Strong budget, two pillars, market regulation and redistribution of aid 87 land prices, including speculative increases, on the one hand, and competition from large-scale nonagricultural occupations on the other. The CAP has proven to be unfair, unequal and bureaucratic Despite technological developments and advances in agricultural practices, at least partly attributable to the CAP, there remain significant inequalities in access to these developments, as well as a growing level of bureaucracy in accessing CAP support, with administrative and technical requirements that are not suited to the reality of agricultural production in our country, nor to its regional specificities. These major inequalities ultimately reflect the large discrepancies in the distribution of CAP aid, with large farms continuing to absorb most of the support, even for extensive areas without production. Meanwhile, the difficulties in accessing support for small and mediumsized farmers are worsening. Our governments insist on not taking advantage of the redistributive mechanisms provided for in the CAP, thus contributing decisively to greater injustice in its application. A fairerCAP,gearedtowardsthedignityof farmers and food sovereignty: a fundamental political choice Finally, the future of the CAP, its configuration and financing will be conditioned by the EU's political choices, particularly in view of global geopolitical and economic developments. Specifically, increased military spending, in a context of significant budgetary pressure on the EU and its Member States (MS), cannot fail to have, as it already is having, negative consequences on the financing and implementation of the CAP and other policies that are essential for farmers, ensuring dignity in their incomes and their lives. This is the key issue that should guide the agricultural policies of Portugal and the EU: the dignity of farmers and their incomes. This goes hand in hand with the vitality of rural areas, food sovereignty (seen as the right to quality food that reflects the choices of producers and consumers, as well as the production potential of Member States), and the economic, environmental and social sustainability of agriculture. The essential characteristics of this new CAP have long been identified and, as time goes by, they are becoming increasingly necessary and urgent. 2. Fundamental objectives and characteristics of a faire r CAP The founding objectives of the CAP remain relevant today. Even the objective of increasing agricultural production, whose loss of importance justified the abandonment of these founding objectives, has regained prominence in recent years, both at EU level as a whole and at Member State level, particularly in Portugal. Market regulationmust be a fundamental component of the new CAP Another objective that has been progressively abandoned, that of stabilising agricultural product prices at levels that are affordable for consumers, is now more necessary than ever. Market imbalances justify decisive intervention in the regulation of agri-food markets, ensuring stable and affordable prices for consumers and fair prices for producers, particularly small and mediumsized ones. This market regulation is now an essential part of EU agricultural policy. In particular, it prohibits the purchase of agri-food products below production costs. Without this regulation, the negative consequences identified above (abandonment, desertification, overintensification) will continue to worsen.
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