Thursday 20 May 2010

The future of CAP: Ciolos interviewed

The EU Commissioner responsible agriculture, Ciolos, has been intervied by a Romanian radio station.

It's a fairly long interview (48 minutes in audio) so I'd just point to one paragraph on the future of subventions under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union:
"După 2013, intenţia mea este ca nu numai Pilonul doi, programul de dezvoltare rurală, să susţină micile ferme, ci chiar şi subvenţiile să se acorde şi pentru ferme mici care realizează produse care se comercializează direct pe piaţă. Sper să găsesc modalitatea, instrumentele prin care astfel de pieţe locale, pieţe tradiţionale, pieţe ţărăneşti să fie susţinute financiar."
This pledge for for the support of farmers who produce for local markets seems to be quite important for Ciolos, since he underlines this right from the beginning of the interview.

The interview is also worth reading for its "Eastern" perspective on the CAP and the problems faced by smaller farmers in Romania and beyond.

And the moderator does a good job in playing the devil's advocate, pushing Ciolos to give answers also on other subjects like gene manipulated products (Ciolos: Everyone is free to decide.) or the relations between the EU and national or local levels (Ciolos: If European funds are misused, it is first of all the responsibility of national authorities to take measures instead of centralising complaints at the Commission.)

So take a look at the interview; I've just checked and the Google translation seems to be quite understandable.

(via Ciolos on Facebook)

0 comments: