07-01-2016 - Europeans, Agriculture and the CAP

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was introduced in 1962. It is a partnership between agriculture and society, between Europe and its' farmers. It is a common policy for all the Member States of the European Union and is managed, and funded from the resources of the EU annual budget, of which the CAP constitutes almost 40% of the total budget.
The main aims of the policy are to improve agricultural productivity so that consumers have a stable supply of affordable food, and to ensure that EU farmers can make a reasonable living.
The CAP continues to be adapted to respond to the challenges of its time. Now, more than fifty years after the introduction of the CAP, with more than 500 million consumers needing a reliable source of affordable, healthy and nutritious food, the EU has had to address a number of current and future challenges.
These include:
global competition,
economic and financial crises,
climate change and sustainable management of the natural resources,
food security,
rising costs such as fuel and fertiliser.
Significant reforms have been made in recent years, to modernise the sector and make it more market oriented. Most notably, in 2013, after three years of intensive discussion and negotiations, the policy was reshaped to meet the challenges of the future, 2014-2020.
The new CAP is designed to ensure direct support will become fairer and greener, strengthen the position of the farmers in the food chain and the policy as a whole will become more efficient and more transparent.
With over 18 months passing since the introduction of the new CAP reforms, the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development was interested in consulting European public opinion once again to monitor views on agriculture and the CAP.
This survey was carried out by the TNS Opinion & Social network in the 28 Member States of the European Union between 17 and 26 October 2015. 27,822 EU citizens from different social and demographic categories were interviewed face-to-face at home and in their native language on behalf of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development.
The methodology used is that of Eurobarometer surveys as carried out by the Directorate-General for Communication ("Strategy, Corporate Communication Actions and Eurobarometer" Unit). A technical note on the manner in which the interviews were conducted by the institutes within the TNS Opinion & Social network is appended as an annex to this report. Also included are the interview methods and the confidence intervals.

V.   The benefits provided by forests

The important benefit provided by forests mentioned the most by two thirds of European respondents is "absorbing carbon dioxide, contributing to fight climate change and its detrimental effects" (66%).
It is followed by "providing the animals natural habitats, preserving the different types of animals and plants and conserving nature", cited by 63% of respondents. These two first benefits are much more cited than the others.
Two out of five respondents also mentioned an important benefit forest provides is "protecting people from natural disasters such as floods and avalanches" (40%).
At least one in five Europeans believe the benefits forests provide include providing renewable energy using wood as fuel (24%), providing wood to produce furniture and other products (22%) and providing healthy leisure activities (20%). Few respondents felt "contributing to jobs and rural development" is an important benefit that forests provide, with only 16% mentioning this.
In 16 Member States, absorbing carbon dioxide, contributing to fight climate change and its detrimental effects is
most likely to be mentioned as being the most important benefit provided by forests. This view is particularly strong with four out of five respondents mentioning this benefit from within the Netherlands (85%), Luxembourg (80%) and Cyprus (80%).
With the exception of Romania (46%), at least half of respondents in every Member State think that providing animals with natural habitats, preserving the different types of animals and plants and conserving nature is one of the most important benefits of forests and in 11 Member States, this is the most mentioned response.

Survey requested by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and co-ordinated by the Directorate-General for Communication
This document does not represent the point of view of the European Commission. The interpretations and opinions contained in it are solely those of the authors.