Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy

Transcription

1 Special Eurobarometer European Commission Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Fieldwork October - November 2005 Publication January 2006 Special Eurobarometer 242 / Wave TNS Opinion & Social This survey was requested by Directorate-General Agriculture and coordinated by Directorate-General Press and Communication This document does not represent the point of view of the European Commission. The interpretations and opinions contained in it are solely those of the authors.

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3 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Table of contents PRESENTATION Advantages of the Common Agricultural Policy for consumers and farmers Main benefits concerning food Who benefits most from the CAP? Main priorities of the European Union in terms of agricultural policy Evaluation of the role played by the Common Agricultural Policy Assessment of the Common Agricultural Policy reform...32 CONCLUSION ANNEXES Tables Technical Note Questionnaire - 1 -

4 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy PRESENTATION In the past decade the EU s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has gone through major changes. It has moved from a rigid, production-oriented subsidy policy which ate up two-thirds of the total EU budget to now become a more market-oriented system where support is dependent on meeting quality, environmental as well as food-safety guarantees and as a result absorbs less than half the EU budget. The enlargement of the European Union to 10 new Member States in May 2004 represents challenges and opportunities for the development of the Common Agricultural Policy with the addition of a further 4 million farmers to the farming population of 7 million in the old EU of In this climate of change, the Directorate-General Agriculture of the European Commission wished to once again measure European public opinion on the Common Agricultural Policy in order to continue the wave of special Eurobarometer surveys which have been conducted over the last few years. The underlying objective of this survey is to examine how European citizens perceive the EU s Common Agricultural Policy in terms of the benefits ensuing, the achievement of its objectives, the main priorities as well as its reform. An identical survey was conducted in all of the 25 Member States of the European Union at the same time last year. This year s survey was conducted among close to 25,000 European citizens aged 15 years and above in the 25 Member States between October 11 th and November 15 th Interviews were conducted face-to-face in citizens homes in their national language. The methodology used is that of the Standard Eurobarometer polls managed by the Directorate-General Press and Communication (unit Opinion polls, press reviews, Europe Direct ). The following points will be analysed in this report: Advantages of the CAP for consumers and farmers; Main priorities of the European Union in terms of agricultural policy; How Europeans rate the way the CAP is fulfilling its role; Assessment of the CAP reform The key findings will be presented in detail in the following pages. For each theme addressed, our analysis looks at the following results: Results for the average of the 25 EU Member States (EU-25); Results for the 25 individual countries; Results by respondents socio-demographic characteristics In the annex, a technical note details the interview techniques used by the institutes of the TNS Opinion & Social network as well as levels of confidence. Where possible, comparisons with the results of previous surveys (2004 results for the EU-25 as well as the 2003 and 2002 results for the old EU-15) have been made in order to analyse any evolutions in European public opinion on the Common Agricultural Policy. 1 The Common Agricultural Policy Explained, European Communities, October

5 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy 1. Advantages of the Common Agricultural Policy for consumers and farmers Source questionnaire: QB1 Respondents were asked to indicate among a list of statements concerning the European Union s agricultural policy with which ones they agree. Results for the average of the 25 EU Member States confirm what was observed last year in that there is not widespread agreement for any single statement as none of the proposed statements reaches the 40% mark. QB1. European Union agricultural policy aims to benefit consumers as well as farmers. With which of the following statements do you agree? (% EU 25) It ensures that the food you buy is safe to eat 37% It ensures that the food you buy is good quality 32% It ensures that the food you buy is healthy 28% It ensures that the food you buy is reasonably priced 23% It ensures that you have enough information about the geographical area where your food comes from 23% It ensures that you have enough information about how the food was produced and processed 19 % It ensures that farm animals are well treated 19 % It favours equally farmers and consumers 17 % It favours consumers rather than farmers 14 % It favo urs farmers rather than co nsumers 10 % None of these (SPONTA NEOUS) 7% DK 13 % In the analysis of these results we will first examine the main benefits with regard to food before assessing perceptions on whether consumers or farmers are most favoured by the EU s agricultural policy

6 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy 1.1. Main benefits concerning food - Ensuring food safety is the most agreed upon advantage of the CAP - As mentioned in the introduction, CAP support is now dependent on meeting food safety guarantees. In terms of citizens perceptions of this underlying objective of ensuring that the food consumers buy is safe to eat secures the highest agreement rate, amounting to 37%. When comparing this result to that of previous waves, we observe that this aspect has consistently ranked highest. However, it should be noted that the agreement rate has declined overall since 2002, going from 40% in 2002 to 37% in 2005 although the downward trend has been reversed in this latest wave by a slight increase of 2 points in the past year. The recently reformed CAP implies that support is also dependent on meeting food quality standards. In fact, the second most agreed upon statement is the guarantee that the food we buy is good quality, at a rate of 32%. Here again, we should point out the gradual decline in this rate of agreement between 2002 (38%) and 2005 (-6 percentage points). Following next is the guarantee that the food we buy is healthy with an agreement rate of 28%. Between 2002 and 2004 a similar pattern to that of the quality of food was observed, although in this latest wave the downward trend was followed by a slight rise of 2 points. The notion that the CAP ensures that citizens have enough information about the geographical area where food comes from secures the agreement of 23% of respondents. The recent leap between 2003 and 2004 in the agreement rate with this statement has been reversed in this latest wave (-6 points). As pointed out last year, the wording of this item 2 was slightly different prior to the 2004 survey. Aside from the evolution with regard to availability of information on the source of food, overall agreement rates have remained relatively static since QB1. European Union agricultural policy aims to benefit consumers as well as farmers. With which of the following statements do you agree? (% EU 25) 2005 (EU25) 2004 (EU25) 2003 (EU15) 2002 (EU15) It ensures that the food you buy is safe to eat It ensures that the food you buy is good quality It ensures that the food you buy is healthy It ensures that you have enough information about the geographical area where your food comes from It ensures that the food you buy is reasonably priced It ensures that you have enough information about how the food was produced and processed It ensures that farm animals are well treated 37% 35% 39% 40% 32% 33% 36% 38% 28% 26% 30% 32% 23% 29% 20% 20% 23% 22% 23% 24% 19 % 22% 29% 25% 19 % 19 % 18 % 19 % 2 In 2003 the wording was the following : The Common Agricultural Policy guarantees that you know enough about where your food comes from - 4 -

7 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy It is interesting to note that Malta consistently stands out for the relatively higher proportion of citizens recognising the benefits that the EU s agricultural policy brings to food. The Maltese have the highest agreement rate with all of the statements covered in this section except when it comes to the sourcing of food. This pattern suggests that the Maltese are generally more inclined to recognise the attributes of the CAP in terms of the quality of food than their fellow Member State citizens. After Malta, Cyprus ranks second highest for the proportion of citizens agreeing that the EU s agricultural policy aims to ensure that the food consumers buy is safe, of good quality and healthy. It is worth recalling that in 2004, Cyprus and Malta also ranked highest, although the agreement rate with the CAP ensuring food safety and food quality has dropped in both countries in the last twelve months from over 70%. Comparatively speaking, it would seem that citizens of the Czech Republic are yet to be convinced of the merits of the CAP in terms of food quality as fewer citizens agree that the EU s agricultural policy ensures that the food consumers buy is good quality, healthy and safe compared to those in other Member States. In Sweden however, an even lower proportion of 14% considers that the EU s agricultural policy ensures that the food consumers buy is healthy, corresponding to a similar result to last year. It ensures that the food you buy is safe to eat It ensures that the food you buy is good quality It ensures that the food you buy is healthy It ensures that the food you buy is reasonably priced It ensures that you have enough information about the geographical area where your food comes from It ensures that you have enough information about how the food was produced and processed It ensures that farm animals are well treated EU25 37% 32% 28% 23% 23% 19% 19% BE 44% 45% 40% 33% 20% 22% 19% CZ 27% 15% 18% 19% 32% 18% 20% DK 36% 33% 26% 34% 24% 22% 30% DE 38% 37% 26% 30% 35% 24% 23% EE 38% 46% 41% 40% 24% 21% 16% EL 34% 36% 37% 27% 30% 25% 19% ES 35% 30% 29% 15% 15% 13% 15% FR 29% 26% 23% 12% 31% 17% 13% IE 51% 42% 38% 23% 28% 26% 22% IT 38% 30% 32% 26% 23% 23% 16% CY 56% 54% 59% 36% 27% 26% 29% LV 32% 30% 24% 20% 19% 15% 18% LT 30% 36% 30% 22% 15% 16% 13% LU 47% 47% 40% 36% 36% 26% 29% HU 31% 32% 34% 29% 22% 14% 12% MT 60% 65% 72% 52% 30% 35% 36% NL 55% 38% 28% 31% 18% 20% 20% AT 33% 33% 26% 17% 22% 21% 22% PL 32% 29% 29% 21% 13% 13% 17% PT 34% 34% 31% 15% 25% 26% 15% SI 51% 43% 44% 37% 38% 25% 23% SK 33% 32% 27% 18% 20% 26% 13% FI 46% 34% 25% 29% 23% 23% 23% SE 29% 28% 14% 27% 23% 15% 21% UK 42% 29% 28% 22% 14% 15% 24% - 5 -

8 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Generally speaking citizens are less convinced that the EU s agricultural policy succeeds in ensuring that the food consumers buy is reasonably priced. The only country where a majority of respondents agrees is Malta (52%; +1 point since 2004). When it comes to the CAP ensuring that consumers have enough information on the geographic source of food, the agreement rates are considerably lower. The Slovenians (38%; -11 points), citizens of Luxembourg (36%; -4 points) and the Germans (35%; -5 points) are most convinced that the CAP ensures that this information is sufficient although results here are below the 40% mark. Fewest respondents in Poland (13%; -5 points) and Britain (14%; identical to 2004) consider that the CAP guarantees this. The Poles along with the Spanish (13% in both) rank lowest for perceptions on sufficient information on food production and processing compared to their fellow Member State citizens. Here also, the highest agreement rate occurs in Malta although is comparatively lower at 35%, corresponding to a drop of 12 points. When comparing results with those of 2004, we can note several other significant evolutions in public opinion. Agreement with the statement ensuring that the food you buy is safe to eat has risen in considerably more of the old EU-15 countries than the new Member States. The most significant increase in the agreement rate is observed in Germany, corresponding to +8 points. On the other hand, although Malta (-12 points) and Cyprus (-20 points) continue to rank highest, the level of agreement has dramatically dropped in both countries along with the Czech Republic (-14 points). It would seem that a year and a half after their accession to the EU fewer new Member State citizens are convinced of this aspect of the CAP. The agreement rate that It ensures that the food you buy is good quality has risen by 7 points in Estonia, corresponding to the most significant rise and again the fall-off in the agreement rate was greatest in the highest ranking countries, Cyprus (-19 points) and Malta (-10 points). A significant drop also occurred in the Finnish agreement rate (-15 points). The rate of agreement for the fact that the CAP ensures that you have enough information about the geographical area where your food comes from has dropped by 6 points at the European Union level. In seven Member States, the decline in agreement rates with this statement is equivalent to over 10 percentage points

