Introduction
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the EU support system to farmers through agricultural subsidies. In the past this had been linked to how much the farmers produced. However, since 2003, payments have been introduced for environmentally beneficial forms of farming and more emphasis has been placed on rural development and encouraging farmers to look to markets and diversified forms of income to reduce their dependence on subsidy.

CAP 'Health Check'

To address new challenges to the CAP since the previous reforms, the European Commission has proposed a 'Health Check' or a review of how the CAP operated and whether further reforms are needed.

To prepare for the review, the EC published a Communication in November 2007, which presented the EC’s views on how to streamline and further modernise the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy.

Following discussions with government ministers from across the EU, the European Commission has now published draft legislation for future amendments to the CAP. These must now be agreed by EU Agriculture Ministers. A briefing has been prepared by the Brussels Office and can be downloaded here

For more information on EU Agricultural Policy, you can visit the European Commission’s agriculture website. Click here

Fisheries

Introduction

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the European Union's policy for the management of fisheries and aquaculture.

The first common measures in the fishing sector date from 1970. They set rules for access to fishing grounds, markets and structures. It was agreed that, in principle, EU fishermen should have equal access to Member States' waters. However, in order to ensure that smaller vessels could continue to fish close to their home ports, a coastal band was reserved for local fishermen who have traditionally fished in these areas.

Measures were also established to develop a common market in fisheries products. A structural policy was set up to coordinate the modernisation of fishing vessels and on-shore installations. After years of difficult negotiations the Common Fisheries Policy was agreed in 1983 and reviewed in 1992 and 2002.

The Common Fisheries Policy Today

Today’s CFP is based on the following objectives:

• Conservation and limitation of the environmental impact of fishing: to protect fish resources by regulating the amount of fish taken from the sea, by allowing young fish to reproduce, and by ensuring that measures are respected;

• Structures and fleet management: to help the fishing and aquaculture industries adapt their equipment and organisations to the constraints imposed by scarce resources and the market;  measures aimed at creating a balance between fishing effort and available fish resources are also in place;

• Markets: to maintain a common organisation of the market in fish products (e.g establishing common marketing standards, setting up producers' organisations) and to match supply and demand for the benefit of both producers and consumers;   

• Relations with the outside world: to set up fisheries partnership agreements and to negotiate at international level within regional and international fisheries organisations for common conservation measures in deep-sea fisheries.

Structures and Fleet Management

The EU's structural policy aims to help the fishing sector adapt to modern needs. Many activities are funded through the European Fisheries Fund 2007-2013 which replaced the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) from 1st January 2007. With a total budget of around € 3.8 billion (£2.8 billion), the EFF is based on the following priority areas or ‘axes’:

• Priority Axis 1: measures for the adaptation of the EU fishing fleet
• Priority Axis 2: aquaculture, inland fishing, processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products
• Priority Axis 3: measures of ‘common interest’ e.g development of new markets and promotional campaigns; upgrading professional skills, or developing new training methods and tools;
• Priority Axis 4: sustainable development of fisheries areas.

For more information, you can visit the European Commission’s fisheries website. Click here