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Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

My hon. Friend tempts me into a debate on hill farming and upland activity, which I will resist. I hope that in his enthusiasm, the new Minister will be able to persuade the powers that be that the House should still, even now, have a proper chance to debate agricultural issues in a way that would allow my hon. Friend’s point about hill farming to be discussed. There may yet be a chance when we turn to the second of our reports, which considered common agricultural policy reform. In summary, the Government missed the opportunity to put forward some genuinely visionary opportunities for the CAP against the background of the health check in 2008 and the fundamental reforms that will take place in 2013. The change of French President from Chirac to Sarkozy offers a new dynamic, but there is a problem—in countries such as Germany and France which traditionally drive the CAP debate, there is a difference between the agriculture ministries and the finance ministries. The agriculture ministries are traditional. They are not minded to change. They stick to 2013 as the date, and the only date, when the CAP could reform itself. They wish to postpone the removal of the dairy regime and the abolition of set-aside land. However, if one goes to the finance ministries, as we did in Germany and France, one will find that our new Prime Minister is their pin-up because he is advocating an abolition of pillar one and a reduction in expenditure, as they see it, in terms of the vision document. In his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he was their No. 1 trailblazer for reform. However, in France and Germany the finance ministries play second fiddle to the agriculture ministries. That is important, because when the Government introduced their vision document at the close of 2005 as a contribution to the debate on the budget of the European Union, and in an attempt to reduce the CAP budget, they failed to introduce it to other member states. In fact, judging by what we heard when we went to subsequent agricultural meetings of fellow European parliamentarians dealing with these matters, it did damage. If the Government want to resurrect their chances of influencing the direction of the CAP in future, they will have to spend a lot more time going out and explaining the UK position to our fellow Europeans, against a background of the feeling among the new member states that unless they are offered the same deal as the old member states they will not parley on any kind of change that will lead to a reduction in overall expenditure on the agricultural budget and a redistribution of moneys to the rural economy. That is why our report calls for the development of a rural policy for Europe. As we have heard, the public are concerned about what this money is being used for. Farming has some major responsibilities in terms of the environment and biodiversity, and of change—of turning the rural economy into a place where farming is not the only activity. As the vision document correctly identifies, only about 1 per cent. of employment directly involves farming. Much else can be done in rural England, as in rural Europe, to develop new forms of economic activity, but the document is light on all those aspects. We have recently been considering the new European Union treaty. The terminology of article 33, which deals with agriculture, is interesting. It says that the objectives of the CAP are"““to increase agricultural productivity…to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community…to stabilise ""markets…to assure the availability of supplies…to ensure that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices.””" There is nothing about the environmental and biodiversity dimensions which now typify European concerns about animal welfare, disease or the competitive world in which agriculture operates. The discussion of the treaty has been a lost opportunity to redefine the scope and purpose of what agriculture is about. With our far more reform-minded view, that is something that we could yet still deal with. Our report lays out the challenges that remain in relation to Europe’s discussion of the future of its rural economy. There is a need to conduct a hearts and minds operation in relation to Europe. Reform is in the air as regards agriculture, and the competitive pressures are there. Questions of food security must be dealt with—there are no two ways about it. The rural economy is something special, from the physical point of view and from the biodiversity point of view. It represents the lungs—the point of relaxation—for so many of the people whom we represent in urban Britain. The winds of change are blowing. Mrs. Fischer Boel has some interesting ideas on reforming the vegetable regime, and she has established common market organisations for all such regimes. There is discussion about removing the whole question of a dairy regime, which would set Britain’s efficient dairy farmers free. The reform opportunities are there to make Europe’s agriculture far more competitive and environmentally aware and to develop a vibrant rural economy. However, if the Government want to lead that debate, they will have to do far better than the vision document. That was a poor first step, but it may be the precursor to a bigger debate.