With the health check done and dusted, European agriculture policymakers turn to the bigger questions of the future of the CAP after the current EU financial perspective, which ends in 2013. Ever since the Chirac-Schroeder deal of 2002, which fixed the overall CAP budget and allocation of direct payments for the subsequent eleven years, there has been no serious debate about whether agriculture policy should continue to consume upwards of 50 billion euros a year and whether the current instruments are able to meet current and future challenges. To help shed light on the debate, the Institute for European Environment Policy has this week launched a new website, called CAP2020.
According to the blurb the website aims to be,
“a forum to exchange knowledge and ideas, promote research and express qualified opinion on the key issues shaping the reform agenda, such as food security, public goods and climate change… an outlet for vision statements, think-pieces and research, and insightful summaries of the outcomes of relevant workshops, seminars and conferences.
The site already features some useful analyses of national government positions on the future of the CAP, for example Germany, Sweden and Denmark and there’s a neat policy diary of upcoming events which can be easily imported into Outlook, iCal or other calendar applications.
With the health check agreement secured readers may be wondering about the future of capreform.eu. All I can say at this point is ‘stay tuned for further announcements’.
