It's Europe Day!

Today, the 9th of May, is Europe Day and a chance to celebrate all things European, and I suppose one of the better outcomes of the recent election is the decline in the support of UKIP and the BNP, both avowedly anti-European.

In spite of the current crisis in the Eurozone, the European project is still on track and still delivering substantial benefits for all 27 member states. However, there are challenges ahead and this is how they are summarised in a recent European Commission document:

"Global competition is intensifying, providing both an opportunity and a test. Knowledge and innovation are becoming more and more central to commercial success. An ageing population requires society to adapt. The limits to the supply of essential resources, like energy, are clearer than ever. And climate change threatens future generations with the spectre of huge damage to our environment, our livlihoods and our stability. Sustainable development requires the EU to chart the right path forward."

I would argue that it is not only energy security that is a challenge, but food security also and I note that it was the Green Party that made this point in its election literature. Here in Powys, we are well placed to become self-sufficient in food and even become a net food exporter, however this can only be achieved through a thorough overhaul of the Common Agricultural Policy. Our elected politicians in Powys, Wales and the UK need to put far greater effort into making the European Union work for us and in Powys this means a better deal for agriculture so that food miles are reduced and farm incomes increased. of course farmers need to cotinue to diversify, but they also need to concentrate on their core business - the production of food.

As consumers we can help this process by monitoring the supermarkets, finding out where their food comes from and challenging the supermarkets to obtain their produce locally wherever possible. If ideas of localism are to be translated into action then we need to stimulate demand for locally-produced food products.

Localism also includes supporting local retail outlets regardless of what they sell. Over a year ago I, on behalf of the Spa Town Trust, initiated the Buy Local campaign in Llandrindod and I had hoped that local traders would take the idea forward. However, they have been content simply to display the poster that the Spa Town Trust provided for them. It's going to take more than that to counter the influence of the supermarkets. The coming of Tesco may help to stem the retail leakage to other areas, but that alone will not be enough to preserve our high street shops. We need to both increase the variety and quality of the local retail offer and continue to persuade local residents to support our local businesses. As consumers we can help make a difference, let's do it, let's make a concentrated to buy local whenever we can and thereby help to make our communities really sustainable.