Sunday

28th May 2023

Public support for EU farm subsidies high but falling

  • The share of citizens that thinks CAP subsidies benefit all citizens, not just farmers, has dropped (Photo: marcovdz)

A majority of respondents in an EU-commissioned poll said they thought the EU's agricultural policy benefits all citizens, but support was lower than two years ago. An increasing number of EU citizens believed the subsidies benefited only farmers.

More than 27,000 EU citizens were asked in October 2015 whether they agreed with the statement "the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) benefits all European citizens and not only farmers". The poll was published by Eurobarometer on Wednesday (6 January).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

While 62 percent said they agreed, this figure represents a sizeable drop compared to the 77 percent who supported the statement in November 2013.

Among EU citizens, 22 percent percent disagreed, while 16 percent said they did not know.

France, which is one of the largest recipients of agricultural subsidies, is also the country where the division is largest. Of the French respondents to the poll, 36 percent said the CAP only benefits farmers.

Around 39 percent of the EU budget is spent on agriculture, with about 30 percent going directly to farmers and the agricultural market, and 9 percent to rural development projects.

But many of the details of the CAP escape the average European: a majority said they had heard of the CAP, but did not know any details. 30 percent had never heard of it. Only 10 percent knew the details of the support EU gives farmers through the policy.

At the same time, the majority of citizens are not interested in knowing more about the policy: 65 percent said No, when asked if they wanted more information.

The number of people who said the EU subsidies for farmers were too high remained stable at 13 percent, while the share of those who thought the subsidies were too low, increased slightly from 26 to 29 percent.

Latvians (66 percent) and Romanians (57 percent) were the most in favour of higher subsidies, while in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands 31 percent said they were too high.

Across the EU, 41 percent said the level of farm subsidies was “about right”.

Agriculture ministers accept Commission aid plan

Most of the EU's agriculture ministers were cautiously optimistic about the EU Commission's €500 million aid package for Europe's struggling farmers, after receiving additional details.

EU farm projects unreasonably costly, auditors say

An aid scheme to help farmers improve environmental sustainability of their farms funded programmes that could have been a much better value for money, says the Court of Auditors.

Opinion

Why EU subsidy schemes don't work - the evidence

Counter to popular beliefs among policymakers, the positive effects of support schemes are found to be very limited. In order to revitalise Europe, the newly appointed EU Commission needs to reconsider government's role in innovation and entrepreneurship.

PFAS 'forever chemicals' cost society €16 trillion a year

Researchers found that global societal costs of the so-called forever chemicals or PFAS amount to €16 trillion per year. Meanwhile, the bigger producers of these chemicals are also among the ones spending the most to lobby EU policies.

EU: national energy price-spike measures should end this year

"If energy prices increase again and support cannot be fully discontinued, targeted policies to support vulnerable households and companies — rather than wide and less effective support policies — will remain crucial," the commission said in its assessment.

Opinion

EU export credits insure decades of fossil-fuel in Mozambique

European governments are phasing out fossil fuels at home, but continuing their financial support for fossil mega-projects abroad. This is despite the EU agreeing last year to decarbonise export credits — insurance on risky non-EU projects provided with public money.

Latest News

  1. How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon
  2. EU criminal complicity in Libya needs recognition, says expert
  3. Europe's missing mails
  4. MEPs to urge block on Hungary taking EU presidency in 2024
  5. PFAS 'forever chemicals' cost society €16 trillion a year
  6. EU will 'react as appropriate' to Russian nukes in Belarus
  7. The EU needs to foster tech — not just regulate it
  8. EU: national energy price-spike measures should end this year

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us