[FR] The CAP and other European policies: specific features and convergence

The Chirac-Schroeder agreement of 2002, which froze agricultural spending, will end in 2013 with the entry into force of the new multiannual budgetary framework. The CAP, which has seen its spending steadily decline in relative terms within the Community budget, still carries considerable financial weight at €52 billion, or more than 40% of the European budget. However, the new responsibilities of the enlarged EU and the new challenges on the horizon for 2020 place a heavy burden on a CAP that has been heavily criticised despite reforms (1992, 1999, 2003) and call for a thorough review of agricultural regulation.

During the CAP health check, the European Council launched a reflection on the medium-term challenges facing agriculture, which is set to continue. This review was necessary because recent developments are reshaping the agricultural landscape in terms of price levels, pressure on global food demand, natural resource management, climate change, etc. However, the fundamental debate on medium-term policy objectives and budgetary trade-offs has not yet taken place. The mid-term review of the current financial perspectives (2008/2009) could provide an opportunity for political and financial redefinition.

In order to build a dialogue that takes into account the complexity of these issues, Egmont and Notre Europe have invited experts, representatives of the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council, trade unions and researchers, and specialists in common policies to discuss the new contours of the European agricultural project. After analysing the specific features of agricultural and rural regulation (session 1) and calling for greater consistency between the CAP and other Community policies (session 2), the speakers addressed the budgetary challenges of the reform (session 3).