ALDE Agriculture spokesman George Lyon MEP (UK, Liberal Democrat) has hailed a European Parliament vote as a "huge step" towards a fair, sustainable and green future for the Common Agricultural Policy.
 
Speaking after the Agriculture Committee voted in favour of the report on the future of the CAP after 2013, for which he was the Parliament's rapporteur, Lyon, said:
 
"The CAP needs reform but Europe's agricultural sector also needs the capacity to produce and to compete: that is the balance that this report strikes."
 
Official estimates suggest that global demand for food will rise by as much as 100% by 2050 while the natural resources needed for production will grow more scarce.
 
Lyon added:
 
"The Committee has understood that in future farmers and producers will need to do more with less. That is why MEPs have voted in favour of linking farmers' direct payments to their efforts to cut carbon emissions.
 
"This way we can achieve the twin goals of delivering food security and tackling climate change."
 
"The Committee also voted to resist the renationalisation of agricultural policy, to move from historic payments to area based payments and to ensure fair trade for farmers who are competing with giant supermarkets. There will also be action to end low-yield 'slipper' farmers."
 
"This is a fair, sustainable and green package. It's a win for producers, a win for consumers and a win for the environment."
 
"It will now go before Parliament as a whole: I have every confidence that it will clear that next hurdle."
 
For more information, please contact:
Neil Corlett: +33-3-88 17 41 67 or +32-478-78 22 84
e-mail: neil.corlett@europarl.europa.eu
Euan Roddin: +33-3-88 17 24 31 or +32-475-59 13 74