This week, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Cioloş launched a public debate on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The agricultural sector has always played an important role in providing people with employment. Various jobs on large farms relate to the cultivation of crops and the care of animals. For many countries around the world, agriculture remains the sector that provides the largest amount of jobs and also sustains a large percentage of the population. Statistics show that by the end of 2009 there were 12 million farmers working on a full-time basis in the European Union.

So important has the role of the agricultural sector been in Europe and for the lives of European citizens, that a large percentage (around 40 per cent) of the EU’s budget goes towards its Common Agricultural Policy. Around €40 million is paid to farmers in the form of direct subsidies. Yet, in recent years, these figures started to decrease. In fact, the EU is now questioning the appropriateness of continuing to spend a considerable amount of money on this sector at a time when the International Monetary Fund has declared that the world is facing “the largest financial shock since the Great Depression”.

Change would be healthy if studies and research show that a clear direction can be followed without major consequences on the sector itself and its related industries. Some critics argue that the financial crisis, along with measures in favour of the Environment which the EU has adopted and which are to be met during the coming 10 years, might be the opportune time to bring together politicians, farmers, environmentalists and all the other stakeholders in order to reform the CAP. It is worth noting that in a recent Eurobarometer survey, an overwhelming 90 per cent of EU consumers considered agriculture and rural areas as important for the future. Most of the 27,000 EU citizens interviewed revealed that they are still in favour of maintaining the CAP and the support it offers to European farmers.

As a matter of fact, such strong indicators expose the need to come up with a public debate to “listen to the citizens of Europe... and to... take the time to get the ideas and expectations of all stakeholders” in the new perspective of the Europe 2020 strategy. This debate is open to farmers, environmental protection associations, consumers, and animal welfare groups alike. In the meantime, by the end of this year, the European Commission is planning to publish a Communication on the future of CAP after 2013. Negotiations will also be conducted to determine the composition of the next Financial Perspective of the EU from 2014 to 2020. Moreover, the debate will seek to balance priorities – such as food security, climate change and the environment, with an EU budget that is less than the existing one.

This debate is open until June 2010. Anyone joining the debate and answering to the questions being asked by the European Commission could help maintain a stronger Common Agricultural Policy for the next years to come. By logging onto http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-post-2013/index_en.htm your opinion could help maintain an efficient and sustainable agricultural sector in Europe for the years to come.

Ms Azzopardi is Research Analyst at the Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC)