Future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

Date:

26.04.10

Location:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Speaker:

Federal Minister Ilse Aigner

Check against delivery!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

a journey from Germany to Copenhagen makes it particularly clear how Europe is growing together in everyday life, too. 100 years ago, every traveller would have had to take a ferry. 50 years ago, airlines launched flights between the two countries. For the past two decades, there have been rail and road links which cross the water.

Contracts have now also been concluded on a direct link via the Fehmarn Belt.

The network is becoming ever denser. I think that similar developments can be seen in all European states. A good infrastructure does not just connect people. It also facilitates the exchange of goods, including, not least, the agricultural products of our countries.

The increasingly close links within Europe also requires us to share responsibility to a greater degree.

The Common Agricultural Policy has been in place in Europe for over fifty years now. Today we can confidently say that there is no other policy field in which so much progress been made regarding European integration as in the CAP. Our concern now is to prepare the European agricultural policy for the challenges of the future.

Thank you very much for your invitation. I am delighted about the opportunity to discuss this area with you.

Agricultural policy is currently facing urgent decisions which will have far-reaching consequences in the future. The debate has begun, both at European level and in our home countries. We are not talking about minor matters here.

• Securing an adequate supply of food and renewable energies for a rapidly growing world population,
• coping with climate change,
• protecting the environment and animals,

these are crucial issues for all our futures.

We all know that agriculture is a key sector in this regard. Farmers have a profession that will continue to be of vital importance in the future. Policy-makers are called upon to create an appropriate environment for this sector.

Because: We must decide what environment is required for the agricultural sector to come to grips with these crucial issues.

The German Government calls for a strong and properly financed European agricultural policy, both up to 2013 and beyond.

Only a Common Agricultural Policy can ensure that

• the competitiveness of farms, and
• the responsibility for landscapes, animals, climate and environment

are given equal attention under global market conditions.

European agricultural policy must continue to be based on a viable foundation: we believe that two pillars is the right structure to have.

In the future, we will still need fully decoupled direct payments that qualify as green box under WTO rules. These provide basic cover for agricultural income. They remunerate services rendered by the agricultural sector for which no price is paid on the market. They also make a major contribution to risk coverage in the event of market fluctuations.

We want to supplement this by having some form of safety net in the market sector. The aim is not to constantly intervene in the market. We should, however, assist farms in overcoming extreme market crises.

Our second focus is on rural development. The individual regions of Europe differ significantly. It is this diversity that makes European landscapes so very attractive.

Having diverse regions means that we also face diverse challenges. Encouraging market orientation, entrepreneurship and high standards in production all involve structural changes.

We cannot and do not want to artificially prevent necessary adjustments to changing economic circumstances. However, we want to avoid abrupt transformations that could impair the rural economic and social fabric. The Common Agricultural Policy will therefore continue to require a regional component in the long term.

People living in rural areas expect our support. We should assist them with a view to maintaining a social and economic equilibrium.

We should develop the "second pillar" further so that it becomes a bridge to our joint future.

Because:

• specific services rendered by the agricultural sector for the common good,
• climate protection and
• rural development

are in the interest of all citizens.

The agricultural sector represents a driving force in rural economic cycle, especially in less-favoured areas. It creates jobs and income. We intend to keep it this way!

In my view, we can only master the diverse tasks by having sustainable and nationwide farming in all Member States.

We will not meet the high demands made of the agricultural sector if we focus only on favourable, intensively used sites and withdraw from our aim of having nationwide farming in the Member States. I therefore support and advocate having a policy that assists in making land management as widely-spread as possible.

I came to know farmers as hard-working businessmen. They, quite rightly, expect policy-makers to provide reliability and planning certainty. I therefore consider it crucial that both pillars are coordinated with each another in a meaningful manner.

And: Right from the outset, modulation should be replaced by appropriate allocation of funds to both pillars for the entire budget period, without annual redistributions.

In the course of our forthcoming meetings to set the future course, we will be deciding on more than one-third of the entire EU budget. It is hardly surprising therefore that different sides have sparked a general discussion on the sustainable use of budget funds. For example, there are some who call for a shift of previous agricultural funds towards other policy fields. However, I ask myself in this regard: What can be more forward-looking than food, energy security and climate protection? Nothing less than the basis of the existence of mankind as whole is at stake!

Providing for the future and offering reliability – I see no contradiction in this. I therefore advocate retaining a robust common European agricultural policy post-2013. We need an agricultural budget in the EU that will meet forthcoming demands.

As far as the allocation of funds is concerned, we should stick to the current distribution thus taking into account the different economic and social conditions in the Member States.
My aim is to convince the citizens and taxpayers of the value of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Like many other European states Germany is becoming increasingly urban.

Many no longer know from their own experience the services provided by the agricultural sector and the rural population and the values they uphold.

In order, despite this, to ensure the necessary public acceptance, we require a joint effort by everybody who cares about agriculture and rural regions.

Agriculture is based on performance and passion - it deserves our support!

Thank you very much.