Family farms or agribusiness? German MEPs in the spotlight

German ARC2020 member, Meine Landwirtschaft, has launched a new action called ‘EU-Abgeordneten-Check’ (MEP Check). The initiative aims to monitor, investigate and clarify the positions of all German MEPs regarding the CAP reform. In particular it wants to uncover whether MEPs are supporting family farms or agribusiness. In the coming months, Meine Landwirtschaft, along with help from its regional allies, hopes to visit all of the 99 German politicians whose mandate it is to represent the interests of German voters at the EU level.

Last Friday 16th November, Bavarian MEPs from all parties were invited to a public debate in the town of Neumarkt. Members of the Bavarian Agricultural Alliance, Agrarbündnis Bayern, urged the Bavarian MEPs to clearly present their position on the forthcoming EU agricultural reform. The invitation was only accepted by Ismail Ertug – MEP of the Socialist Party (SPD). The MEP announced his continued support for the preservation of rural agriculture and rural areas, and against industrial agriculture. The SPD politician also called for coupling EU payments to ecological criteria, and demanded greater international responsibility within the EU policy.

Albert Dess, the Christian-Democrat MEP for Neumarkt did not participate in the event, this even though it took place in his very constituency. This is surprising given his role in the CAP reform process: In 2011, Dess drafted the European Parliament own-initiative report in response to the Commission’s initial proposals on future CAP .

For more information on the initiative see (in German)

http://www.meine-landwirtschaft.de/aktionen/eu-abgeordneten-check.html

For more about the event in Neumarkt see (in German)

http://www.meine-landwirtschaft.de/aktuell/nachrichten/news/de/26690.html