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The leader of the EU's largest agricultural producer has called for an "ambitious budget for the CAP".
"The budget must reflect the consequences of Brexit but not more – not one euro more," French president Emmanuel Macron told young farmers at the Paris agricultural show on Saturday.
Current proposals include a 5% cut to the CAP budget from 2021 under the combined effects of the UK's net contribution disappearing and funds being re-allocated to other political priorities.
A fully funded CAP should include a "multi-annual crisis reserve to react and protect all member states from the impact of market crises," Macron said. Regulation measures should be "more efficient and more easily available than existing ones," he said, criticising the succession of incentives to increase, then cut, and finally store production in the dairy crisis that followed the end of milk quotas in 2015.
Safety net
This should be done "while maintaining area-based payments, which are a safety net for farmers," the French president said.
While some funding should go towards helping farmers adapt to climate change, a significant part of the next CAP will focus on environmental protection, he added. "Protecting the planet is not an option and this budget should apply equally and in a compulsory manner to all member states," he said.
The CAP should support diversification of farm activities including renewable energy, carbon storage in soils and more payments for environmental services, Macron said.
He also called for installation aid for young farmers, combined with national measures to limit the re-zoning of agricultural land.
The real threat to European agriculture is our dependence on Russian phosphate fertiliser and the fact that 70% of European livestock is fed with imported GM soya beans
Macron urged European farmers to collaborate rather than compete, pointing to threats from global trade players outside the EU. "The real threat to European agriculture is our dependence on Russian phosphate fertiliser and the fact that 70% of European livestock is fed with imported GM soya beans," he said, pushing for the development of EU-grown protein crops.
Protectionism
The French president was not afraid of verging on protectionism, opposing the inclusion of agriculture in any trade negotiations with the US. "We must go on the offensive and promote a deep redefinition of trade rules," Macron said, describing WTO regulations as "obsolete". "On agriculture, they cause an environmental race to the bottom threatening the basic rights of farm workers, their health and that of consumers," he added, calling for environmental and social criteria in trade talks.
"The future challenge for European agriculture is not to be cheaper than Brazilian chicken or New Zealand milk," Macron said. "It is to differentiate."
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