European union agricultural subsidies, a very large part of the 42% of the EU budget which is devoted to agriculture, are becoming less agricultural. Agriculture is being interpreted to include "food" producers and even land owners.
Major subsidy payments have been made to Haribo, sweet manufacturer, Ligabue, a company supplying catering services to airlines and luxury liners, Tate & Lyle, sugar refiners, Arids Roma, in road making, and so on. In addition large payments are made to large landowners, including our Queen and the Catholic Church.
The research organsiation Farmsubsidy.org has been able to identify many of these from extra information provided by member governments which overcome the meagre and sketchy details supplied by the EU itself.
The EU is becoming a vast and complicated subsidy system, with subsidies continuing for national political reasons and with subsidies in some cases given to firms in competition with each other.
Sadly we have moved far away from the concept of a common market, whatever lip-service is paid to this when new regulations are imposed.
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