Before the summer break, Brussels and beyond is still bustling. This round-up includes an open letter addressing the drop in numbers of EU farmers, the July 18th AGRIFISH council, and your friendly reporter’s favorite subject: pesticide regulation. By Ashley Parsons […]
In two letters obtained by ARC2020, the Environment and Climate wings of the European Commission (DG ENV and DG CLIMA) point to an almost complete lack of effort by the national capitals to integrate any improvements suggested in the Commission’s observation letters. […]
Crop rotations and space for nature are again under threat, as pressure mounts on basic conditionality in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Under the pretext of the impact of the War in Ukraine, it has emerged that the European Commission and 16 member states are prepared to allow such exemptions from the basic environmental standards to be continued for beyond the initial 12 months proposed. […]
In a context of war and spiking food prices, a series of observation letters, meetings, and negotiations between the Commission and Member States are shaping the future national CAP Strategic Plans. Are these negotiations going to make any changes that matter? Here is our analysis. […]
Here you’ll find the Observation Letter to Wallonia’s CAP Strategic Plan which ARC2020 has obtained. In no less than 210 points, the Commission exposes a lack of strategy towards healthy, sustainable and economically viable food systems for farmers, as well as incompatibilities and serious shortcomings in the measures proposed to deal with the climate and environmental crises. The Walloon government must review its copy by September 30th and obtain validation from the Commission so that the plan can enter into force on January 1st 2023. […]
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has sparked a debate on food security in Europe. Here, we set things straight on the derogation to allow production on fallow land, analyse the state of grain production and use as feed in Europe and reflect on what it entails for the future of the livestock sector. […]
On June 7 ARC2020 and Forum Synergies launch a new book titled “Rural Europe Takes Action – No more business as usual” which reveals the power of European civil society and the collective intelligence and imagination of numerous rural experts, policy makers and practitioners. The book includes an ‘Unwritten Regulation on an Integrated European Rural, Agricultural and Food Policy’ as an alternative to continue or replace the CAP by 2028. Hannes Lorenzen explains why it’s high time for a new integrated policy framework for rural territories and their people. […]
Why is it so important to open the farm gates to the community? Vegetable grower Vincent explains how he and his colleagues want their market garden, to be a site of coming together as well as a site of production. Vincent also opens up about the challenges of labour – for him as an unlikely ‘boss’, and for the workers who must be incredibly motivated to overcome the tough working conditions. Part 2 of a conversation with Valérie Geslin. […]
For a year, a process to generate feedback from European citizens on how Europe should change, develop and unfold has been underway. This Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), launched in the spring of 2021, aimed to provide future guidance, while calling on the EU institutions and national parliaments to take action. […]
Trade liberalisation enforced by the WTO, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and several bilateral trade agreements largely contributed to the current economic instability in agriculture, but also to the climate and biodiversity crises. Family farmers in the EU and the Global South face unstable low prices and lose access to their land because of priority to export-led production. […]
Why has the CAP been historically problematic for farmers’ economic sustainability, biodiversity and the environment, in the EU and the Global South? We explore historical choices regarding trade and CAP that led our agriculture towards liberalisation, highlight the consequences and propose some changes that could start a shift away from a market-oriented agriculture […]
Vincent, Julie and their three employees run a small market garden in North-West France. Producing 45 vegetables, the team at La Ferme de Pitoué has learnt over the years the limits of diversification. In their garden, over coffee in the sunshine and a chorus of birdsong, Vincent tells us how they manage to stay true to their values on the farm. Part 1 of a conversation with Valérie Geslin. […]
The Society for Territorial and Environmental Prosperity (STEP) believes that Bulgaria’s CAP Strategic Plan must be corrected in order to be in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, the EU’s Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategy. In this article, it highlights essential changes to be made, from targets and monitoring to measuring coherence and consistency. […]
Changes in the CAP strategic Plan submitted by Ireland are “required”. In the Observation Letter sent to Ireland – which you can download below – there are a number of areas the European Commission has called for changes in. The overall green architecture itself, including eco-schemes especially, needs work, if Ireland is to achieve its environmental targets. There is a distinct lack of ambition, scoring, and incentives for stronger environmental practices. Increasing dairy herd numbers is named directly as making the necessary changes more difficult. That the letter’s language is strident in places is noteworthy. So what is the Commission asking for? And what comes next? Oliver Moore reports. […]
On March 31st, all 19 Member States that submitted their CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) by the 1st January deadline received their awaited Observation Letters (OLs). In this article we discuss the implications of the Commission backtracking on a transparent process and explore the content of OLs that have been partially released. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention