The CAP

The EU's farm chief Mariann Fischer Boel has rolled out a proposal to reform the Common Agricultural Policy, of which France is the greatest beneficiary. Rural development and environmental measures would be emphasized and price supports and production caps phased out.
The existing policy is defended here.

It will be interesting to see how Sarkozy handles this dossier when France assumes the EU presidency. If past patterns are any guide, he would like to take credit for work done by others (think of the Libyan hostages, the Lisbon treaty, and the Union for the Mediterranean). But in this case the work done by the EU bureaucracy will stir up powerful opposition among farm groups that are a key element in the UMP coalition. With the party already divided over GMOs, institutional reform, and the 35-hr week, Sarko would no doubt like to avoid another major blow-up. But how? Large subsidies are at stake. Does he have an alternative proposal ready to go? We shall see.