Time has come for a fairer CAP
A document by José Bové
The Common Agricultural Policy, created in 1962 and today facing huge challenges, is in urgent need of reform. Currently mired in a major economic and social crisis, the EU must regain the trust of its citizens, who expect greater solidarity and justice from EU policies.
Subsidies should be distributed more fairly among the 27 member states and between farmers within each state. One of the main ways in which this could be is by limiting the amount of aid that a farmer can receive.
The European Commission is currently proposing a very high cap of €300 000 on annual subsidies to farmers. This measure would affect only 0.12% of European farms (i.e. only 14 560 out of 13 million registered) and would amount to savings of €1.450bn.
However, there is an alternative proposal which allows for a far more equitable distribution of public funds.
This proposal is to limit the amount of subsidies to €100 000 per farm. A cap at this level would apply to only 3.5% of farms (450 000 of the 13 million recorded) in 28 Member States. This would amount to far greater savings of €4.8bn which could be used to support family farms and small and medium-‐sized operations. A portion of these funds could also be used to initiate or strengthen other EU policies, such as construction of the infrastructure necessary for the energy transition to a low-carbon economy.
