In defense of the cap: Mariann Fischer Boel challenges myths about European agricultural policy and its international influence.

• Author: Boel, Mariann Fischer
• Position: CAP

Culturally, the European Union and New Zealand have a great deal in common. If anyone doubts that, they should read the Joint Declaration which we signed in 1999. In our shared commitment to supporting democracy, to the rule of law, to human rights, to environmental protection, and to so many other causes, it is clear that we see the world in essentially the same way.

One of the things we have in common is the importance which we attach to agriculture. The European Union and New Zealand are both highly successful agricultural exporters. In fact, although we are so far apart geographically, we are direct competitors in a number of markets. And, of course, the European Union is itself an important market for many of New Zealand's key products.

If we want to understand relations between the European Union and New Zealand, we cannot leave the Common Agricultural Policy (or 'CAP') out of the conversation. This point is taken seriously in New Zealand, and I hope that each party in our relationship is moving towards a clearer understanding of the other's circumstances and concerns in the agricultural sector. Genuine understanding of EU agricultural policy is like gold dust because so much discussion of this topic is founded more on myth than on up-to-date knowledge.

Before Europa became a continent, in Greek legend she was of course a woman. The god Zeus, impressed by her beauty, disguised himself as a bull and carried her off to Crete on his back. I think this is a good illustration of the way some people see the relationship between the European Union and the CAP. In their view, the CAP has always been the European Union's jailer. They believe that narrow agricultural interests took control of much of the European Union's business early in its life and have imposed irrational policies ever since-thereby wasting public money, creating and dumping huge surpluses, and creating blockages in world trade talks.

Persistent myth

This is an over-developed myth. To see the CAP of today in its proper perspective, we have to understand its history and the context in which it was created. In legal terms, that history goes back to the Treaty of Rome--the founding document of what has become the European Union, which was signed in 1957 by France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Among other objectives, the Treaty set out the agricultural policy, providing that the signatory countries should aim:

* to increase agricultural productivity;

* to ensure a secure food supply at reasonable prices; and

* to give the agricultural community a fair income.

These aims were to be achieved through a free internal market with high domestic prices. The tools used to maintain high prices were import tariffs, export subsidies, and intervention buying when markets came under pressure.

It must be emphasised strongly that this was a response to very real challenges and anxieties of the time. When the Treaty of Rome was signed, Western Europe had vivid memories of the food shortages brought about by two world wars. National farm sectors were still weak, and there was a serious danger that bankrupt farmers would leave their holdings--creating land management problems and adding to unemployment in the cities. Citizens looked to their governments for solutions. The CAP was a...