THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The basic question that forms a regulatory framework is whether, on a free market system, regulation of the agricultural sector and the implementation of production subsidies is necessary.

For this, we briefly review the history of the CAP in the EU, estimating generic objectives that have varied throughout the process of European conformation.

Thus, in a period of the 50s to the 80s of the twentieth century, in the Cold War, European institutions favored the agricultural sector through a policy of production subsidies, to ensure consumption in Europe very resentful after World War II. With a budget that was around 50% of total European institutions managed to maintain a clearly protectionist policy of low and high consumer prices to producers.

From the 80s and until the end of the century, self-sufficiency of the primary sector was achieved, although it appeared the problem of overproduction, with products that could only compete in the international market through public or donated aid to institutions international development aid. This untenable situation, with budgets in grants to rise, coupled with increased global awareness of the environment, emerging constraints caused production quotas. Farmers saw their products had to start competing on equal terms, resulting in a significant contraction in the sector.

The 2000 Agenda included the factor of rural development, on the CAP facilitated aid for restructuring the sector by diversifying production, technological investment and improved marketing. For the first time a budget ceiling was imposed increasing pressure to control production. In addition, the 2003 reform first established decoupled subsidies from production in the single payment scheme, by which the implementation of good agricultural practices intended, along with a number of legal requirements and management in a framework of dissociation and conditionality. Thus, grants are awarded based on demand, prioritizing the needs of consumers and the market, with severe environmental legislation, concerning production sustainability and food security.

These measures have led the European Union to become the first importer and second largest exporter of agricultural products worldwide, but have failed to reduce budget allocations that remain in 50% of the total EU budget with a figure of 50,000 million per year.

The Europe 2020 strategy, aimed at promoting economic growth in the EU in this decade, is being affected by the current economic crisis that has hit especially noticeable in the agricultural sector. Last year 2013 and open to the consideration of all concerned how the EU introduced the following lines of action and reform of the CAP, with objectives based on productive maintenance, support and maintenance sector of rural development as job creation, which can be summarized as:

• Equity in direct payments and subsidies to the sector by criteria unrelated to production (decoupled payments), compliance with sustainability actions for specific territories surface through voluntary coupled support for particular types of agriculture and simple support small farmers.
• Concerning market measures, the EU intends to continue increasing loos controls and the intervention period. The aim is to improve the food chain to achieve greater emponderamiento producers.
• Sustainability and rural development go hand in hand with middle-regulation in environmental matters and investment in R+D+i to ensure productive outcomes effectiveness in improving the competitiveness of the sector.
• Finally, the CAP examines medium-term measures to improve the current status of the sector, the most balanced and sustainable, with the phasing out of them focused on income and markets, supports estimating this will cause seizures in the sector for which the EU should be prepared.

Europe 2020 forecasts economic growth in the primary sector will have a prominent role. The initial objectives of income support for farmers, gradually pass lead to investments which ensure achievement of objectives for food quality and product safety and compliance with the requirements of the market and consumers, while ensuring sustainability, the environmental respect and seeking new development opportunities.

+info:

• CAP report of the European Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-overview/2012_es.pdf
• Web EU agriculture: http://europa.eu/pol/agr/index_es.htm
• CAP-Magrama Spain: http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/politica-agricola-comun/