The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been a mainstay of the single market since 1962.  Described by the EU as a ‘partnership between agriculture and society’, its substantial goals include financially supporting farmers so they can produce a stable supply of affordable food, tackling climate change by managing farmland more sustainably, and preserving natural landscapes and a good standard of living for rural economies. 

Is the Common Agricultural Policy meeting its aims?

Such ambitious aims cost the EU about a third of its entire budget and outcomes are watched carefully by national and regional policy makers, farmers, retailers and environmental campaigners to see if the subsidies invested in the sector are delivering. 

This has come into sharp focus recently thanks to supply and trade disruptions which have seen food prices for consumers rocket, leaving many struggling to pay the grocery bill and cutting back. 

On the supply side, farmers have put what they call unfair demands of the CAP under the spotlight with protests about what they see as unfair competition from agricultural importers who don’t need to meet the high European standards on, for example, pesticide use or animal welfare.

Last year, after major demonstrations in Brussels and other national capitals, some key  environmental and climate provisions of the CAP were quickly cut in response as part of a ‘simplification’ process. 

How do consumers think CAP impacts the food on their plate?

Unhappy producers and consumers struggling to pay their grocery bills suggests the CAP is falling short on delivering some of its key tenets. 

And so, with a key revision of the CAP on the horizon, Euroconsumers’ research team have been a key part of a major new survey from BEUC and eight of its members to find out what consumers think of the CAP.

The study called ‘The Common Agricultural Policy: What consumers want’ published in May surveyed around 8,000 consumers in eight countries to find out what they knew about the CAP and what they wanted it to deliver in the future.

Here’s an overview of what they told us about agriculture, farming and the Common Agricultural Policy: 

• • Food affordability: A third of consumers (34%) report that they find it difficult to deal with food expenses. Nearly 3 in 10 (29%) believe that CAP subsidies have not at all achieved the goal of ensuring reasonable prices for consumers.
• • Environmental and welfare aims: consumers say European farm subsidies should help reduce use of pesticides and antibiotics but one in five (21%) do not think this has been achieved.  
• • Distribution of payments and subsidies: 60% of consumers surveyed had a positive view of their agricultural sector, and two-thirds think the CAP budget is either just about right or should be higher.  However, less than a quarter thought the CAP payments to farmers are distributed in a fair manner across countries and types of farms. Over two-thirds think CAP subsidies should primarily target small- and medium-scale farms and young farmers while half of respondents consider it equally important that subsidies reward farmers who adopt sustainable practices and support income of those who struggle economically.
• • Problems and protests: around 80% of people know about the farmers’ protests over the past year or so but don’t know details about the specific issues at stake.  When they were prompted, 6 in 10 cited ‘unfair competition from third country imports’ and ‘low prices of agricultural products’ as farmers’ perceived concerns, with environmental regulations coming lower down the list of grievances.
• • Future plans: when asked about financing the sustainable agriculture transition, sixty percent thought farmers should be compensated for the additional costs involved primarily through increased public subsidies. The same proportion felt that European subsidies should exclusively support the production of healthy and sustainable food.

Euroconsumers take on Consumers’ Common Agricultural Policy insights

When it comes to agriculture and food production policy, hearing consumers’ priorities and expectations is absolutely vital. The CAP encompasses so many critical elements of consumers’ lives, from the price they pay for food, to the environment and climate they live in and to the welfare of the animals in their country.   

The survey found that while generally most consumers have a positive view of what the farming sector is delivering, it is not fully lined up with their own social and environmental concerns.

The CAP is not just any policy, it is a cornerstone of the EU and given the size of its budget, the Commission must take this opportunity to heed consumers’ concerns in its future revision, and empower consumers to be an active part of a sustainable, fair market.

 

About the survey

Consumers were surveyed in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. The field work took place between 21 January 2025 and 10 February 2025, polling around 1,000 respondents per country. The sample was representative of the national population. It is a joint effort between BEUC, ICRT, and nine consumer organisations: Altroconsumo (IT), Arbeiterkammer (AT), Consommation Logement Cadre de Vie (FR), Deco Proteste (PT), Federación de Consumidores y Usuarios (ES), Federacja Konsumentów (PL), Organización de consumidores y Usuarios (ES), UFC – Que Choisir (FR), Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (DE), Verein für Konsumenteninformation (AT), and Zveza potrošnikov Slovenije (SL).  Euroconsumers contributed to developing the questionnaire, carried out the data collection and statistical analysis.