is better placed for preventing a mismatch between the main objectives and their application locally.
A final declaration (http: //http://www.cpmr.org/pub/agenda/762_finale-nantes.pdf ) was approved by participants. Among the proposals for the mid-term review of the rural development programmes, is a call for more widespread regionalisation of these plans throughout the Union. The writers of the report also call for a territorialisation of the programmes under the second pillar for 2010-13. According to the CPMR, these partnership principles with the regions should be made binding through EU legislation, in line with the principle of territorial cohesion introduced in the Lisbon Treaty. (Increased regionalisation of the CAP will also help to coordinate first pillar funding with aid under the second pillar and thereby avoid contradiction between these two instruments, as is unfortunately all too often the case at present).
Ms Fischer-Boel asserted that “the extent to which those member states choose to pass on responsibility to regions is up to them!” She did, however, say that she was in favour of a regional system for direct aid, and assured participants that she would fiercely defend maintaining the budget as it stands and is defined up to 2013.
Jacques Auxiette said that agricultural and food policy had to remain “common” and therefore a European policy and stated: “The CAP must be one of the European Union's priorities and this priority must be reflected in the maintenance of the level of EU funding that is currently devoted to it”. (L.C./transl.rh)