On the 28th June, the European Commission (EC) published a Reflection Paper on the future finances of the European Union (EU). The Paper is presented as a starting point for a debate that will inform the EC’s 2018 proposals for the EU’s post-2020 multi-annual financial framework. It includes initial ideas and options which it hopes can be developed through the negotiation process to ensure an effective future budget.
Yet, when it comes to the EC’s ambition for the future of Europe, it simply leaves us baffled. We are also concerned at the absence of any economic vision for Europe’s agriculture and agri-food sector. The paper ignores agriculture’s strategic importance for the sustainable development of over 70 % of the EU’s territory and it ignores that, with 16 % of total industry turnover in the EU, it is second only to the metals industry. It ignores, moreover, that agriculture employs 10 million people and that 4.1 million industrial jobs directly depend on it.
Read our full analysis here.