9 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy - 7 -

10 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Analysis by socio-demographic characteristics As was the case in 2004, the analysis by socio-demographic characteristics shows only slight discrepancies within the different categories. The only point worth distinguishing is that young respondents and/or students have a greater inclination to agree that the EU s agricultural policy ensures that the food consumers buy is of good quality. QB1 European Union agricultural policy aims to benefit consumers as well as farmers. With which of the following statements do you agree? (MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) Response: IT ENSURES THAT THE F OOD YOU BUY IS GOOD QUALITY EU25 32% Age % % 30% 30% Education (End of) Still Studying 29% 31% 33% 37% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed M anagers Other white collars Manual workers House persons Unemployed Retired 29% 30% 32% 32% 30% 30% 31% Students 37% - 8 -

11 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy 1.2. Who benefits most from the CAP? Respondents were also asked in this same question to indicate whether they agreed with statements aiming at whether citizens perceive consumers or farmers as being most favoured by the Common Agricultural Policy. - Move away from perception that CAP favours consumers over and above farmers - QB1. European Union agricultural policy aims to benefit consumers as well as farmers. With which of the following statements do you agree? (% EU) 2005 (EU25) 2004 (EU25) 2003 (EU15) 2002 (EU15) It favours equally farmers and consumers It favours consumers rather than farmers It favours farmers rather than consumers 17 % 18 % 17 % 19 % 14 % 20% 14 % 13 % 10 % 12 % 12 % 11% The recent climb in the proportion agreeing that the EU s agricultural policy favours consumers rather than farmers has been reversed in this latest wave by a drop of 6 points and thereby returning to the levels observed in 2003 and 2002 (14%). In view of this latest evolution, it is worth recalling the timing of the previous rise. In fact, the jump of 6 points observed between 2003 and 2004 came a few months after the announcement of the fundamental CAP reform which is geared towards consumers and taxpayers while giving EU farmers the freedom to produce what the market wants. However, in parallel the proportion agreeing with the statement that it favours farmers rather than consumers dips by 2 points over the last twelve months. The proportion perceiving the CAP as treating farmers and consumers in the same way remains more or les static since 2002 and now stands at 17%. This latest evolution would suggest that today citizens seem to be moving away from a perspective which considers that the CAP favours consumers over farmers

12 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Malta stands out with a result of 38% agreeing that the CAP treats farmers and consumers in the same way, being practically identical to the result observed last year. On the other hand, as observed last year Slovenia (27%) and Finland (30%) are where most citizens consider that as consumers they are favoured more by the CAP than farmers. However, in both countries these proportions have dropped significantly (by 19 points in Slovenia and by 14 points in Finland). Denmark is where most citizens believe that it favours farmers over and above consumers, amounting to one in three, corresponding to a drop of 4 points since the previous wave. It favours equally farmers and consumers It favours consumers rather than farmers It favours farmers rather than consumers EU25 17% 14% 10% BE 26% 19% 11% CZ 19% 15% 15% DK 22% 13% 33% DE 20% 13% 10% EE 24% 12% 11% EL 25% 14% 7% ES 13% 15% 9% FR 17% 16% 14% IE 15% 13% 11% IT 15% 7% 5% CY 30% 10% 5% LV 18% 15% 11% LT 18% 11% 7% LU 21% 18% 18% HU 23% 9% 4% MT 38% 11% 4% NL 25% 17% 13% AT 18% 15% 7% PL 18% 15% 7% PT 9% 11% 8% SI 21% 27% 11% SK 20% 20% 8% FI 14% 30% 8% SE 21% 21% 23% UK 14% 16% 13% Analysis by socio-demographic characteristics The influence of respondents socio-demographic characteristics is less marked than last year. The only point worth singling out is that which was observed last year: persons living in rural areas (18%) are more inclined to believe that the CAP favours consumers rather than farmers than those living in small (12%) or large towns (13%)

13 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy 2. Main priorities of the European Union in terms of agricultural policy Source questionnaire: QB2 In this second part we will look more closely at what Europeans believe should be the main priorities of the Common Agricultural Policy. - One of the main preferred priorities of European citizens remains the guarantee of stable and adequate incomes for farmers - Citizens in the 25 EU Member States were asked for their opinion on which should be the three main priorities of the European Union in terms of agricultural policy. QB2 In your opinion, which of the following should be the 3 main priorities of the European Union in terms of agriculture policy? (MAX. 3 ANSWERS) (% EU 25) Ensure stable and adequate incomes for farmers Ensure that agricultural products are healthy and safe Promote the respect of environment Favour and improve life in the countryside Make European agriculture more competitive on world markets Protect small or medium sized farms Help farmers to adapt their production to consumer s expectations Favour methods of organic production Reduce development gaps between regions Protect the welfare of farm animals Encourage the diversification of agricultural products and activities Protect the specificity and taste of European agricultural products None of these (SPONTANEOUS) DK 32% 36% 26% 30% 23% 28% 23% 26% 23% 25% 23% 23% 21% 22% 20% 20% 15 % 16 % 14 % 16 % 11% 11% 6% 7% 2% 2% 9% 5% As was observed in 2004, results for this question show that there is no specific priority which Europeans agree on strongly. Once again, most Europeans would like one of the main priorities of the EU s agriculture policy to be the guarantee of stable and adequate incomes for farmers, at a rate of 32%, although this has dropped by 4 points since last year. The second highest priority remains the same as last year and involves ensuring that agricultural products are healthy and safe, at a rate of 26% (-4 points)

14 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Following next are a number of items which are accorded the same level of importance by EU citizens at a result of 23%: promote the respect of the environment (-5 points), favour and improve life in the countryside (-3 points), make European agriculture more competitive on world markets (-2 points) and protect small or medium sized farms (identical to last year s result). As was the case in 2004, the Greeks continue to have the highest proportion of respondents indicating that the EU s main priority for agriculture should be to ensure stable and adequate incomes for farmers in spite of a significant drop of 13 points in the past twelve months. Finland follows right behind with a result of 47% (+1 point since 2004). Similar to 2004, Denmark and Sweden rank lowest for the proportions identifying this item as one of their preferred priorities with respective results of 18% (identical to 2004) and 20% (+1 point since 2004)

15 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy The prioritisation of ensuring that agricultural products are healthy and safe is mentioned by 42% of Cypriots (+5 points since 2004) and 39% of respondents in Malta (-11 points). In view of the emphasis both nationalities give to this aspect of the EU s agricultural policy it is worth recalling that they are relatively reassured in this regard as they also ranked highest in the previous chapter for their agreement that the CAP ensures that the food that consumers buy is safe. However, citizens in Slovakia (12%; -4 points), Estonia (16%; identical to 2004), Spain (17%; -1 point) and Lithuania (17%; -3 points) give considerably less importance to this aspect of the EU s agricultural policy. These four countries also ranked lowest twelve months ago

16 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Promoting the respect of the environment continues to have the highest level of importance for the Danes and the French with respective results of 43% and 40%. Although in both countries the extent to which citizens believe this should be prioritised fell since last year. At the other end of the ranking, Lithuania and Poland continue to figure with only 7% of respondents in both countries selecting this as a preferred priority. Confirming the observation made in 2004, the six lowest rates are found in the new Member States where the issue of environmental protection does not seem to be one of their preferred priorities for the EU s agriculture policy. Favour and improve life in the Promote the respect of environment countryside Comparison Comparison with 2004 with 2004 EU EU BE IT SI DK PT EE EL 22 = SI DE 23-1 SK 29 = LT 7-1 FI 33-1 AT 23-2 SE 26-1 LV 18-3 BE 19-1 EE 16-3 FR 19-1 HU 13-4 NL 16-1 DK 43-5 UK 16-1 SE 33-5 CY 48-2 FI 27-5 CZ 29-2 IT 21-5 DE 20-2 ES 19-5 MT 18-2 SK 13-5 LV 48-3 PL 7-5 PL 29-3 FR 40-6 PT 35-4 IE 24-6 AT 26-4 NL 24-6 IE 22-4 LU 32-8 LU 19-5 CY ES 37-6 CZ HU MT LT UK EL On the contrary, five of the new Member States rank at the upper end of the scale for priority being given to favouring and improving life in the countryside. As was the case in 2004, the three Baltic States stand out for the relatively high proportions who would like this aspect of the EU s agriculture policy to be prioritised: Estonia (54%), Latvia (48%) and Lithuania (41%). However, the fall-off in Lithuanian support for this area is a notable 13 points. Cypriots also stand out for their level of attachment to this feature of the EU s agricultural policy (48%)

17 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy The difference between Member States is not as wide when it comes to priority being given to making European agriculture more competitive on world markets and protecting small or medium sized firms. More Greeks and Slovaks (36% in both) would like the global competitiveness of European agriculture to be one of the top three priorities than any other nationality. The rise in this priority has been considerable in both countries, +9 points in the case of Greece and +7 points for Slovakia. Make European agriculture more competitive on world markets Comparison 2005 with 2004 Protect small or medium sized farms 2005 Comparison with 2004 EU EU EL CZ SK SK DK SE SI DE PT EL MT LU IE IT UK SI BE IE FI FI SE BE NL 22 = AT PL 21 = DK CY 20 = LV 37 = EE 19 = CY 18 = HU 26-1 PT 17 = LV 20-1 EE 26-1 AT 19-3 UK 24-1 IT 29-4 MT 13-2 FR 19-4 PL 27-3 ES 17-4 NL 20-4 DE 28-5 FR 24-5 LU 13-5 ES 17-5 LT 10-6 LT 24-7 CZ 24-7 HU The protection of small or medium sized firms seems to be more of a concern for Latvians (37%), Slovenians (37%), Finns (36%) and citizens of Luxembourg (35%). These four nationalities also stood out in 2004 for their level of attachment to this area of the EU s agricultural policy

