The poorest consumers have the same right to product safety as other people. The requests of consumers Even though Agenda 2000 is on the right track, the criticisms that consumers have been making for years remain valid. An agricultural policy based on a system of price support is highly contested by consumers. This concept of price support must therefore be re-examined as part of a reform. As a result of the policy of price support, quotas for limiting production were introduced.
Consumers call for the abolition of the quotas.
For example, it is unacceptable to wait until the year 2006 to re-examine milk quotas, as measures need to be taken before then. Consumers are in favour of a reduction in direct price support but want to share in the benefits of such a move. They would like to see every effort being made to ensure that consumer prices really reflect the fall in production prices. The questions put to the Commission on the impact of the reform on the CAP budget, for example, remain unanswered. Consumers take the view that if the level of intervention prices falls, this should gradually reduce the CAP budget.