Cutting Europe's farm subsidies

Interviewed by Olivier le Bussy, Jean-François Sneesens - professor of rural economy at the Catholic University of Louvain - considers that CAP reforms "are perfectly in line with what was done previously. On the one hand, it is an adjustment to the demands of the WTO, and it is also linked to the evolution of the EU itself. With 27 member states, the CAP is more and more difficult to manage. The Commission has a very strong desire to simplify it. ... The present situation is very advantageous for cereals and milk, and this facilitates the Commission's task. But prices will not peak forever. The idea is that we could do without regulating supplies. I think the Commission is a bit too optimistic, because these are unpredictable markets and it is always good to be able to count on regulatory mechanisms."

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