18 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Further disparities between the EU countries can be observed for the other potential priority areas covered in this question. Help farmers to adapt their production to consumer s expectations Favour methods of organic production Reduce development gaps between regions Protect the welfare of farm animals Encourage the diversification of agricultural products and activities Protect the specificity and taste of European agricultural products EU25 21% 20% 15% 14% 11% 6% BE 24% 23% 12% 11% 13% 7% CZ 29% 20% 17% 18% 9% 5% DK 24% 34% 9% 35% 7% 4% DE 17% 28% 17% 18% 13% 4% EE 19% 33% 12% 4% 9% 5% EL 32% 21% 11% 6% 12% 7% ES 18% 9% 12% 6% 8% 4% FR 21% 19% 12% 10% 13% 8% IE 21% 23% 10% 9% 14% 7% IT 22% 18% 18% 11% 13% 8% CY 30% 26% 5% 6% 5% 6% LV 17% 18% 15% 6% 7% 3% LT 26% 23% 8% 5% 12% 3% LU 26% 35% 6% 20% 10% 7% HU 22% 17% 21% 8% 10% 11% MT 31% 11% 7% 11% 8% 8% NL 17% 27% 15% 23% 15% 8% AT 19% 25% 17% 13% 14% 9% PL 26% 19% 17% 7% 6% 5% PT 25% 9% 27% 10% 12% 11% SI 18% 27% 31% 7% 11% 7% SK 21% 19% 34% 9% 12% 8% FI 17% 18% 17% 18% 12% 4% SE 23% 28% 6% 36% 19% 6% UK 20% 17% 8% 22% 11% 2% Helping farmers to adapt their production to consumers expectations is considered to be more of a priority in Greece (32%; +7 points), Malta (31%; -1 point), Cyprus (30%; -5 points) and the Czech Republic (29%; -2 points). Favouring methods of organic production receives the highest response rate in Luxembourg (35%; +8 points), Denmark (34%; +4 points) and Estonia (33%; +1 point). Protecting the welfare of farm animals is more of a priority for the Swedes (36%; -4 points) and Danes (35%; -8 points) than any other Member State nationality. Encouraging the diversification of agricultural products and activities is mentioned most often by the Swedes (19%; +2 points)

19 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Analysis by socio-demographic characteristics Ensure stable and adequate incomes for farmers Make European agriculture more competitive on world markets Favour and improve life in the countryside Favour methods of organic production Promote the respect of environment Protect small or medium sized farms Protect the welfare of farm animals EU25 32% 23% 23% 20% 23% 23% 14% Sex Male 33% 26% 23% 20% 23% 22% 12% Female 32% 20% 24% 20% 23% 23% 16% Education (End of) 15 34% 21% 27% 13% 18% 23% 13% % 23% 23% 20% 22% 25% 15% % 26% 21% 26% 30% 21% 13% Still Studying 31% 22% 22% 24% 26% 18% 16% Subjective urbanisation Rural village 36% 22% 27% 18% 21% 26% 13% Small/mid size town 30% 23% 21% 20% 24% 22% 14% Large town 32% 23% 23% 23% 25% 19% 15% As was the case in 2004, men (26%) have a greater tendency than women (20%) to believe that making European agriculture more competitive on world markets should be a priority of the CAP. Females (16%) on the other hand are more inclined to favour protecting the welfare of farm animals compared to their male counterparts (12%). The education level of respondents reveals some differences. Those with the lowest level of education are more inclined to believe that the CAP s priority should be to favour and improve the life in the countryside (27%) compared to those with a higher level of education. On the contrary, the most highly-educated and students tend to stand out for their preferred priority being to favour methods of organic production and to promote the respect of the environment. With regard to the latter item, 12 percentage points separate those who studied until the age of 20 or above (30%) from those who left school by the age of 15 years (18%). The urbanisation category shows us that more rural inhabitants believe that the priority of the CAP should be to ensure stable and adequate incomes for farmers than urban dwellers. The same tendency emerges for favouring and improving life in the countryside as well as protecting small or medium-sized farms

20 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy 3. Evaluation of the role played by the Common Agricultural Policy Source questionnaire: QB3 In this third part of the analysis we will look at how European citizens perceive the role played by the European Union s agricultural policy in certain areas of intervention analysed in the previous chapter. - A relative majority of Europeans believes the EU is playing its role fairly well for most of the tested areas - QB3. And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Response: FAIRLY WELL (% EU25) ensure that agricultural products are healthy and safe promote the respect of environment protect the welfare of farm animals favour methods of organic production protect the specificity and taste of European agricultural products make European agriculture more competitive on world markets encourage the diversification of agricultural products and activities help farmers to adapt their production to consumer s expectations favour and improve life in the countryside reduce development gaps between regions ensure stable and adequate incomes for farmers protect small or medium sized farms 54% 57% 51% 55% 46% 47% 43% 47% 42% 45% 41% 48% 40% 45% 39% 43% 36% 40% 35% 37% 34% 37% 29% 30% The results for the average of the 25 EU Member States, show that in most of the areas tested for this question, we can note that a majority or a relative majority of citizens indicates that the EU s agricultural policy plays its role fairly well. That said, a decline in positive evaluations is observed across the board between 2004 and As was the case in 2004, ensuring healthy and safe agricultural products is the aspect of the CAP which most EU citizens evaluate positively, corresponding to a result of 54% (-3 points since 2004). The results in the previous chapter have shown that this is an area which is very important in citizens minds as it ranks as the second highest preferred priority area for the CAP. A majority of EU citizens also give a positive appraisal of the role played by the CAP in promoting the respect of the environment, 51% (-4 points). On a more negative note, the four items for which a relative majority perceives that the EU s agricultural policy plays its role fairly badly are the following: protecting small or medium sized farms (48%), ensuring stable and adequate incomes for farmers (44%), reducing development gaps between regions (40%) and favouring and improving life in the countryside (42%). It is also worth recalling that most Europeans would like one of the main priorities of the EU s agricultural policy to be the guarantee of stable and adequate incomes for farmers

21 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Ensure that agricultural products are healthy and safe Country results for citizens assessment of the role of the CAP in ensuring that agricultural products are healthy and safe show us that three in four Belgians (+4 points since 2004) consider that the CAP is playing its role fairly well, corresponding to the highest result in the EU. Cyprus (69%; -11 points), the Netherlands (68%; - 5 points) and Malta (68%; -12 points) follow next. In spite of the fall-off in approval rates for this aspect of the CAP, these four countries continue to hold their position at the top of the scale. At the opposite end of the ranking, we can note that the Swedes have the lowest approval rate (30%; -7 points) which is situated 14 percentage points below the EU-25 average. Latvia (36%; -2 points) as well as Estonia (38%; -15 points) and Denmark (38%; -1 point) follow. In fact, in Sweden, Latvia and Denmark a relative majority considers that the CAP is playing its role here fairly badly. Unlike the positive trend observed between and 2004 in the old EU-15, in most countries, positive appraisals of the CAP in terms of ensuring that agricultural products are healthy and safe take a negative turn between 2004 and 2005 as shown in the map above. The strong progression in positive opinions observed in the United Kingdom last year has been undermined by a decline of 14 points in this most recent wave. The fall-off of positive opinions in Estonia is notable as indicated above. The Maltese and Cypriots who continue to be among the most positive in the EU in this regard have also undergone a considerable drop in positive opinions. 3 In 2003 And how well do you think the European Union s agricultural policy is currently playing its role?

22 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Promote the respect of the environment As was the case last year, we can see that respondents in Malta (74%; -11 points since 2004) and Cyprus (72%; -10 points) have the highest rates indicating that the European Union s agricultural policy is playing its role of promoting the respect of the environment fairly well. Poland follows with a rate of 70% (-7 points). However, the negative evolutions previously observed when it comes to healthy and safe agricultural products re-emerge here. At the opposite end of the scale, Denmark has the lowest approval rate with only 31% of its citizens believing the CAP is playing its role fairly well in this field (-3 points). Only one in three Swedes conveys their positive evaluation of the CAP in promoting the respect of the environment. In fact, both Member States are the only countries where a majority of respondents, respectively 54% and 51%, believes that the CAP is doing a bad job in promoting the respect of the environment. As observed for the previous item, the positive trend observed in the EU-15 group between 2003 and 2004 has been reversed in this latest wave. The only notable positive evolutions in public opinion occurred in the Czech Republic, corresponding to a rise of 13 points to a result of 59% and in Portugal by 8 points to 49%. In most other countries, public opinion is not as positive as last year. The most negative evolution again occurred in Estonia, corresponding to a considerable fall-off in positive perceptions equivalent to 17 points, leading to a result which is currently at 47%. It is worth noting is that the don t know response rate in Estonia has risen for this aspect as well as for the item covering healthy and safe agricultural products. The negative downturn could perhaps be reversed by further informing Estonians on specific CAP measures dealing with these two aspects

23 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Protect the welfare of farm animals Concerning the protection of the welfare of farm animals, as in 2004, the Poles have the highest level of appraisal of the role played by the CAP in this domain with two in three perceiving this role to be played fairly well. However, this rate is somewhat lower than twelve months ago when the item was first asked, corresponding to a drop of 6 points. Poland s rate is 20 percentage points above the EU-25 average. Following next are Belgium (+6 points), Malta (+1 point) and Germany (+2 points) which are all above the 60% mark. As observed in 2004, the lowest rates are again found in Sweden and Denmark with respectively 22% (-1 point) and 24% (+7 points). Opinion here seems to be particularly heart-felt as about two in three go so far as to say that the CAP is playing its role here fairly badly. The evolutions over the past year are somewhat more encouraging here judging from the number of countries where the trend is positive

24 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Favour methods of organic production Polish citizens have the most positive judgement of the CAP s role in favouring methods of organic production, at a rate of 63%, although a decline of 5 points was observed over the last twelve months. Lithuania (59%; -1 point) and Germany (57%; -4 points) follow next with results approaching the previously attained 60% mark. On the contrary, Finland has now joined the stance of Denmark in that a majority of its citizens have a negative opinion of the role played by the CAP, with fairly badly results of respectively 55% and 53%. As pointed out last year high non-response rates of 44% in Malta and 40% in Spain re-emerge. Here also, the latest evolution is contrary to the positive trend observed between 2003 and In almost all countries the positive tide has turned. Portugal (+7 points) and the Czech Republic (+4 points) are the only countries where evolutions are encouraging. Some of the new Member States again seem to be more disillusioned with the CAP from this perspective compared to a year ago. In Estonia, Cyprus, Slovakia and Slovenia the negative evolution of results corresponds to a drop of 10 or more points

