International Trade, Consumer Interests and Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy

In 2008 the European Union (EU) has launched an important debate on the future of the EU budget from 2013, when the present financial perspective comes to an end. This discussion is to cover all aspects of EU revenue and expenditure, including that on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The CAP has been radically transformed in recent years, but the issue of its reform, including its goals, its effectiveness in reaching them and the question of division of responsibility and financing between the EU and member states, is once again at the centre of attention. This review of the CAP is part of an ongoing process of change characterized by various common trends: a gradual move towards decoupled agricultural support; an increased flexibility for the member states in the implementation of measures; a strengthening of rural development policy; a tentative correction of the bias in favour of large farmers through the use of modulation and reallocation. Compared with the traditional price support, these reforms undoubtedly represent an improvement. However, the CAP can still be criticised on numerous counts: from the cost of the EU budget to the high prices to EU consumers; from the failure to improve income distribution within the agricultural sector to negative environmental effects; from the need to ensure food quality and safety to the continuation of high levels of protection and the influence of international trade negotiations. The aim of this book is to address certain of these issues in more detail and to contribute to the debate on the present state and future prospects of the CAP and other EU policies. This collection features well-known experts in the field who took part in the conference organised by the Faculty of Economics of Siena University to remember Secondo Tarditi, professor of Agricultural Economics. Many of the ideas presented here are original and controversial and intended to fuel the debate on this important topic. For instance, there are various proposals for the EU budget, the division of responsibilities between the EU and its member states, and the shape of the CAP post-2013. CONTENTS Foreword Giuseppe Barbero 1. Introduction Susan Senior Nello and Pierpaolo Pierani 2. A CAP for the Whole Community John S. Marsh 3. Consumers and the Political Economy of European Agricultural and Food Policies Johan F. M. Swinnen, Martha Negash and Thijs Vandemoortele 4. Sustainable Food Consumption and Government Responsibility Stefan Tangermann 5. Pillar II: A Real Improvement of the CAP? Ulrich Koester and Susan Senior Nello 6. Mountain Regions as Natural Laboratories for the Evaluation of Agricultural Policies Geremia Gios and Roberta Raffaelli 7. The UK Rebate, the budget and the post-2013 CAP Faced with Fiscal Federalism Louis-Pascal Mahé, Hugo Naudet and Marie-Alix Roussillon-Montfort 8. Multilateral Trade Negotiations and the CAP Giovanni Anania 9. Conclusions: Pointers to a Future CAP Kenneth J. Thomson