The future of the EU sugar regime questionned - position by the European platform on food sovereignty
The European platform on food sovereignty brings together national platforms from 6 different countries belonging to the European Union (The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy Austria, and Spain). In these platforms, farmers organisations, development NGOs, environmentalists, trade unions and consumers organisations work together; they claim that another PAC is needed and possible, based on the principle of food sovereignty, which is a right not only for the EU but for all the regions in the World.
The European Commission has proposed its guidelines for a reform of the EU sugar regime. As a reminder, this sugar regime protects the European farmers and grants them a good price, and at the same time grants quotas for imports from developing countries belonging to a group called "Africa, Carribean, Pacific (ACP)". The EU is a very important market for them, as they benefit from the European price (around three times the price on the world market). However, the EU re-exports what it imports, causing dumping on the world market, which contributes, among other factors, to the decrease of world prices.
This system thus definitely needs a reform. But the members of the European platform on food sovereignty believe that the Commission’s proposals will not provide a long term, sustainable solution. They propose alternatives
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