25 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Protect the specificity and taste of European agricultural products As was the case in 2004, Belgium has the highest proportion of respondents believing the CAP is doing a good job of protecting the specificity and taste of European agricultural products, with 64% expressing this opinion which corresponds to a rise of 3 points over the last year. Malta and Poland follow with respective results of 57% and 56% in each. Similar to last year, Latvia has the lowest result with just 24% indicating that the CAP is playing its role fairly well in this area. Ranking next lowest is Sweden with a result of 27%. The latest evolution in the Czech Republic corresponding to a 12- point rise has resulted in this country being moved up considerably from its previous position at the lower end of the ranking. The result in Greece is also worth noting as every second Greek seems to consider that the EU s agricultural policy is playing a fairly bad role in protecting the specificity and taste of European agricultural products. The Latvians, Finns and Danes approach this ratio. The non-response rates are significant in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Estonia (40% in all three) as well as Lithuania (37%). The most notable negative evolutions again occurred in the UK which is contrary to the trend observed between 2003 and 2004 (-10 points). A similar evolution occurred in Cyprus and Slovenia. As previously observed, Estonia is the Member State where the largest negative evolution is recorded, equivalent to 13 points

26 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Make European agriculture more competitive on world markets More Germans believe that the CAP is playing its role fairly well in making European agriculture more competitive on world markets, corresponding to a positive evaluation of 60% (-4 points since 2004). This rate is 19 percentage points above the EU-25 average. Malta follows next with 54% indicating a positive response (-6 points). Both countries ranked highest in 2004 also. On the lower side of the graph, we can see that Latvia has the least number of respondents answering positively, with only 26% of this mind (15 points below the EU-25 average), corresponding to the mind-set of Latvians twelve months ago. As observed in 2004, high levels of the non-response rate for this statement are notable in Ireland (36%) and in Lithuania (37%). In Malta and the UK, this rate is also high at one in three. Once again, the positive trend observed between 2003 and 2004 in the EU-15 group has been reversed by a negative evolution in all countries with the exception of Portugal. The most sizeable decreases occurred in Hungary (-15 points) as well as Estonia and the United Kingdom (both 14 points). Other notable decreases in positive opinions occurred in Cyprus, Slovakia and Austria

27 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Encourage the diversification of agricultural products and activities As observed in 2004, compared to all other Member State nationalities, more Belgians believe that the CAP is playing its role fairly well in encouraging the diversification of agricultural products and activities, at a rate of 61% (practically identical to the situation in 2004). The same ranking pattern emerges at the top as last year with Germany following with a result of 54% (-2 points). Ranking lowest for their positive opinions are the Danes, the British, the Swedes and the Latvians with a result of 26% for Denmark and 30% for the other three. In fact, the Danes, the Latvians and Swedes along with citizens of the Czech Republic approach a result of one in two perceiving the CAP to play a fairly bad role in this regard. In the case of the British the low ranking on the fairly well scale seems to be largely due to a high non-response rate (40%). Other notable non-response rates observed in 2004 re-emerge in Ireland (42%) and Malta (43%). The countries where positive evolutions are indicated cannot really be seen as the pursuit of a trend as these are only equivalent to 1 point. Again, the most sizeable downturns occur in the new Member States, notably Estonia (-12 points), Poland (-11 points) and Slovakia (-10 points)

28 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Help farmers to adapt their production to consumer s expectations The only Member States where a majority of respondents considers that the CAP plays its role of helping farmers to adapt their production to consumers expectations fairly well are Germany (54%; identical to last year s result), Malta (54%; -8 points) and Belgium (53%; -4 points). On the contrary, only one in five respondents in the Czech Republic shares the same opinion, a rate that is equivalent to that of twelve months ago. In fact, 67% consider that the EU s agricultural policy plays its role fairly badly. The Finns are also more in line with this view with 58% declaring that the CAP plays a fairly bad role here. Again positive evolutions since last year are few and far between, with the greatest rise occurring in Portugal (+4 points). The most significant negative evolutions occurred in the same three countries previously identified for the significant fall-off in positive opinions: Cyprus (47%; - 15 points), Slovakia (32%; -11 points) and Estonia (33%; -10 points). It is worth noting that a year ago, Cyprus ranked highest in the EU for its citizens positive points-of-view

29 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Favour and improve life in the countryside As in 2004, Maltese respondents have by far the highest response rate indicating that the Common Agricultural Policy is playing its role fairly well in favouring and improving life in the countryside, corresponding to the view-point of 63%, a rate which is 27 percentage points above the EU-25 average. The countries identified in 2004 once again emerge at the lower end of this ranking: in Latvia, Finland and Denmark as few as one in five gives a positive evaluation of the role played by the CAP in improving life in the countryside. Finland has the most negative opinion concerning the role played by the CAP here with an identical result to that of last year 73% of Finns believe the CAP is playing its role fairly badly in this field. Again, positive evolutions scarcely occurred in any Member State. The negative evolution in the United Kingdom, which is the most sizeable compared to all other countries, is the reverse of the trend observed last year (-13 points)

30 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Reduce development gaps between regions Belgium (52%; +4 points) had displaced Germany as being the only Member State which positively assesses the role played by the CAP in reducing development gaps between regions. In Germany just less than one in two shares this opinion following a drop of 3 points over the last twelve months. Again, Latvia is least positive about the work of the CAP here, with only 16% of its citizens believing that the CAP is playing its role fairly well, equivalent to a dip of 1 point. The non-response rates continue to be significantly high in Malta (44%), Ireland (43%), the United Kingdom (42%) and Lithuania (41%). Once again, we can note that Finland has the strongest rate of negative opinions towards the CAP concerning this issue, at 68% and is followed by the Czech Republic (63%) and Latvia (62%). Again Member States with a declining trend outnumber those with a rising one. Estonia and Slovenia are where the most significant decreases occurred corresponding to respectively 9 and 8 points

31 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Ensure stable and adequate incomes for farmers Confirming the observation made last year, only in two of the twenty-five Member States does a majority of respondents believe that the Common Agricultural Policy is playing its role fairly well in ensuring stable and adequate incomes for farmers, notably Denmark (58%; +6 points) and Germany (51%; -3 points). The lowest approval rate occurs in the Czech Republic (14%; -1 point) as was the case twelve months ago. In fact, citizens of the Czech Republic along with the Finns are the most negative in their evaluation of CAP intervention here with respectively 75% and 70% considering this to be fairly bad. The map above shows that there has been a decline in positive evaluations in most Member States. However, Austria is the Member State which has seen the sharpest drop in positive opinions, equivalent to 10 points. On the other hand, Denmark and Malta are where the most significant rises occurred, of respectively 6 and 5 points

32 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Protect small or medium sized farms The area for which the CAP received the lowest rates of positive answers is for its role in protecting small or medium sized farms. The only country above the 50% mark is Malta with a result just over this at 51% following a rise of 6 points since This increase corresponds to the most significant rise at the Member State level. The next highest positive response rates occur in Luxembourg (42%; -5 points) and Germany (41%; -2 points). As was the case in 2004, the lowest rate is observed in Finland where only 9% of Finns believe that the CAP is playing its role fairly well in protecting these farmers. Indeed, the rate of respondents indicating fairly badly rises to 86%, which is 38 percentage points above the European Union average. As seen earlier, the Finns show a certain level of discontentment with the current role played by the CAP for specific areas. Overall the evolution in the results between 2004 and 2005 is more stable with most evolving by up to 3 points either way

33 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Analysis by socio-demographic characteristics A similar pattern emerges across all of the aspects of the EU s agricultural policy which respondents were asked to evaluate. Students are generally more inclined to praise the CAP for the role it plays and often stand out in the education and occupation categories. In many instances, those who pursued their studies until the age of 20 or over are more inclined to express their approval of the role played by the EU s agricultural policy. Males have a slightly greater tendency to have a positive opinion of the CAP s role in making European agriculture more competitive on world markets and for ensuring that agricultural products are healthy and safe compared to females. The youth of Europe seem more optimistic about the role played by the CAP in making European agriculture more competitive globally, helping farmers to adapt their production to consumer s expectations, in favouring methods of organic production and in promoting the respect of the environment

34 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy 4. Assessment of the Common Agricultural Policy reform In this final part we will look at how Europeans judge the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. The question itself explained to respondents that the reform consisted of reducing subsidies for agricultural products, and in parallel, granting more funds for the protection and development of the overall rural economy and for direct support to farmers. Source questionnaire: QB4 - A clear majority of Europeans sees the CAP reform as being a good thing - QB4 The European Union is subsidising agricultural products less and less. However, it is granting more funds for the protection and development of the overall rural economy and for direct support to farmers. Do you think that this development is? A good thing A bad thing Neither good nor bad thing (SPONTANEOUS) DK 2005 (EU25) 60% 17% 10% 13% 2004 (EU25) 66% 17% 9% 8% 2003 (EU15) 59% 15% 12% 15% 2002 (EU15) 62% 14% 11% 13% 2002 (C C 13) 67% 10% 24% When asked what they thought about the recent development of the Common Agricultural Policy, a majority of European citizens within the 25 EU Member States indicates that they believe it is a good thing, with a rate of 60%, composed of 11% believing it is a very good thing and 49% that it is a fairly good thing. The overall proportion positively assessing this development has dropped by 6 points in the past twelve months. This result is more in line with what was observed in the EU-15 group in 2003 and It should be noted that in 2002 the level of positive perceptions of the development of the CAP is much higher among the candidate countries (67%) then the old EU-15 group (62%). The distinction in opinion between the EU-15 group and the new Member States is present still today with respective results of 59% and 65% for a good thing. It would seem that in spite of the apparent disappointment of some new Member States citizens with specific aspects of the CAP, the vast majority are clearly happy overall with the 2003/2004 CAP reform. On the contrary, a total of 17% of respondents in the 25 EU Member States believes that this development is a bad thing, composed of 13% indicating that it is a fairly bad thing and only 5% that it is a very bad thing. This result remains static since % of respondents mention that this development is neither a good thing nor a bad thing, and 13% answer that they don t know. The drop in the proportion saying a good thing is practically equivalent to the rise in don t know responses, which is in line with the non-response rate observed in 2002 and 2003 among the EU-15 group

