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Upland Farmers Face Harsh Realities in Post-Brexit England | Part 1

September 6, 2023 Marianne Landzettel

In July 2023, Marianne Landzettel travelled to Northumberland, England to meet and interview four farm families. The resulting story portrays the difficulties upland farmers face as they navigate compounding crises. The phasing out of EU direct payments and their replacement with a system based on ‘public money for public goods’, combine with high input costs, extreme weather events, and increased market competition to threaten farm futures. […]

Rural Resilience | Diary from the Ground – Summer 2023

September 1, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

In phase 2 of the Rural Resilience project we pledged to explore new territories. Over the summer, we set out in search of experiments in resilience in the four corners of France. Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne reports. […]

The True Toll of Pesticides on Rural Health – Pesticides Analysis Part 2

August 8, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

The human and financial cost of exposure to pesticides in rural areas remains largely hidden from the spotlight. In France, Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne, of the Rural Resilience project analyses the risks and cost – part 2 of 2. […]

Beyond the Harvest: Health Effects of Pesticides on French Farmers

July 26, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

The SUR still proposes at least another thirty years of coexistence with pesticides, as its objective is the phasing out pesticides by 2050. Can we afford to wait another three decades? No, say those who advocate for an 80% reduction by 2030 (rather than 50%).
This article is based on accumulated knowledge of the impact of pesticides on health, distinguishing two types of exposed populations: farmers and other professional pesticide users (Part 1). […]

European Parliament Adopts a Weakened Nature Restoration Law – next step Trilogue

July 12, 2023 Oliver Moore

The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) has survived the European Parliament’s Plenary vote today, Though the Parliament adopted a significantly weaker NRL, the Council’s position is more environmental ambitious – and the Council tends to have the upper hand in these negotiations. This augers well for the NRL coming into force. […]

Commission Releases Slew of Agri-Food Documents before Summer – here’s what you need to know.

July 10, 2023 Oliver Moore

School’s out for summer – and soon, the Brussels bubble will check out too. But not before a slew of new and updated regulations and legislations, impact assessments and more, all have their moment in the sun. Soil, seeds and NGTs, food waste, pesticides and of course the nature restoration law – it’s all coming thick and fast in these heady days. Oliver Moore and Ashley Parsons guide you through the brimming lunchboxes of the Brussels bureaucrats in these final days before summer break. […]

Rural Resilience | Diary from the Ground – Spring 2023

July 7, 2023 ARC

In the first few months of the year, the Rural Resilience project has been busy attending events to maintain ties with existing partners and grow new connections, around issues making sense on both sides of the Rhine. Through the lens of multi-tiered rural policies, we are working with actors in territories across Europe to bring forward reality-based proposals, rooted in actions that are already underway on the ground. Here’s a quick overview of where we’ve been and who we’ve met. […]

ENVI Committee Votes Down Nature Restoration Law Report – what happened and what’s next?

June 27, 2023 ARC

Today, the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety (ENVI) finished voting on amendments to the Nature Restoration Law. No majority was found for the law as amended, as the vote was once again split 44-44. So what happened and what’s next? […]

Op-ed | The Bizarre Concept of “Non-Productive Trees”

June 26, 2023 Gerry Lawson

Ahead of tomorrow’s vote on the Nature Restoration Law at the Environment Committee in the European Parliament, the European Agroforestry Federation (EURAF) is calling for amendments to the proposal. In this exclusive Op-Ed for ARC, Gerry Lawson flags the proposal’s confusing choice of terminology which, he argues, fails to reflect the complex role of trees on farmland. […]

Big Step Forward for Nature Restoration Law – Council of Ministers Agrees its Position

June 21, 2023 ARC

The Nature Restoration Law took a step forward this week, with environment ministers from around Europe coming together to adopt an agreed position. 20 member states, representing over 2/3 of the EU’s population, voted to accept the file presented to them. This qualified majority means the Council now has a position for trilogue. So what happened and what’s next? […]

Draft new GMO Regulation: Key elements and First Reactions

June 19, 2023 Mathieu Willard

Last week, we unveiled the draft regulation on NGTs (New Genomic Techniques) by the European Commission. What is being proposed exactly? And what are the first reactions? Let’s delve into a brief overview. […]

Nature Restoration Law avoids rejection in Parliament’s Environment Committee – what’s next?

June 15, 2023 ARC

The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) continues its perilous path towards enactment, surviving the first major hurdle at the Environment Committee in the European Parliament on the morning of today, Thursday 15th June. So what happened, and what’s next? […]

Nature Restoration Law | No, 10% of land will NOT be abandoned under NRL

June 11, 2023 Oliver Moore

Good news! The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) won’t, can’t and couldn’t cause the abandonment of 10% of Europe’s perfectly good farmland. This is important to know in advance of the vote on the 15th in the European Parliament’s Environment Committee. If this committee doesn’t pass the compromise NRL text, its likely over. So if you are contacting MEPs on the ENVI Committee – or if indeed you are one of those 88 MEPs – rest assured. These is no land abandonment in the NRL. Explainer by Oliver Moore. […]

Rewetting Survives, Natura 2000 areas ringfenced in Environment Committee Text

June 8, 2023 ARC

The Environment Committee’s compromise text on the Nature Restoration Law sees few significant changes to the main targets, including in the contentious area of rewetting organic soils. Other relevant restoration actions are however more restricted to Nature 2000 sites than in the Commission proposal. Oliver Moore reports. […]

Nature Restoration Law News – Environment Committee Edging Towards Deal as EPP walks out

May 31, 2023 ARC

The main groups in the Environmental Committee have reached an agreement text on the Nature Restoration Law late this evening: “This evening the ENVI shadow rapporteurs of the Nature Restoration Law arrived at a package deal, which will be brought to the vote in the ENVI committee on 15th June” a short joint statement reads. […]