Agriculture in the UK

In the UK there are approximately 300,000 farms with an average size of around 57 hectares. The contribution of agriculture to national gross value added is about 0.5 per cent, while agriculture's share of national employment is 1.7 per cent. Farming uses around three quarters of this country's land area, and employs around half a million people.

UK/Romania Agriculture Working Group

Great Britain has been co-operating intensely with Romania by sharing best practice and promoting the reform of the sector. In this context, the UK - Romania Agricultural Working Group was set up in February 2004. The group is meant to improve the exchange of up to date knowledge and share best practice.

The members meet regularly to provide the framework for further work in the areas of reform of the Common Agriculture Policy, sustainable agriculture, veterinary and phytosanitary issues and rural development.

The meetings are held alternatively in Romania and the UK. The latest took place in May 2008 in Bucharest. The next AWG is planned for October 2009.

UK vision of future EU agriculture

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) remains the most visible common policy of the EU, costing around 55 billion EURO per year, which represents 40% of the EU budget. The European Commission initiated in November 2007 a revision of the CAP, the so-called Health Check. The Commission aims to build on the 2003 reforms, improve the way the policy operates based on the experience gathered since 2003 and make it fit for an enlarged EU of 27 Member States. After a consultation period, the Commission presented its legislative proposal in 2008 and the Council of Agriculture Ministers has adopted it this year.

The UK supports the reform of the CAP and in our vision European agriculture should be:

• internationally competitive without reliance on subsidy or protection
• environmentally-sensitive, maintaining and enhancing landscape and wildlife and tackling pollution
  
• socially responsive to the needs of rural communities
  
• producing to high levels of animal health and welfare
  
• non-distorting of international trade and the world economy.
  
  

The impact of CAP reform on Romanian agriculture

The British Embassy has commissioned a study to evaluate the impact of CAP reform on the Romanian farmers and rural areas. The authors are Ms Cecilia Alexandri and Mr Lucian Luca from the Institute of Agricultural Economics. The paper presents an overview of the current state of the sector and it evaluates the possible effects of CAP reform in different scenarios. The study concludes that in the long term a radical reform of CAP would be the most beneficial for Romanian agriculture.