Updates from the EU Commission, Council and Parliament
Who’s got the power in the food system? A process is in motion to better understand and potentially change power relations and unfair trading practices in the production, distribution and consumption of food in the EU.You can contribute. For more, read on… […]
Progress towards a CAP Communication is ongoing, with two events recently. These have updated Minister and other stakeholders of the progress towards a making changes in the Common Agricultural Policy – CAP. They have also providing an opportunity to test the popularity of ideas and make the case for sector positions. Here’s our July CAP roundup. […]
Progress is being made towards land access – and against land concentration – in the EU, with a consultation by the Finance Directorate General.You can read the DG FISMA consultation document and submit your own feedback. Closing date for submissions is very soon – the 7th July. […]
A preliminary agreement has been reached after 20 months of trilogue negotiations between EU Commission, Council of Ministers and European Parliament for a new organic regulation. The main outstanding issues, which delayed agreement for so long have either been settled or deferred. Here’s what this means. […]
On Wednesday, the European Parliament agreed with the European Commission that agricultural land designated for the preservation of biodiversity must not be treated with pesticides. […]
A vote in the European Parliament this coming Wednesday 14th June will be crucial in deciding whether pesticides will be banned from Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). It is a simple majority vote by MEPs, and it is likely to be tight. Here we outline what you can do, make the case for keeping pesticides out of EFAs, and myth bust some common misconceptions on pesticides and EFAs. […]
MEPs on the Agriculture Committee (COMAGRI) have rejected a proposal by the EU Commission to ban pesticides from Ecological Focus Areas. The proposal was part of a simplification initiative by the EU Commission, whereby a bundle of 14 changes in CAP greening rules were put forward. […]
The European Rural Sustainability Gathering 2017 – social economy, cooperatives and grassroots initiatives in rural Greece – begins tomorrow. We’ll keep you updated during the event on social media – facebook and twitter – and with detailed, dedicated articles after the event. Here’s all you need to know for now. […]
A number of organisations made submissions to the CAP consultation, which closed last week. Here we outline three differing ones – one from public health, one from farming and one, which we devote more space to, from a platform bringing a number of organisations together in Germany. 1 Public Health Organisation (EPHA) The EPHA European Public Health Association point out that agriculture and health policies are not aligned, despite Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) mandates that “a high level of human health protection shall be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Union policies and activities.” Like many others, the organisation argues against land based payments and for more policy coherence. Specifically, they point to three key changes: Removing health-harmful subsidies Moving from hectare payments to performance incentives Fostering sustainable healthy diets The EPHA’s submission intro can be found HERE the full response can be found HERE and the annex HERE. 1 Farmer Organisation (EMB) The European Milk Board prioritised coordinated approach to price and market stability, as well as […]
The CAP consultation is complete, and the results are in. So who participated, and how representative was the process? Here ARC2020 presents the top three key insights from the information available so far. […]
A report provisionally adopted on 27th April by the European Parliament make a specific call on the EU Commission to fight land concentration. […]
Using a recent document by the Commission on Ecological Focus Areas – EFAs – this long read traces the story of The Common Agriculture Policy’s EFAs. EFAs are up for discussion and consideration once again, as current Commissioner Phil Hogan seems intent on banning pesticides from these areas. They may, after all, emerge as a way to protect biodiversity and the ecosystem and agri services nature provides. In four parts. […]
The momentum behind the European Citizens’ initiative (ECI) to Ban Glyphosate (#BanGlyphosate) brought the campaign all the way to the corridors of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in the EU quarter of Brussels Wednesday. Oliver Moore reports. […]
A European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) has recently been launched to call on European Commission to propose a ban on glyphosate-based herbicides, “exposure to which has been linked to cancer in humans, and has led to ecosystems degradation” according to the ECI organisers. You can follow the debate live tomorrow, which includes Oliver Moore of ARC2020, at 11.30 CEST – Brussels time). […]
Despite opposition from 18 EU Member States* a ban on pesticides from Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) remains a distinct possibility for 2017. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention