Is the CAP going to be transformed into a Common Agricultural and Climate Policy?

A draft proposal for the EU’s next long-term budget underlines the Commission’s determination to reallocate EU spending towards three areas: sustainable growth and employment, climate and energy, and EU foreign policy. The CAP, which currently takes up 47% of the total EU budget of 116 billion euros (2008 figures), will naturally be one of the first targets of this budget shake-up.

The Commission is being totally transparent about its intentions, and the document states that: ‘cohesion and CAP spending should be ‘climate compatible’ and linked to meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.’ Direct farming support would also be subject to delivering ‘public goods’ such as biodiversity or sustainable farming practices.

Protecting the planet is a major challenge needing the full attention of experts and political decision makers. But it should not mean that short-term issues (extreme price volatility, poverty, food safety and security) are overlooked for, without sustainable solutions to these problems, long-term pro-climate policies will be rendered inoperative and pointless. Recent crises show that these problems are far from being resolved. Diluting the CAP with other objectives could jeopardize food safety and security in the EU, and that is not a risk worth taking.