35 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Overall, we can conclude that European citizens are satisfied with the reforms taken to develop and modify the CAP from a subsidy-based system to a more marketoriented one. The country results show that in Luxembourg (-5 points), Belgium (-1 point), Latvia (+2 points), the Czech Republic (+7 points) and the Netherlands (-2 points) close to or over seven in ten have a positive opinion in the move from a subsidy-based system for agricultural products to one which grants more funds to the development of the overall rural economy and allocates direct support to farmers. These countries have displaced Poland which previously ranked highest for the level of citizens support for this CAP reform corresponding to a fall-off of 12 points. In three of the Member States, less than one in two considers that this development is a good thing: Greece (49%; -5 points), Spain (49%; -7 points) and Austria (43%; -12 points). Nevertheless, all of these countries have a relative majority in favour of this development. The positive trend observed between 2003 and 2004 in most of the 25 Member States with regard to beliefs that the development of the CAP is a good thing has been reversed between 2004 and The only country where a notable rise occurred in the proportion perceiving the CAP reform to be a good thing is the Czech Republic (+7 points). The most significant decline occurred in Slovenia, as well as Austria and Poland as mentioned above. In the case of Slovenia, the rise between 2003 and 2004 (+14 points) has been set-off by a decline between 2004 and 2005 (-17 points). In

36 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy Finland and Estonia also, a notable fall-off in positive opinions occurs over the last twelve months with a decline of respectively 11 and 10 points. It would seem that the high level of hope expressed in 2004 just after the announcement of the CAP reform has faded somewhat with time although a strong level of support remains right across the EU. Analysis by socio-demographic characteristics QB4 The EU is subsidising agricultural products less & less. However, it is granting more funds for the protection & development of the overall rural economy & for direct support to farmers. Do you think that this development is...? Response A GOOD THING EU25 Education (End of) 60% 15 50% Still Studying 62% 62% 67% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed 60% M anagers Other white collars Manual workers House persons Unemployed Retired Students 69% 63% 59% 57% 62% 55% 62% Subjective urbanisation Rural village Small/ mid size town Large town 57% 59% 64% Results by socio-demographic characteristics show us that there are few discrepancies among the different categories. The level of education confirms the increasing relationship observed twelve months ago between the duration of respondents studies and their likelihood to perceive the CAP reform to be a good thing: those who completed their education at the age of 20 or over are more likely to perceive the CAP development to be a good thing. Within the occupational scale, more managers (69%) believe that the development of the CAP is a good thing compared to those falling under other categories as was the case in Those living in large towns have a greater inclination to perceive this move to be a good thing than those living in smaller towns or rural villages

37 Special EUROBAROMETER 242 Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy CONCLUSION The main advantages of the CAP, according to EU citizens are that it ensures that the food that consumers purchase is safe and of good quality. The Maltese and Cypriots continue to be the most convinced of the benefits the EU s agricultural policy brings to food although supporters in both countries have dwindled over the past year. Following the announcement of the 2003/2004 CAP reform, which brought about the decoupling of direct aid from production and a realignment of the CAP with consumer concerns, an upsurge of agreement with the notion that the CAP favours consumers rather than farmers was observed. However, the latest evolution brings this agreement rate back to the level observed in 2003, at a result of 14%. As was the case in 2004, the results show that there is no specific priority which Europeans agree on strongly. The priority on which most respondents would like to see the EU s agricultural policy focus is ensuring stable and adequate incomes for farmers. The Greeks and Finns are particularly strong in their conviction of its prioritisation. Following next is ensuring that agricultural products are healthy and safe which is again most emphasised by the Cypriots and Maltese. However, overall support for the prioritisation of both of these areas has fallen over the last twelve months. Respondents in rural areas place greater emphasis on ensuring stable and adequate incomes for farmers, improving life in the countryside and protecting small or medium sized farms than urban dwellers. When asked to rate the way the CAP is currently playing its role, the results show that Europeans have quite a positive opinion. In most of the areas tested, a relative majority considers that the CAP is playing its role fairly well. On the whole, the Maltese, Germans and Belgians tend to stand out for their positive evaluations of the role played by the EU s agricultural policy. As observed last year, Denmark, Latvia, Sweden and Finland express their dissatisfaction with specific aspects of the work done by the CAP. The across the board downward trend over the past twelve months came after an upsurge in positive perceptions was recorded last year. It would seem that in the immediate aftermath of the fundamental 2003/2004 CAP reform, citizens were taken with the tide of change. One year on, enthusiasm has been somewhat dampened. This trend should be carefully monitored in the future. There is however an opportunity for shaping opinions judging by the proportion of respondents in some countries who were unable to give either a positive or negative assessment of the role of the CAP in certain specific cases. This would suggest that possible lack of information on the work of the EU in the area of agriculture could be addressed and specific groups targeted. Finally, a clear majority of European citizens in the 25 Member States supports the decision to move from a subsidy-based system to a more market-oriented approach. While the overall level of support has dropped in the past twelve months, 60% of EU citizens remain positive about the CAP reform which grants more funds for the protection and development of the overall rural economy and gives direct support to farmers which is independent of production. In pursuit of this reform, on the 16 th of December 2005, the European Council reached agreement on the financial perspective which provides for increased investment in Rural Development in order to help these areas meet the challenges of the 21 st century

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41 QB1 European Union agricultural policy aims to benefit consumers as well as farmers. With which of the following statements do you agree? (MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL It ensures that the food you buy is safe to eat It ensures that the food you buy is good quality It ensures that the food you buy is healthy It ensures that the food you buy is reasonably priced It ensures that you have enough information about the geographical area where your food comes from It ensures that you have enough information about how the food was produced and processed It ensures that farm animals are well treated It favours consumers rather than farmers It favours farmers rather than consumers It favours equally farmers and consumers None of these (SPONTANEO US) DK EU % 32% 28% 23% 23% 19% 19% 14% 10% 17% 7% 13% BE % 45% 40% 33% 20% 22% 19% 19% 11% 26% 4% 3% CZ % 15% 18% 19% 32% 18% 20% 15% 15% 19% 7% 8% DK % 33% 26% 34% 24% 22% 30% 13% 33% 22% 4% 4% DE % 37% 26% 30% 35% 24% 23% 13% 10% 20% 8% 7% EE % 46% 41% 40% 24% 21% 16% 12% 11% 24% 5% 13% EL % 36% 37% 27% 30% 25% 19% 14% 7% 25% 16% 3% ES % 30% 29% 15% 15% 13% 15% 15% 9% 13% 8% 20% FR % 26% 23% 12% 31% 17% 13% 16% 14% 17% 8% 12% IE % 42% 38% 23% 28% 26% 22% 13% 11% 15% 2% 14% IT % 30% 32% 26% 23% 23% 16% 7% 5% 15% 6% 15% CY % 54% 59% 36% 27% 26% 29% 10% 5% 30% 5% 7% LV % 30% 24% 20% 19% 15% 18% 15% 11% 18% 8% 11% LT % 36% 30% 22% 15% 16% 13% 11% 7% 18% 6% 16% LU % 47% 40% 36% 36% 26% 29% 18% 18% 21% 6% 7% HU % 32% 34% 29% 22% 14% 12% 9% 4% 23% 12% 9% MT % 65% 72% 52% 30% 35% 36% 11% 4% 38% 1% 7% NL % 38% 28% 31% 18% 20% 20% 17% 13% 25% 3% 7% AT % 33% 26% 17% 22% 21% 22% 15% 7% 18% 11% 13% PL % 29% 29% 21% 13% 13% 17% 15% 7% 18% 5% 14% PT % 34% 31% 15% 25% 26% 15% 11% 8% 9% 7% 20% SI % 43% 44% 37% 38% 25% 23% 27% 11% 21% 4% 3% SK % 32% 27% 18% 20% 26% 13% 20% 8% 20% 8% 7% FI % 34% 25% 29% 23% 23% 23% 30% 8% 14% 9% 3% SE % 28% 14% 27% 23% 15% 21% 21% 23% 21% 10% 5% UK % 29% 28% 22% 14% 15% 24% 16% 13% 14% 6% 21%

42 QB2 In your opinion, which of the following should be the 3 main priorities of the European Union in terms of agriculture policy? (MAX. 3 ANSWERS) (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Ensure stable and adequate incomes for farmers Make European agriculture more competitive on world markets Help farmers to adapt their production to consumer s expectation s Favour and improve life in the countryside Reduce developme nt gaps between regions Encourage the diversificati on of agricultural products and activities Favour methods of organic production Promote the respect of environmen t Protect the specificity and taste of European agricultural products Protect small or medium sized farms Ensure that agricultural products are healthy and safe Protect the welfare of farm animals None of these (SPONTANE OUS) DK EU % 23% 21% 23% 15% 11% 20% 23% 6% 23% 26% 14% 2% 9% BE % 24% 24% 19% 12% 13% 23% 35% 7% 29% 32% 11% 1% 2% CZ % 24% 29% 29% 17% 9% 20% 20% 5% 28% 32% 18% 1% 5% DK % 30% 24% 13% 9% 7% 34% 43% 4% 19% 34% 35% 1% 3% DE % 28% 17% 20% 17% 13% 28% 23% 4% 24% 33% 18% 2% 4% EE % 19% 19% 54% 12% 9% 33% 16% 5% 26% 16% 4% 0% 10% EL % 36% 32% 29% 11% 12% 21% 22% 7% 24% 30% 6% 1% 0% ES % 17% 18% 37% 12% 8% 9% 19% 4% 17% 17% 6% 2% 17% FR % 19% 21% 19% 12% 13% 19% 40% 8% 24% 28% 10% 1% 6% IE % 21% 21% 22% 10% 14% 23% 24% 7% 25% 31% 9% 0% 15% IT % 29% 22% 18% 18% 13% 18% 21% 8% 16% 24% 11% 2% 11% CY % 20% 30% 48% 5% 5% 26% 22% 6% 18% 42% 6% 0% 5% LV % 20% 17% 48% 15% 7% 18% 18% 3% 37% 22% 6% 6% 3% LT % 10% 26% 41% 8% 12% 23% 7% 3% 24% 17% 5% 2% 14% LU % 13% 26% 19% 6% 10% 35% 32% 7% 35% 31% 20% 1% 5% HU % 26% 22% 34% 21% 10% 17% 13% 11% 17% 25% 8% 2% 9% MT % 24% 31% 18% 7% 8% 11% 29% 8% 13% 39% 11% 0% 12% NL % 22% 17% 16% 15% 15% 27% 24% 8% 20% 31% 23% 1% 6% AT % 19% 19% 26% 17% 14% 25% 23% 9% 22% 18% 13% 4% 7% PL % 21% 26% 29% 17% 6% 19% 7% 5% 27% 21% 7% 2% 8% PT % 26% 25% 35% 27% 12% 9% 24% 11% 17% 23% 10% 1% 10% SI % 19% 18% 39% 31% 11% 27% 25% 7% 37% 29% 7% 0% 3% SK % 36% 21% 29% 34% 12% 19% 13% 8% 32% 12% 9% 1% 5% FI % 16% 17% 33% 17% 12% 18% 27% 4% 36% 30% 18% 1% 1% SE % 15% 23% 26% 6% 19% 28% 33% 6% 31% 36% 36% - 2% UK % 17% 20% 16% 8% 11% 17% 24% 2% 24% 26% 22% 3% 18%

