Benoît Cassart denounces a “double penalty” for farmers: a sharply reduced CAP budget and pressure on prices following the opening of the European market to unfair competition.
The European Commission's new proposal for the CAP 2028-2034 is causing serious concern for Benoît Cassart, Member of the European Parliament and member of the Agriculture Committee.
“The CAP, the only truly common and European policy, is clearly no longer a priority for the Commission. This is a major political mistake,” says the Walloon representative.
Positive but insufficient progress
Benoît Cassart welcomes the administrative simplification as well as the continuation of coupled income support for fragile productions, particularly beef. He also welcomes the Commission's commitment to make origin labelling of meat mandatory, including in prepared dishes, “so that consumers can choose European products and our producers are protected”.
A budget in free fall
The representative nevertheless highlights a major concern:
“Capping aid doesn't shock me as a matter of principle, but combined with a reduction in the CAP budget, it is of course worrying. For Belgium, we are talking about an envelope reduced by 23% compared with the previous period, without taking inflation into account, this looks like radical cuts rather than targeting!”
A renationalised CAP
The integration of the CAP into a single national and regional fund (NRPP) is strongly contested by the Council (the agriculture ministers of the 27 countries) as well as by the European Parliament. Benoît Cassart shares the view expressed by Belgian Minister David Clarinval: “It is crucial that the CAP remains separate from other funds.”
Political inconsistencies
Finally, Benoît Cassart denounces the lack of consistency between the stated ambitions and reality:
“We decide to invest a large part of CAP funds in generational renewal, and of course I agree, because without young people there is no food sovereignty, but how can we attract young people to farming if, at the same time, we sign free trade agreements without mirror clauses, such as Mercosur, which weaken our producers through unfair competition? Where is the consistency?” concluded Benoît Cassart.