• Likewise, 81% of European citizens believe that the CAP guarantees a stable supply of food in the European Union, while 92% believe that agriculture and rural areas are important for the future of the continent.
• This is the first time since 2007 that the level of awareness towards the CAP is at such high levels.

The Eurobarometer is a survey instrument used by the European Commission , the European Parliament , and other institutions and agencies of the European Union (EU) to regularly monitor the state of public opinion in Europe on EU-related issues. The Eurobarometer provides relevant, high-quality data to public opinion experts, researchers, the media, and the general public. The project was launched in 1974 and was conceived as a means of “discovering Europeans in their own eyes.”

About the Europeans, agriculture and the CAP speaks the latest Eurobarometer carried out in January 2025, making this the 8th survey on this subject carried out by Europe.

It follows that European citizens' knowledge of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has increased considerably, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Thus, 78% of EU respondents say they have heard about the support the EU offers to farmers through the CAP. This is the highest level of awareness of the CAP since 2007 (when it stood at 43%).

Likewise, 92% believe that agriculture and rural areas are important for our future. 77% agree that the EU, through the CAP, is fulfilling its role of ensuring a stable food supply in the EU at all times, and 71% agree that the EU is fulfilling its role of providing safe, healthy, and sustainable high-quality food.

Questions and Answers

These are the questions posed by the Eurobarometer, which received the following responses across Europe as a whole, as well as in the specific case of Spain:

Q1. Have you ever heard of the support the EU offers to farmers through its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)? 78% of respondents across the 27 EU countries say they have heard of the Common Agricultural Policy. In the case of Spain, 82% are aware of it.

Q2. Do you think that agriculture and rural areas are areas of the future in the EU? 92% say that agriculture and rural areas are important for our future in the EU.

Q3. To what extent do you think the EU, through the CAP, is fulfilling its role in:

• Ensure a stable food supply: 77%
• Ensuring a reliable and healthy food supply: 71%

Q5. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Does the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) benefit all European citizens and not just farmers? Seven out of ten European citizens agree that the CAP benefits all European citizens and not just farmers. In the case of Spaniards, 69% agree with this statement.

Q6. The EU provides financial support to farmers, among other things, to help stabilize their incomes. This support represents around 30% of the total EU budget. Do you think this support is too low, adequate, or too high? 56% of EU citizens think the level of EU financial support to farmers to help them stabilize their incomes is adequate. 27% consider this level too low, and 9% believe it is too high. In Spain, 85% agree that 30% of the European budget should be allocated to the agricultural sector.

Context

This is the eighth Eurobarometer survey on "Europeans, Agriculture and the CAP" in its history. It was conducted in all 27 EU Member States between 13 June and 8 July 2024. A total of 26,349 respondents came from different social and demographic groups and were interviewed in their native language.