43 QB3.1 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Ensure stable and adequate incomes for farmers (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 44% 21% BE % 51% 7% CZ % 75% 11% DK % 28% 14% DE % 34% 15% EE % 47% 26% EL % 68% 4% ES % 42% 31% FR % 54% 19% IE % 23% 31% IT % 35% 31% CY % 38% 22% LV % 61% 18% LT % 25% 27% LU % 37% 21% HU % 61% 19% MT % 21% 31% NL % 52% 17% AT % 46% 23% PL % 40% 16% PT % 57% 17% SI % 55% 12% SK % 53% 22% FI % 70% 6% SE % 50% 15% UK % 45% 28%

44 QB3.2 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Make European agriculture more competitive on world markets (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 35% 24% BE % 40% 9% CZ % 57% 15% DK % 38% 18% DE % 26% 14% EE % 31% 36% EL % 52% 5% ES % 29% 33% FR % 43% 25% IE % 20% 36% IT % 32% 29% CY % 23% 32% LV % 51% 23% LT % 18% 37% LU % 36% 26% HU % 44% 21% MT % 11% 34% NL % 38% 24% AT % 35% 25% PL % 30% 22% PT % 43% 20% SI % 47% 12% SK % 40% 26% FI % 52% 11% SE % 44% 26% UK % 37% 33%

45 QB3.3 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Help farmers to adapt their production to consumer s expectations (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 37% 24% BE % 39% 8% CZ % 67% 12% DK % 49% 18% DE % 29% 17% EE % 33% 35% EL % 50% 6% ES % 31% 34% FR % 49% 22% IE % 22% 34% IT % 33% 30% CY % 27% 26% LV % 47% 22% LT % 17% 33% LU % 33% 20% HU % 43% 20% MT % 14% 32% NL % 39% 27% AT % 36% 23% PL % 29% 21% PT % 47% 19% SI % 46% 13% SK % 41% 27% FI % 58% 10% SE % 49% 22% UK % 36% 34%

46 QB3.4 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Favour and improve life in the countryside (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 42% 22% BE % 45% 9% CZ % 65% 9% DK % 60% 18% DE % 34% 17% EE % 47% 22% EL % 57% 3% ES % 40% 29% FR % 54% 23% IE % 24% 33% IT % 34% 29% CY % 31% 21% LV % 63% 17% LT % 27% 29% LU % 34% 21% HU % 53% 15% MT % 9% 28% NL % 51% 24% AT % 44% 21% PL % 35% 17% PT % 55% 17% SI % 55% 11% SK % 42% 24% FI % 73% 6% SE % 51% 16% UK % 38% 33%

47 QB3.5 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Reduce development gaps between regions (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 40% 25% BE % 39% 9% CZ % 63% 12% DK % 46% 22% DE % 34% 17% EE % 44% 34% EL % 56% 9% ES % 35% 32% FR % 48% 25% IE % 24% 43% IT % 37% 29% CY % 26% 40% LV % 62% 22% LT % 20% 41% LU % 31% 26% HU % 52% 19% MT % 13% 44% NL % 42% 26% AT % 40% 25% PL % 33% 21% PT % 57% 21% SI % 59% 11% SK % 50% 24% FI % 68% 8% SE % 42% 27% UK % 35% 42%

48 QB3.6 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Encourage the diversification of agricultural products and activities (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 33% 27% BE % 29% 9% CZ % 47% 15% DK % 49% 25% DE % 29% 17% EE % 31% 36% EL % 42% 5% ES % 30% 36% FR % 41% 26% IE % 22% 42% IT % 30% 30% CY % 19% 36% LV % 47% 23% LT % 14% 36% LU % 29% 24% HU % 40% 20% MT % 8% 43% NL % 39% 26% AT % 34% 24% PL % 26% 30% PT % 44% 22% SI % 41% 14% SK % 33% 28% FI % 50% 11% SE % 46% 24% UK % 30% 40%

49 QB3.7 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Favour methods of organic production (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 33% 24% BE % 40% 10% CZ % 41% 14% DK % 53% 19% DE % 27% 17% EE % 31% 30% EL % 39% 9% ES % 30% 40% FR % 45% 25% IE % 30% 34% IT % 30% 28% CY % 18% 31% LV % 45% 23% LT % 11% 30% LU % 32% 17% HU % 36% 22% MT % 7% 44% NL % 38% 21% AT % 35% 22% PL % 20% 18% PT % 34% 27% SI % 41% 10% SK % 30% 28% FI % 55% 11% SE % 49% 18% UK % 33% 35%

50 QB3.8 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Promote the respect of environment (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 29% 20% BE % 26% 6% CZ % 32% 9% DK % 54% 15% DE % 24% 16% EE % 23% 30% EL % 45% 5% ES % 31% 30% FR % 37% 18% IE % 19% 27% IT % 28% 24% CY % 10% 18% LV % 40% 20% LT % 12% 32% LU % 25% 13% HU % 22% 15% MT % 4% 22% NL % 33% 16% AT % 36% 20% PL % 14% 15% PT % 31% 19% SI % 36% 10% SK % 29% 25% FI % 41% 9% SE % 51% 16% UK % 31% 30%

51 QB3.9 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Protect the specificity and taste of European agricultural products (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 31% 27% BE % 27% 9% CZ % 42% 19% DK % 45% 21% DE % 32% 20% EE % 29% 40% EL % 51% 10% ES % 26% 39% FR % 39% 26% IE % 21% 40% IT % 28% 27% CY % 18% 33% LV % 47% 30% LT % 15% 37% LU % 27% 21% HU % 39% 19% MT % 9% 33% NL % 34% 28% AT % 37% 25% PL % 20% 24% PT % 39% 23% SI % 41% 15% SK % 30% 32% FI % 46% 12% SE % 39% 34% UK % 27% 40%

52 QB3.10 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Protect small or medium sized farms (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 48% 22% BE % 57% 8% CZ % 69% 11% DK % 65% 15% DE % 44% 15% EE % 54% 27% EL % 66% 6% ES % 39% 34% FR % 63% 22% IE % 39% 33% IT % 37% 27% CY % 40% 27% LV % 66% 18% LT % 32% 30% LU % 43% 15% HU % 50% 20% MT % 13% 36% NL % 59% 18% AT % 49% 20% PL % 43% 19% PT % 52% 22% SI % 63% 11% SK % 48% 27% FI % 86% 5% SE % 64% 17% UK % 45% 32%

53 QB3.11 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Ensure that agricultural products are healthy and safe (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 26% 19% BE % 20% 5% CZ % 39% 10% DK % 49% 13% DE % 23% 13% EE % 30% 32% EL % 46% 4% ES % 25% 30% FR % 29% 17% IE % 15% 29% IT % 25% 22% CY % 12% 19% LV % 46% 19% LT % 15% 31% LU % 23% 12% HU % 43% 16% MT % 8% 24% NL % 17% 15% AT % 30% 21% PL % 20% 17% PT % 36% 19% SI % 32% 9% SK % 31% 27% FI % 34% 6% SE % 54% 16% UK % 21% 30%

54 QB3.12 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Protect the welfare of farm animals (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 32% 22% BE % 30% 8% CZ % 41% 12% DK % 66% 10% DE % 26% 13% EE % 22% 36% EL % 49% 10% ES % 29% 35% FR % 36% 28% IE % 18% 36% IT % 30% 25% CY % 19% 24% LV % 34% 24% LT % 13% 34% LU % 38% 14% HU % 30% 18% MT % 8% 30% NL % 41% 18% AT % 38% 19% PL % 17% 17% PT % 39% 24% SI % 38% 12% SK % 31% 28% FI % 43% 9% SE % 68% 10% UK % 31% 29%

55 QB4 The European Union is subsidising agricultural products less and less. However, it is granting more funds for the protection and development of the overall rural economy and for direct support to farmers. Do you think that this development is? (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL A very good thing A fairly good thing A fairly bad thing A very bad thing Neither good nor bad thing DK A good thing A bad thing (SPONTANEOUS) EU % 49% 13% 5% 10% 13% 60% 17% BE % 57% 13% 4% 9% 3% 70% 17% CZ % 58% 9% 3% 10% 9% 69% 12% DK % 48% 27% 6% 5% 7% 55% 34% DE % 54% 12% 4% 15% 6% 64% 16% EE % 49% 9% 1% 11% 18% 61% 10% EL % 39% 14% 16% 16% 5% 49% 30% ES % 42% 12% 5% 10% 25% 49% 17% FR % 52% 13% 5% 7% 12% 63% 17% IE % 41% 7% 6% 11% 16% 61% 12% IT % 41% 13% 8% 10% 19% 51% 21% CY % 53% 7% 2% 8% 18% 66% 9% LV % 48% 9% 2% 7% 12% 70% 12% LT % 50% 12% 2% 4% 17% 65% 15% LU % 53% 8% 5% 7% 9% 71% 13% HU % 47% 7% 2% 14% 12% 65% 9% MT % 49% 7% 2% 12% 17% 62% 8% NL % 62% 18% 3% 3% 7% 69% 21% AT % 33% 14% 6% 21% 15% 43% 20% PL % 53% 13% 3% 8% 11% 65% 16% PT % 49% 11% 4% 16% 17% 53% 14% SI % 49% 20% 6% 12% 7% 54% 26% SK % 47% 19% 4% 13% 6% 57% 23% FI % 47% 25% 7% 5% 7% 56% 32% SE % 50% 21% 6% 7% 10% 56% 27% UK % 47% 10% 3% 10% 13% 64% 13%

