Paris is putting pressure on Brussels to resolve the farmers' conflict, which has been rising for days from France to Germany.
Emmanuel Macron will send his minister Marc Fesneau to the European Commission to press for a rapid modification of the CAP;
the Common Agricultural Policy
, which is supposed to protect farmers, but is increasingly criticized by its beneficiaries.
Because?
For sixty years, the CAP has been
the alpha and omega of European agriculture
.
Thanks to the prices guaranteed by the CAP, European agricultural production skyrocketed from the 1960s onwards.
German farmers also join the rural protests in Europe.
Photo: Reuters
The priority then was
to feed the population at a moderate price,
supporting an activity considered the cornerstone of food sovereignty.
In 2023,
it remains the largest spending item in the EU
-27.
The CAP continues to provide more than half of the income received by European farmers.
The French are the main beneficiaries
.
But
they are getting poorer and poorer
.
In 30 years, their income has decreased by 40%.
What happened?
CAP generosity in decline
The decline began when the CAP
reduced its safety net.
Starting in the 1990s, to limit the explosion of its expenses, the EU
put an end to guaranteed prices and the purchase of surpluses
.
Little by little,
the market began to determine prices
and, therefore,
agricultural income
.
And this price tends to go down.
Bureaucratic procedures increase to receive the always essential subsidies from Brussels, as well as the various costs borne by farmers.
CAP aid compensates less and less for the loss of income.
The return of inflation
worsens their already precarious situation.
Rising
fuel
and
fertilizer
prices increase costs.
And rising interest rates
reduce their borrowing capacity
.
In this increasingly difficult context, they must adapt to a new metamorphosis of the CAP.
The CAP takes
a green turn
from January 1, 2023.
Brussels imposes environmental demands
without taking into account the increasing economic pressures on farmers.
A risky bet on the economic model
It was assumed that the high-end character of its production would spontaneously lead to an increase in its income, but with inflation, this magical hypothesis will not come true.
Consumers
are looking above all for low prices
, as demonstrated by the crisis of organic products.
The “greening” of agriculture requires better financial and regulatory support to preserve the European farm economic model.
An increase in the CAP budget
is not on the agenda
, but it could be one of the issues at stake in the European elections.
For comparison, the United States and Japan
spend much more
than the 27 on supporting their farmers.
The Swiss are the world champions, with subsidies
three times higher
than those of the European Union.
Attack on trade agreements
Farmers also denounce the free trade agreements signed in the name of the 27.
President Emmanuel Macron maneuvers to suspend the signing of an agreement with Mercosur that penalizes French meat.
The other bone of contention for the French, as for the Poles and Romanians, is that of Ukrainian products authorized in Europe without customs duties.
A generosity that could be revised downwards.