Caritas Europa urges the European policy-makers to ensure that the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) will have no more negative impact on the food security and livelihood of farmers and poor people in developing countries.

Caritas Europa regrets that the European Commission’s Communication on the future of the CAP post-2013, published yesterday, pays no attention to the particular aspect of coherence between the reformed CAP and the EU’s objectives of international development and poverty eradication.

This lack of perspective was confirmed yesterday during Commissioner Ciolos’ presentation of the Commissions Communication on the future of the CAP to the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture. “It was unfortunate,” says Blandine Bouniol, Caritas Europa Policy Officer for the International Cooperation, and she adds “The global impact of the CAP was totally overlooked by Commissioner Ciolos. He chose instead to emphasize that the CAP was first and foremost a policy for Europe and the Europeans. The negative impact of EU’s export subsidies operated the CAP are having on developing countries are well documented in many reports. These subsidies are contributing to food insecurity and damaging the livelihoods of farmers in those countries.”

Thus, Caritas Europa joins its voice to the plea of the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development (CONCORD) for the total elimination of all export subsidies.

Caritas Europa believes that while it is essential to secure decent living conditions for European farmers and their families, poor people in developing countries must not pay the price for it. “Caritas Europa is convinced that Europeans would not want to be held responsible for generating poverty and hunger outside of Europe,” says Ms. Bouniol “It is about time to put an end to the current political way of putting specific economic interests before global justice and the fundamental right to food for all”.

Caritas Europa urges European policy-makers to discuss the future of the Common Agriculture Policy in the context of a globalised world and without ignoring the impact of European policies on the lives of poor people in developing countries.

For more information, contact

Blandine Bouniol

Policy Officer for International Cooperation Caritas Europa

bbouniol@caritas-europa.org

+32 (0)2 235 26 55

Background information:

• Caritas Europa on food security: http://www.caritas-europa.org/code/EN/inte.asp?Page=1073

• CONCORD’s reaction to the European Commission’s communication – actively contributed by Caritas Europa:
http://www.concordeurope.org/Files/media/0_internetdocumentsENG/5_Press/1_Press_releases/5_Press_releases_2010/CONCORD-EFSG_CAP-communication_18-11-2010.doc