56 QB1 European Union agricultural policy aims to benefit consumers as well as farmers. With which of the following statements do you agree? (MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE) (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL It ensures that the food you buy is safe to eat It ensures that the food you buy is good quality It ensures that the food you buy is healthy It ensures that the food you buy is reasonably priced It ensures that you have enough information about the geographical area where your food comes from It ensures that you have enough information about how the food was produced and processed It ensures that farm animals are well treated It favours consumers rather than farmers It favours farmers rather than consumers It favours equally farmers and consumers None of these (SPONTANEO US) DK EU % 32% 28% 23% 23% 19% 19% 14% 10% 17% 7% 13% Sex Male % 32% 28% 23% 23% 19% 19% 15% 12% 17% 7% 11% Female % 31% 28% 23% 24% 19% 19% 13% 9% 18% 7% 14% Age % 36% 29% 23% 25% 20% 20% 14% 9% 19% 4% 14% % 31% 27% 22% 25% 20% 19% 16% 10% 16% 6% 11% % 30% 28% 23% 24% 20% 18% 14% 12% 16% 8% 10% % 30% 28% 24% 20% 17% 18% 13% 10% 18% 9% 15% Education (End of) % 29% 28% 22% 19% 16% 19% 12% 8% 18% 9% 17% % 31% 28% 23% 23% 19% 20% 14% 10% 18% 7% 12% % 33% 28% 24% 29% 22% 18% 17% 14% 17% 6% 7% Still Studying % 37% 28% 25% 25% 20% 19% 13% 10% 19% 4% 13% Household composition % 30% 26% 23% 21% 19% 19% 13% 11% 17% 8% 15% % 31% 28% 24% 23% 19% 19% 14% 11% 18% 8% 12% % 32% 29% 23% 24% 20% 18% 15% 9% 16% 7% 13% % 32% 29% 22% 25% 19% 19% 14% 10% 18% 6% 11% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 33% 28% 23% 27% 21% 20% 14% 12% 19% 7% 9% (5-6) Centre % 34% 30% 24% 25% 20% 20% 15% 10% 18% 6% 11% (7-10) Right % 32% 28% 26% 22% 18% 19% 16% 12% 18% 8% 10% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 29% 25% 23% 25% 21% 17% 17% 11% 14% 8% 8% Managers % 30% 25% 25% 28% 22% 18% 15% 16% 16% 5% 7% Other white collars % 32% 28% 22% 26% 22% 19% 15% 9% 16% 8% 10% Manual workers % 32% 27% 21% 24% 18% 19% 14% 9% 17% 6% 13% House persons % 30% 29% 20% 20% 17% 17% 11% 8% 15% 8% 18% Unemployed % 30% 32% 23% 25% 20% 23% 15% 13% 18% 7% 8% Retired % 31% 29% 24% 19% 17% 19% 13% 10% 19% 9% 16% Students % 37% 28% 25% 25% 20% 19% 13% 10% 19% 4% 13% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 30% 25% 21% 22% 18% 18% 18% 10% 18% 8% 12% Small/ mid size town % 32% 28% 23% 24% 20% 19% 12% 10% 17% 7% 13% Large town % 34% 31% 25% 23% 20% 19% 13% 11% 17% 7% 12%

57 QB2 In your opinion, which of the following should be the 3 main priorities of the European Union in terms of agriculture policy? (MAX. 3 ANSWERS) (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Ensure stable and adequate incomes for farmers Make European agriculture more competitive on world markets Help farmers to adapt their production to consumer s expectation s Favour and improve life in the countryside Reduce developme nt gaps between regions Encourage the diversificati on of agricultural products and activities Favour methods of organic production Promote the respect of environmen t Protect the specificity and taste of European agricultural products Protect small or medium sized farms Ensure that agricultural products are healthy and safe Protect the welfare of farm animals None of these (SPONTANE OUS) DK EU % 23% 21% 23% 15% 11% 20% 23% 6% 23% 26% 14% 2% 9% Sex Male % 26% 22% 23% 16% 13% 20% 23% 5% 22% 26% 12% 2% 8% Female % 20% 20% 24% 14% 10% 20% 23% 6% 23% 27% 16% 2% 10% Age % 22% 19% 22% 16% 11% 20% 24% 5% 20% 23% 16% 1% 11% % 23% 22% 22% 14% 13% 22% 24% 6% 24% 28% 14% 1% 8% % 25% 22% 24% 17% 12% 22% 25% 6% 23% 27% 12% 2% 6% % 21% 20% 25% 13% 10% 17% 21% 5% 23% 26% 14% 2% 11% Education (End of) % 21% 19% 27% 12% 8% 13% 18% 5% 23% 24% 13% 2% 14% % 23% 21% 23% 15% 12% 20% 22% 5% 25% 27% 15% 1% 8% % 26% 22% 21% 17% 14% 26% 30% 7% 21% 29% 13% 1% 5% Still Studying % 22% 20% 22% 17% 11% 24% 26% 6% 18% 23% 16% 2% 10% Household composition % 21% 19% 23% 13% 11% 20% 23% 6% 21% 25% 15% 2% 11% % 22% 21% 24% 14% 12% 19% 24% 6% 24% 27% 14% 2% 9% % 24% 22% 23% 15% 12% 21% 24% 7% 21% 26% 14% 2% 9% % 24% 21% 24% 15% 11% 20% 23% 5% 23% 27% 13% 2% 8% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 22% 22% 22% 16% 13% 24% 27% 6% 22% 28% 14% 1% 7% (5-6) Centre % 24% 20% 23% 15% 12% 20% 25% 6% 24% 27% 15% 1% 8% (7-10) Right % 25% 23% 25% 14% 12% 20% 20% 6% 25% 28% 15% 2% 6% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 24% 24% 24% 18% 16% 19% 20% 7% 23% 25% 10% 1% 6% Managers % 29% 23% 20% 17% 16% 27% 30% 6% 21% 30% 13% 1% 5% Other white collars % 25% 22% 20% 17% 13% 21% 24% 6% 24% 28% 15% 2% 6% Manual workers % 22% 19% 24% 14% 11% 20% 24% 5% 23% 27% 14% 2% 9% House persons % 21% 18% 25% 12% 9% 18% 19% 6% 22% 24% 14% 2% 13% Unemployed % 21% 22% 28% 14% 10% 19% 25% 5% 24% 25% 14% 2% 7% Retired % 20% 21% 25% 12% 10% 16% 20% 5% 24% 26% 14% 2% 11% Students % 22% 20% 22% 17% 11% 24% 26% 6% 18% 23% 16% 2% 10% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 22% 20% 27% 13% 12% 18% 21% 5% 26% 26% 13% 2% 8% Small/ mid size town % 23% 21% 21% 16% 11% 20% 24% 6% 22% 27% 14% 2% 10% Large town % 23% 22% 23% 15% 11% 23% 25% 6% 19% 26% 15% 2% 9%

58 QB3.1 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Ensure stable and adequate incomes for farmers (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 44% 21% Sex Male % 45% 18% Female % 44% 24% Age % 38% 24% % 46% 19% % 46% 19% % 45% 23% Education (End of) % 44% 25% % 46% 20% % 46% 16% Still Studying % 36% 24% Household composition % 44% 25% % 45% 20% % 45% 21% % 44% 20% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 45% 19% (5-6) Centre % 46% 19% (7-10) Right % 48% 15% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 50% 16% Managers % 43% 15% Other white collars % 45% 20% Manual workers % 46% 21% House persons % 42% 25% Unemployed % 47% 19% Retired % 46% 24% Students % 36% 24% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 49% 19% Small/ mid size town % 42% 23% Large town % 42% 21%

59 QB3.2 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Make European agriculture more competitive on world markets (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 35% 24% Sex Male % 37% 20% Female % 33% 27% Age % 30% 23% % 36% 23% % 37% 21% % 35% 27% Education (End of) % 35% 28% % 36% 23% % 35% 20% Still Studying % 29% 22% Household composition % 35% 28% % 35% 24% % 36% 22% % 34% 23% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 35% 22% (5-6) Centre % 36% 21% (7-10) Right % 39% 19% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 42% 16% Managers % 34% 20% Other white collars % 38% 21% Manual workers % 35% 24% House persons % 30% 30% Unemployed % 34% 23% Retired % 37% 27% Students % 29% 22% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 38% 23% Small/ mid size town % 34% 25% Large town % 32% 24%

60 QB3.3 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Help farmers to adapt their production to consumer s expectations (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 37% 24% Sex Male % 39% 21% Female % 35% 27% Age % 29% 25% % 38% 23% % 39% 22% % 37% 26% Education (End of) % 37% 28% % 38% 24% % 40% 19% Still Studying % 27% 24% Household composition % 36% 28% % 39% 23% % 37% 23% % 35% 23% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 39% 22% (5-6) Centre % 38% 21% (7-10) Right % 40% 19% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 46% 18% Managers % 39% 20% Other white collars % 39% 22% Manual workers % 37% 24% House persons % 33% 29% Unemployed % 37% 24% Retired % 37% 26% Students % 27% 24% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 40% 22% Small/ mid size town % 35% 25% Large town % 36% 24%

61 QB3.4 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Favour and improve life in the countryside (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 42% 22% Sex Male % 43% 20% Female % 41% 24% Age % 38% 25% % 44% 21% % 44% 20% % 40% 24% Education (End of) % 41% 25% % 43% 21% % 44% 19% Still Studying % 36% 25% Household composition % 42% 26% % 43% 22% % 41% 22% % 42% 21% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 44% 21% (5-6) Centre % 42% 21% (7-10) Right % 45% 16% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 48% 18% Managers % 43% 20% Other white collars % 43% 22% Manual workers % 43% 21% House persons % 39% 26% Unemployed % 43% 21% Retired % 41% 23% Students % 36% 25% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 46% 19% Small/ mid size town % 40% 24% Large town % 40% 23%

62 QB3.5 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Reduce development gaps between regions (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 40% 25% Sex Male % 41% 22% Female % 38% 29% Age % 36% 27% % 41% 23% % 42% 22% % 39% 29% Education (End of) % 40% 31% % 41% 25% % 41% 19% Still Studying % 33% 26% Household composition % 39% 30% % 40% 25% % 41% 24% % 39% 24% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 42% 23% (5-6) Centre % 40% 23% (7-10) Right % 44% 20% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 45% 18% Managers % 40% 19% Other white collars % 40% 24% Manual workers % 42% 25% House persons % 36% 31% Unemployed % 41% 25% Retired % 40% 29% Students % 33% 26% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 43% 24% Small/ mid size town % 39% 26% Large town % 37% 27%

63 QB3.6 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Encourage the diversification of agricultural products and activities (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 33% 27% Sex Male % 36% 23% Female % 30% 30% Age % 28% 27% % 35% 25% % 35% 24% % 33% 30% Education (End of) % 32% 32% % 33% 25% % 37% 22% Still Studying % 27% 26% Household composition % 33% 31% % 34% 26% % 34% 25% % 32% 25% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 36% 24% (5-6) Centre % 34% 24% (7-10) Right % 36% 21% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 37% 21% Managers % 37% 21% Other white collars % 34% 25% Manual workers % 34% 26% House persons % 29% 34% Unemployed % 33% 27% Retired % 33% 30% Students % 27% 26% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 36% 24% Small/ mid size town % 32% 28% Large town % 31% 28%

