“Consultation of Civil Society on the Future of the CAP

- One Year on – Was Our Voice Heard?”

The aim of this Conference is to understand how far the ideas on CAP reform, expressed by a wide variety of civil society organisations, have been accepted by the European Institutions; and to discuss how civil society can best contribute to the continuing process of shaping that reform over the next year.

One year ago, in July 2010, the Commission held its own Conference on the future of the CAP, as the climax of its wide public consultation. Many civil society organisations, including those which form part of the ARC Network, played a significant role in that event. Then, in November, ARC submitted a “Communication from Civil Society to the European Union Institutions on the future Agricultural and Rural Policy”, which offered a detailed vision for the future CAP. In January, we gave evidence to the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament. Since then, we have been tracking the discussions in the institutions.

The CAP reform process is now gathering pace in the months before the Commission’s legislative proposals are published later this year. Member States and European Parliament are positioning themselves. The Parliament will soon adopt a second resolution on the future of the CAP, the Deß report. The Member States are trying to find a common ground.

As stated above, this half-day Conference will review how far the ideas on CAP reform, expressed by a wide variety of civil society organisations, have been accepted by the European Institutions; and will consider how civil society can best contribute to the continuing process of shaping that reform over the next year.

The Conference will be co-hosted by ARC and the European Economic and Social Committee. Invited are representatives of civil society organisations and other key stakeholders in agriculture and rural development. Key themes in the CAP reform process will be presented and discussed with guest experts Jim Harkness – Director of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Tim Lang – Professor of Food Policy at City University London and Erik Mathijs – Professor and head of division of agricultural and food economics at the K.U.Leuven. We will be brought up–to-date on thinking in the European institutions by Commissioner Dacian Cioloş, Albert Deß, Rapporteur of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, and Marek Sawicki, Polish minister of agriculture and rural development. They will open themselves to questions from civil society.

We hope that you will join us for this event.