Mr Maat claimed “The agricultural sector in Portugal receives very little money from the first pillar of the CAP compared to their level of production and the second pillar of the CAP is used very well here”.
According to the Copa president, “a lot of other agricultural organizations and EU Member States can learn from that”. “What many European citizens do not know is the fact that the future of Europe lies in the country side. The country side and the farmers working in it will be at the heart of the biggest challenge of the future: producing 70% more food for the next generation living in this world. In order to make sure that the European country side is ready for this task we need a strong second pillar”, Mr Maat insiste
President Maat also talked about the latest Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform. Mr Maat stated at the Congress which was attended by hundreds of representatives from across Europe that the outcome of the last CAP reform is “a bit old fashioned’. “The re-coupling of payments for example does not help the European agricultural sector to further develop itself. In the next CAP, we need to focus on reaching a level playing field throughout Europe”, he said. “Also the result of the greening measures is not sufficient, it is old fashioned. The current greening measures are based on extensification instead of innovation. In Copa’s view, greening must stimulate innovation, leading to a more sustainable European agricultural sector”, he claimed.
Attention was also given by the President to the new trade agreements currently being negotiated by the EU. Mr Maat stated “The free trade talks between the EU and US (TTIP) is more important than trade agreements in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). And in the trade agreements, European standards need to be protected”, he said. President Maat indicated “For Copa, a red line must be drawn on the recognition of geographic indicators and hormone treated beef. We cannot accept a TTIP agreement for European farmers if these issues are not tackled. In general, however, we think that TTIP will lead to a higher world standard on food safety and sustainability, because both Europe and the US have great farming systems”, he said.
President Maat concluded by indicating five important points which will need attention when thinking about the future of European agricultural policy:
- European farmers need tools to overcome climate and market disasters. The Russian ban showed that we need measures as article 222 in the CAP. The CAP can learn from the US Farm Bill here which has these measures on board.
- We need a modernized competition policy. Equality between supermarkets and farmers is needed.
- Pillar 2 of the CAP should encourage sustainable innovation
- Support for trade agreements is important for the agricultural sector, but the agreements must respect European standards.
- We need a level playing field in Europe regarding agricultural policy. The CAP should take into account the historical and geographical situation in which farmers have to produce and act.