64 QB3.7 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Favour methods of organic production (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 33% 24% Sex Male % 36% 21% Female % 31% 28% Age % 25% 25% % 35% 23% % 35% 22% % 34% 28% Education (End of) % 31% 31% % 33% 23% % 38% 19% Still Studying % 26% 22% Household composition % 33% 28% % 34% 25% % 34% 22% % 32% 23% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 37% 22% (5-6) Centre % 33% 22% (7-10) Right % 34% 20% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 40% 19% Managers % 37% 19% Other white collars % 36% 22% Manual workers % 33% 24% House persons % 27% 33% Unemployed % 31% 24% Retired % 34% 28% Students % 26% 22% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 35% 23% Small/ mid size town % 32% 25% Large town % 32% 25%

65 QB3.8 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Promote the respect of environment (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 29% 20% Sex Male % 31% 17% Female % 28% 23% Age % 24% 20% % 30% 19% % 31% 17% % 30% 23% Education (End of) % 29% 25% % 29% 19% % 34% 15% Still Studying % 24% 19% Household composition % 31% 23% % 29% 21% % 29% 19% % 29% 18% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 34% 17% (5-6) Centre % 29% 18% (7-10) Right % 30% 15% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 34% 16% Managers % 34% 15% Other white collars % 30% 18% Manual workers % 29% 19% House persons % 27% 28% Unemployed % 29% 19% Retired % 30% 23% Students % 24% 19% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 31% 19% Small/ mid size town % 28% 21% Large town % 30% 20%

66 QB3.9 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Protect the specificity and taste of European agricultural products (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 31% 27% Sex Male % 33% 23% Female % 29% 31% Age % 27% 29% % 32% 26% % 32% 24% % 32% 30% Education (End of) % 31% 32% % 31% 26% % 34% 22% Still Studying % 27% 28% Household composition % 33% 32% % 31% 27% % 31% 25% % 30% 26% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 34% 25% (5-6) Centre % 31% 25% (7-10) Right % 34% 22% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 35% 21% Managers % 34% 23% Other white collars % 30% 25% Manual workers % 31% 26% House persons % 29% 34% Unemployed % 32% 26% Retired % 32% 30% Students % 27% 28% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 34% 26% Small/ mid size town % 30% 28% Large town % 31% 27%

67 QB3.10 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Protect small or medium sized farms (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 48% 22% Sex Male % 51% 19% Female % 46% 25% Age % 43% 25% % 50% 21% % 51% 20% % 48% 24% Education (End of) % 45% 26% % 49% 21% % 54% 18% Still Studying % 43% 23% Household composition % 48% 26% % 49% 22% % 49% 22% % 48% 21% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 51% 20% (5-6) Centre % 50% 20% (7-10) Right % 53% 17% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 55% 16% Managers % 54% 18% Other white collars % 48% 22% Manual workers % 49% 21% House persons % 41% 28% Unemployed % 49% 25% Retired % 49% 24% Students % 43% 23% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 53% 20% Small/ mid size town % 47% 23% Large town % 44% 23%

68 QB3.11 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Ensure that agricultural products are healthy and safe (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 26% 19% Sex Male % 26% 17% Female % 26% 22% Age % 21% 19% % 26% 17% % 28% 17% % 27% 23% Education (End of) % 29% 24% % 26% 19% % 26% 15% Still Studying % 19% 18% Household composition % 26% 24% % 28% 19% % 27% 18% % 25% 18% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 27% 16% (5-6) Centre % 26% 18% (7-10) Right % 28% 14% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 30% 14% Managers % 25% 14% Other white collars % 27% 18% Manual workers % 27% 18% House persons % 25% 26% Unemployed % 27% 18% Retired % 28% 23% Students % 19% 18% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 29% 18% Small/ mid size town % 25% 20% Large town % 25% 20%

69 QB3.12 And do you think that the European Union s agricultural policy currently plays its role fairly well or fairly badly to? Protect the welfare of farm animals (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL Fairly well Fairly badly DK EU % 32% 22% Sex Male % 32% 20% Female % 31% 24% Age % 28% 22% % 32% 21% % 32% 20% % 32% 24% Education (End of) % 32% 26% % 31% 21% % 35% 18% Still Studying % 28% 21% Household composition % 33% 27% % 32% 21% % 32% 21% % 30% 20% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 35% 20% (5-6) Centre % 31% 21% (7-10) Right % 34% 16% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 35% 17% Managers % 34% 20% Other white collars % 32% 21% Manual workers % 31% 21% House persons % 29% 27% Unemployed % 33% 20% Retired % 32% 25% Students % 28% 21% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 32% 21% Small/ mid size town % 31% 23% Large town % 31% 22%

70 QB4 The European Union is subsidising agricultural products less and less. However, it is granting more funds for the protection and development of the overall rural economy and for direct support to farmers. Do you think that this development is? (ASKED ONLY IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION) TOTAL A very good thing A fairly good thing A fairly bad thing A very bad thing Neither good nor bad thing DK A good thing A bad thing (SPONTANEOUS) EU % 49% 13% 5% 10% 13% 60% 17% Sex Male % 50% 14% 5% 10% 10% 61% 19% Female % 48% 11% 4% 11% 15% 59% 16% Age % 51% 13% 3% 8% 14% 62% 15% % 52% 12% 5% 10% 11% 63% 16% % 49% 14% 5% 10% 11% 61% 18% % 45% 13% 6% 12% 14% 55% 18% Education (End of) % 41% 13% 6% 14% 18% 50% 19% % 50% 13% 4% 10% 11% 62% 17% % 55% 12% 5% 8% 9% 67% 17% Still Studying % 50% 13% 2% 9% 14% 62% 15% Household composition % 47% 13% 5% 11% 15% 57% 17% % 49% 12% 5% 11% 13% 59% 18% % 48% 13% 4% 11% 11% 61% 17% % 50% 13% 5% 9% 12% 61% 18% Left-Right scale (1-4) Left % 52% 13% 4% 9% 10% 63% 17% (5-6) Centre % 51% 13% 4% 10% 10% 63% 17% (7-10) Right % 50% 14% 6% 11% 8% 61% 20% Respondent occupation scale Self- employed % 49% 14% 7% 10% 9% 60% 20% Managers % 56% 11% 5% 8% 7% 69% 16% Other white collars % 52% 12% 4% 10% 11% 63% 16% Manual workers % 49% 14% 4% 11% 12% 59% 18% House persons % 46% 10% 4% 11% 18% 57% 13% Unemployed % 50% 15% 5% 7% 12% 62% 20% Retired % 45% 13% 6% 12% 14% 55% 19% Students % 50% 13% 2% 9% 14% 62% 15% Subjective urbanisation Rural village % 47% 14% 6% 11% 12% 57% 19% Small/ mid size town % 48% 12% 5% 10% 13% 59% 17% Large town % 52% 12% 4% 10% 11% 64% 16%

71 TECHNICAL NOTE

72

73 EUROBAROMETER SPECIAL N 242 «Europeans and the Common Agricultural Policy» TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Between the 11 th of October and the 15 th of November 2005, TNS Opinion & Social, a consortium created between Taylor Nelson Sofres and EOS Gallup Europe, carried out wave 64.2 of the EUROBAROMETER, on request of the EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Directorate-General Press and Communication, Opinion Polls. The EUROBAROMETER SPECIAL N 242 is part of wave 64.2 and covers the population of the respective nationalities of the European Union Member States, resident in each of the Member States and aged 15 years and over. The basic sample design applied in all states is a multi-stage, random (probability) one. In each country, a number of sampling points was drawn with probability proportional to population size (for a total coverage of the country) and to population density. In order to do so, the sampling points were drawn systematically from each of the "administrative regional units", after stratification by individual unit and type of area. They thus represent the whole territory of the countries surveyed according to the EUROSTAT NUTS II (or equivalent) and according to the distribution of the resident population of the respective nationalities in terms of metropolitan, urban and rural areas. In each of the selected sampling points, a starting address was drawn, at random. Further addresses (every Nth address) were selected by standard "random route" procedures, from the initial address. In each household, the respondent was drawn, at random (following the "closest birthday rule"). All interviews were conducted face-to-face in people's homes and in the appropriate national language. As far as the data capture is concerned, CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interview) was used in those countries where this technique was available.

74 ABREVIATIONS COUNTRIES INSTITUTES N INTERVIEWS FIELDWORK DATES POPULATION 15+ BE Belgium TNS Dimarso /10/ /11/ CZ Czech Rep. TNS Aisa /10/ /11/ DK Denmark TNS Gallup DK /10/ /11/ DE Germany TNS Infratest /10/ /11/ EE Estonia Emor /10/ /11/ EL Greece TNS ICAP /10/ /11/ ES Spain TNS Demoscopia /10/ /11/ FR France TNS Sofres /10/ /11/ IE Ireland TNS MRBI /10/ /11/ IT Italy TNS Abacus /10/ /11/ CY Rep. of Cyprus Synovate /10/ /11/ LV Latvia TNS Latvia /10/ /11/ LT Lithuania TNS Gallup Lithuania /10/ /11/ LU Luxembourg TNS ILReS /10/ /11/ HU Hungary TNS Hungary /10/ /11/ MT Malta MISCO /10/ /11/ NL Netherlands TNS NIPO /10/ /11/ AT Austria Österreichisches Gallup-Institute /10/ /11/ PL Poland TNS OBOP /10/ /11/ PT Portugal TNS EUROTESTE /10/ /11/ SI Slovenia RM PLUS /10/ /11/ SK Slovakia TNS AISA SK /10/ /11/ FI Finland TNS Gallup Oy /10/ /11/ SE Sweden TNS GALLUP /10/ /11/ UK United Kingdom TNS UK /10/ /11/ TOTAL /10/ /11/ For each country a comparison between the sample and the universe was carried out. The Universe description was derived from Eurostat population data or from national statistics offices. For all countries surveyed, a national weighting procedure, using marginal and intercellular weighting, was carried out based on this Universe description. In all countries, gender, age, region and size of locality were introduced in the iteration procedure. For international weighting (i.e. EU averages), TNS Opinion & Social applies the official population figures as provided by EUROSTAT or national statistic offices. The total population figures for input in this post-weighting procedure are listed above. Readers are reminded that survey results are estimations, the accuracy of which, everything being equal, rests upon the sample size and upon the observed percentage. With samples of about 1,000 interviews, the real percentages vary within the following confidence limits: Observed percentages 10% or 90% 20% or 80% 30% or 70% 40% or 60% 50% Confidence limits ± 1.9 points ± 2.5 points ± 2.7 points ± 3.0 points ± 3.1 points