EU 농업구조 변화와 농정개혁 연구

Abstract

1992년 이래 유럽연합(EU)의 농업구조와 농업정책은 빠른 변화를 겪어왔다. 특히 2004년과 2007년 두 번에 나눠 12개국이 새롭게 회원국으로 참여함으로써 EU는 27개국으로 구성된 거대 경제 공동체로 성장하였다. 다양한 형태의 농업경영을 유지하면서 사회의 수요에 부응하는 산업으로 끊임없이 변모하고 있는 것이다. 신규 회원국의 확대뿐만 아니라 무역자유화의 촉진, 농업 예산의 압박, 환경보존과 식품안전에 관한 요구 증대 등 대내외적 여건 변화와 위기의식은 농업과 농정에 커다란 도전과 함께 유럽형 농업을 한 단계 더 발전시키는 계기가 되었다. 보조가격 수준을 낮추면서 도입하였던 보상 직접지불을 생산과 연계되지 않은 농가 단위 직접지불로 전환시킴으로써 정책 효율을 높이는 한편 WTO 협상에 능동적으로 대응할 수 있도록 한 점은 시사하는 바가 크다. 또한, 농정을 시장 중심으로 전환하는 과정에서 간과될 수 있는 농업의 공공 서비스, 곧 다원적 기능은 다양한 농촌개발과 농업환경 조치를 확충함으로써 유지하도록 한 것도 우리가 주목해야 할 점이다. 이 연구 보고서는 세계 최대 농산물 교역국이자 가장 앞선 형태의 정책 수단을 도입하고 있는 EU 농업과 농정을 종합적으로 분석하고 그 경험을 통해 얻을 수 있는 시사점과 교훈을 담고 있다.

The European Union (EU) has experienced a steady change in farm structure and policies. The structural change is highlighted by enlargement of member countries in addition to production intensification and specialization in competitive areas, extensive farming in disadvantageous areas, and polarization in farm sizes. The driving forces behind this change include substitution of capital for labor, a rising demand for large-scale operation and extra income creation, the farm support system's bias toward large farms, and trade liberalization. A series of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms have geared means to enhance market orientation and efficiency while addressing multi-functional roles of agricultural activities embedded in the concept of the European Model of Agriculture. The introduction of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) as decoupled income support and reinforced rural development measures including modulation shed light on the policy direction. The 2003 CAP reform is forecast to bring about minor effects on production. Cereal and beef production is expected to fall by 0.6 percent and 2 percent by 2010, respectively. Decoupled payments are likely to continue to press for the restructuring of unprofitable farms, but such structural adjustment would be limited by favorable provision of agricultural tax systems. The regressive distribution of direct payments could be persistent, because the SPS is based on previous payments linked to production. The lessons and implications from the EU's experience can be summarized as follows: First, structural changes are a demanding and on-going process even in a stabilized farm sector, responding to rapidly changing environments. Second, the necessary conditions for a successful policy reform are expansion of policy community (consisting of consumers, the environment, food safety, and sustainable rural development), extension of policy areas, well-defined accountability, and inevitable crisis. Third, a Korean model of agriculture must be established with a policy vision recognizing agricultural multifunctionality. Fourth, the objectives and paths of policy reform must be explicitly provided in advance. Fifth, policy reforms must be accompanied by objective and transparent compensation mechanisms. Finally, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness, policy measures must be time-limited and the extension of same measures must be based on a proper evaluation and assessment.

Researchers: Lim, Song-Soo and Berkeley Hill E-mail address: songsoo@krei.re.kr