COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY

HL Deb 10 March 1994 vol 552 cc113-4WA

Lord Tebbit

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will list the costs and benefits of the common agricultural policy of the European Union.

The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Earl Howe)

The objectives of the common agricultural policy (CAP), as laid down in the Treaty of Rome, are to increase agricultural productivity, to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, to stabilise markets, to assure the availability of supplies and to ensure that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices. A healthy agricultural industry in turn benefits the rural economy and the economic activities associated with farming. A common policy is essential for agricultural and food products to benefit from the single market.

However, the Government have consistently maintained that the cost of the present common agricultural policy, both to consumer and taxpayer, remains

unacceptably high. The high level of protection has moreover given rise to international trade tensions. The Government are at the forefront in pressing for further reform. The reform agreement of May 1992 reduced support prices substantially, bringing the CAP closer to the market and helping to ease trade tensions.