CAP - Out of the box thinking
Informations
Current concerns resulting from a slow recovery from the 2007/8 financial crisis, a rise of populist, often Eurosceptic elements combined with growing budgetary pressure is putting EU resources and policy under greater scrutiny. The Common Agricultural Policy accounts for nearly 40% of the total EU budget and is a crucial support mechanism for agriculture and the rural environment in Europe. It is an important tool that if designed and managed effectively can have a real impact on how European agriculture addresses climate change (both through reduced emissions and adaptation), manages land and the countryside to optimise provision of food, energy, biomaterial and ecosystem services and supports the economic development of rural areas. But if it is to continue to maintain such a largeshare of the EU budgetary allocation, it has to show policy makers, stakeholders and European citizens that it is good value for money. Stakeholders from all sides entered the 2013 CAP reform process with great optimism that the reform would result in a greener and more user friendly agricultural policy, most were left disillusioned. There is a high level of dissatisfactionsurrounding the greening elements and calls to find new innovative ways to reduce complexities. There is discontent with the distribution of the supports under the policy and many question the effectiveness and efficiency of the CAP as it stands .
The RISE Foundation argues that a CAP is imperative forsustainable European agriculture but that serious reform is needed. To support this thinking it is encouraging an ‘out of the box thinking’ piece of work on what exactly the evolution of the CAP could look like.
The Foundation has been kindly invited by the European Parliament Intergroup on Biodiversity, Hunting & Countryside toexpress its initial thoughts and open them up for discussion and debate. The Task Force will air their arguments as to why a serious reform of the CAP is imperative, what some key elements of the reform might be, and suggest how it might be achieved.
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AGENDA
Welcome and Introduction by MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz (5 minutes)
Opening by Janez Potočnik, Chair of the RISE Foundation and the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (5 minutes)
Panel (20 minutes)
- Professor Emeritus Alan Matthews - The argument for the further evolution of the CAP
- Dr David Baldock - What reforms are needed for environmental land management?
- Professor Erik Mathijs - What approach for risk management?
- Professor Emeritus Allan Buckwell - How to bring about reform?
Respondents (20 minutes)
1. Respondent : Mairead McGuinness, MEP
2. Respondent : Marco Contiero, EU Policy Director on Agriculture, Greenpeace European Unit, Brussels
Discussions (30 minutes)
Conclusions (5 minutes)
Interpretation: EN - DE
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The RISE Foundation very much welcomes and encourages those attending the European Parliament event to continue what is likely to be a lively debate at a location a short walk from the Parliament. The debate will be chaired by Janez Potočnik and run under Chatham House rules and will give those attending the opportunity to discuss in more depth some of the issues and ideas raised at the Parliament.
If you are interested to participate please send an email to events@elo.org.
