The EU Subsidy Policy Cannot Prevent the Market Exit of Especially Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Abstract

The current European agricultural subsidy policy cannot prevent the market displacement of small and medium-sized enterprises in favor of large enterprises in the long term. In this context, the EU risks missing the key objectives of the European common agricultural policy—CAP for short—(ensuring product diversity and product quality, income support and job retention for farmers, price stability for agricultural products) and self-set targets on climate change, soil and water protection, biodiversity protection and global equity goals through the sustainable use of resources and fair foreign trade. Furthermore, the EU runs the risk of neglecting the formation of a broad social consensus on the future direction of European agriculture.