Month: February 2015

Latest from EU Member States

UK online-only basic payments deadline approaches…

February 8, 2015 Peter Crosskey

The UK parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee (EFRA) this week published its findings on the provision of rural broadband, warning that until there is completely reliable broadband coverage in the UK, “…there will be those who, through lack of online access, are disadvantaged through no fault of their own.” The committee heard that at present one in 10 CAP applicants either do not have a computer or do not use broadband. Last year, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) wrote to 18,000 farmers in England who would no longer qualify for Pillar I area-based support, leaving some 90,000 registrations that need to be completed by the May 15 deadline. With fewer than 100 days to go, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is reporting that just over 22,500 farm businesses have registered. This means that registration levels will need to top 700 farms/day to meet the deadline requirements. The union has been emailing and texting members to remind them of the need to register. The RPA has set up 50 help centres across England, where […]

Recent updates

–Road Map for Good Food – Good Farming and a living countryside

February 5, 2015 ARC

In 2010 ARC2020 launched a “Communication from Civil Society to the European Union Institutions on the Future of Agricultural and Rural Policy” which was elaborated over six months and adopted  by a broad alliance of civil society organisations and networks. The Communication was submitted to the European Commission, to the Council and the Parliament on the same day when the Commission published its first outline for a reform of the CAP. During the following debate and negotiations of the future of agricultural and rural policies ARC2020 has strongly advocated for a paradigm change in agriculture and food systems and for an economic, social and environmental renaissance of rural areas. ARC2020 has become a European Platform for a debate on the future of farming and food. Our #ARC2020 conference – Good Food, Good Farming and a living Countryside –  is an opportunity for renewing our civil society’s agenda for the coming five years. We offer a framework for a  ROAD MAP of goals and activities which ARC2020 and its partners could follow in the coming years, based on […]

Newsflash

ARC Newsflash – Special Edition 2015

February 1, 2015 ARC

View this email in your browser Report: 50,000 take to the streets of Berlin to say: We Are Fed Up!  This year’s  “Wir haben es satt!” (We are fed up!) march surpassed even last year’s record attendance, with 50,000 people marching through the streets of Berlin. Their aim? To say no to a broken industrialised globalised food system and yes to an alternative. Find our extended report here. Coming up: Good Food Good Farming Conference Brussels – 10 and 11th FEBRUARY 2015 GOOD FOOD, GOOD FARMING CONFERENCE Renewing civil society’s agenda towards sustainable food and agriculture and a living countryside Who? ARC 2020 platform, Friends of the Earth Europe and the organic movement IFOAM, in collaboration with the European Economic and Social Committee invite you to a conference on the future of farming and food, on fair trade and sustainable rural policies.  Why? This 1.5-days event brings together representatives from civil society, grassroots groups, researchers, national/regional authorities, policymakers and more to: 1. Assess the implementation of the reformed CAP 2014-2020, prospects of agricultural sustainability and of rural renaissance. 2. Identify milestones […]