Agenda

Morning

08:30 – 09:00

Welcome Coffee and Delegate Registration

09:00 – 11:05

Session 1 - Opening Keynote Presentations

Moderator:

Kate Trollope, Editor, EU Food Policy

09:00 – 09:25

The view from the European Parliament

Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos MEP, Rapporteur for CAP Reform, European Parliament

09:25 – 11:05

Session 2 - Financing Europe’s food supply – The future of the CAP post-2013

The Common Agricultural Policy accounts for 40% of the EU’s budget and is one of its longest standing policies. As the reforms proposed by the Commission in October 2011 reach debate in the European Parliament, what will the changes mean for European farmers, consumers and the Food and Drink Industry? How will the reformed CAP maintain competitiveness and protect consumers against price volatility? Are direct payments to be distributed fairly between farmers, regions and member states, and is the proposed “cap” to payments set at the correct level? Will negotiations at council level result in a “watering down” of the greening obligations set out in the CAP Proposals? What will be the effect of the proposal to allow member states to transfer funds from the 2nd pillar towards income support?

Moderator:

Kate Trollope, Editor, EU Food Policy

09:25 – 09:50

Keynote Presentation

Tassos Haniotis, Director, Economic Analysis, Perspectives and Evaluations, DG AGRI, European Commission

09:50 – 11:05

Panel Discussion

Mairead McGuinness MEP, Shadow Rapporteur for CAP Reform, European Parliament
Joris Baecke, President, CEJA
Faustine Defossez, Policy Officer, Agriculture and Bioenergy, European Environmental Bureau
Martin Nesbit, Director for EU and International Affairs, Defra
Paul Leonard, Chair, Food Security, Safety and Sustainability taskforce, British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium

11:05 – 11:30

Morning Coffee Break

11:30 – 13:05

Session 3 – Making the most of Europe’s production potential – EU and national tools for sustainable farming

Was the OECD justified when recently describing EU agricultural productivity as “stagnant” and what political and practical measures can the EU take to promote farming across Europe? Is there a need for a new “Green Revolution” to ensure that meeting the need for increasingly higher yields does not compromise the EU’s environmental protection efforts, and can this be achieved with large scale high-tech agriculture? How will the European Innovation partnership on Agricultural Productivity and Growth succeed in bridging the gap between research and practise? Will greening measures outlined in the CAP reform plans, such as the requirement to set-aside 7% of land as “ecological focus areas” come at a cost to the competitiveness at EU farmers? In line with the European Commission’s “Roadmap to a resource efficient Europe” how best to promote efficiency in water and fertiliser use? Is further debate needed into the role for GMOs and should the EU reduce its ambitious biofuels targets to create more land for agricultural use?

Moderator:


Victoria Breck, Account Manager, Grayling

11:30 – 11:50

Keynote Presentation

David Wilkinson, Director, Scientific Policy and Stakeholder Relations, Joint Research Centre, European Commission

11:50 – 13:05

Panel Discussion

Friedhelm Schmider, Director General, ECPA
Matthias Meissner, Leader on CAP reform, WWF
Christoph Büren, Vice-President, Société des Agriculteurs de France
Paul Melis, Senior Manager, European Agriculture Development Team, Pepsico

Afternoon

13:05 – 14:20

Lunch Break

14:20 – 15:55

Session 4 – Global food security: Trade, development and competition

The recent volatility in world food prices served as a reminder that food security is a global issue. With agricultural imports required to supplement its own supplies, how can Europe maintain security of access to food for industry and consumers, whilst maintaining its commitment to environmental and development goals, along with a high level of animal welfare. Is it the case that good animal welfare is economically disadvantageous? Are concerns over commodity trading justified, and should this be better regulated? In light of increasing competition from emerging economies, will liberalised trade agreements encourage imports of food at a lower standard than is permitted under EU guidelines, and how can a level playing field be guaranteed? What role should the WTO play in protecting global food security?

Moderator:

Charles Godfray, Chair, Lead Expert Group, Global Food and Farming Futures, Foresight and Director, Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, University of Oxford

14:20 – 14:40

Keynote Presentation

Wayne Jones, Head of the agro-food and trade division, OECD

14:40 – 15:55

Panel Discussion

Mella Frewen, Director General, FoodDrinkEurope
Peter Stevenson, Chief Policy Advisor, Compassion in World Farming
Paula Aguiar Barboza, Counselor, Mission of Brazil to the EU
Jack Bobo, Senior Advisor for Biotechnology, U.S. Department of State

15:55 – 16:15

Closing keynote speech - the view from the Cypriot presidency

Egly Pantelakis, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment