Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in EU

Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in EU

18/07/2012
in News

Vredeseilanden (VECO) published a common position on the future CAP together with the environmental NGO’s and the development NGO’s. We advocate for remunerative prices for farmers. We consider this as beneficial for farmers and society in EU and no longer detrimental to farmers in the African region who suffer from unfair competition. We also ask more support for the implementation of agro-ecological principles. This will be necessary to get in line with the ecological capacity of our planet.

Since more than two years, the EU is preparing the new CAP policy 2014-2020. EU farmers are heavily dependant from subsidies which are under high public and budgetary pressure and which are disturbing markets in developing countries, especially in the African region. Vredeseilanden is also aware that farming in industrialized countries is highly dependant on non renewable natural resources. Breakthroughs are needed to cope with the huge challenges related to climate, food security, farm income, soil fertility and biodiversity.

Vredeseilanden has been actively involved in the advocacy work at the European level and at the level of the Flemish region in Belgium:

The development Committee of the European Parliament has adopted an opinion on CAP which included some of the ideas that we have put forward within Concord , the European confederation of NGO’s. Within the European movement on Food Sovereignty, the working group on CAP has developed a position that was bilaterally discussed with most of the rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs in the agricultural committee of the European Parliament. Often we heard approval of our claims on remunerative prices and more efforts for agro-ecology. However these changes seem too big for the moment.

The Flemish advisory council for agriculture (SALV) has approved its advice on CAP on 25 May 2012, after 8 debate sessions. Our interventions were prepared together with other development NGO’s and with the environmental NGO’s. You can read our common position paper in Dutch. On 30 May, together with the different stakeholders, we presented the SALV advice in the Flemish parliament.

Want to know more? Contact gert.engelen [at] vredeseilanden.be