The European Commission has been quietly weighing up options to radically overhaul its budget. This could see all of its 500+ biggest money pots merged into one mega money pot, divided out based on plans put together by EU countries. If approved, the move could prove seismic for European regions, farmers and rural areas – here ARC2020 maps out why. […]
CAP 2023-2027 is greener than the previous CAP – but plans “do not match the EU’s ambitions for the climate and the environment”. That’s according to the ECA – the European Court of Auditors – which released it’s special report Monday 30th September. So what’s in it? Oliver Moore delves in for an initial read. […]
While all eyes this week have been on the nomination of the new crop of Commissioners, there have been plenty of other developments worth watching in Brussels this week. From the EU’s watchdog questioning the Commission over the hasty dismantling of the EU’s green farming measures, to NGOs being ignored for a key direction-setting report on the future of EU policy, ARC2020 brings you up to speed with all you need to know. […]
There’s a lot of new faces in new places this week in Brussels as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has finally revealed her picks and priorities for her new team of Commissioners over this next 5 year political cycle. So who will be the ones shaping the future of the agrifood sector in the years to come? Natasha Foote outlines all the main players likely to feature in the agrifood policy game to come over the next few years. […]
The EU’s recent decision to tax Russian cereals over Ukrainian ones, and the maintenance of solidary lanes with Ukraine despite protests, highlights the relationship between policy and geopolitical tensions. So where next for the CAP? Frederic Courleux argues that CAP must evolve from its neoliberal framework to prioritize food security, economic stability, as well as agro-ecological sustainability. This transition includes securing trade through government-to-government agreements, fostering food stockpiling for inflation control, and integrating food aid into agricultural policies. […]
The EU strategic dialogue on agriculture has finally spoken – and plenty has emerged. After 7 months of talks, this group of agrifood stakeholders presented a hefty 100+ page document including recommendations for the future shape of the agrifood sector to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday (4 September). The group hopes to steer her upcoming Vision for Agriculture and Food, and policies over the course of the next 5-year political cycle more widely. So what are the key takeaways? And what’s next? ARC’s Natasha Foote highlights the key headlines and ideas. […]
The last few months have been a rollercoaster ride for the EU’s farming subsidy programme, which has seen its green ambitions sacrificed on the altar of food security and politics. As this mandate comes to a close, ARC has put together a re-CAP for you with all the twists and turns in the Common Agricultural Policy over the past few years – and what’s next for the policy. […]
This week saw an unsuccessful last-ditch attempt to push the EU’s proposal to loosen rules on gene editing over the finish line, leaving the plans on ice. Meanwhile, it’s all been Politics with a capital P as Belgium prepares to hand the presidency over to Hungary, while leaders jostle for Brussels’ top jobs and considerations start on redrawing the lines of the European Parliament’s committees – a shake up which could have big impacts on the way agriculture files are handled. Natasha Foote and Oliver Moore bring you the latest from Brussels. […]
In the report that accompanies this article, CONCITO analyses the implementation of the 2023-27 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform after its first year of implementation, using Denmark as a case study. The focus lies on examining the new components of the reform, namely the New Delivery Model (NDM), the enhanced conditionality, and the eco-schemes, and their contribution towards both the European Union (EU) and national objectives concerning climate, biodiversity, and the environment. Recommendations are also made for improved delivery. […]
The German Farmers’ Association (Deutscher Bauernverband) promises nature conservation, but acts against it. Jost Maurin (Die Tageszeitung, taz) makes the case that this trajectory could serve as a warning for the EU Strategic Dialogue, in which environmental and farmers’ associations are to develop a vision for the future of agriculture. […]
Wouter van de Klippe delves into the recent farmer’s protests, and assesses the role both the agri-lobby Copa-Cogeca, and the Common Agricultural Policy itself, have played. Van de Klippe argues that behind Europe’s farmers protests lie decades of policy failures and a lobby determined to steer the conversation. […]
There have been massive protests by farmers in many European countries in recent months. Depending on the country, different agricultural policy issues have played a role. Hannes Lorenzen, President of ARC2020, on the state and prospects of EU agricultural policy. This interview originally appeared in the German magazine “Unabhängige Bauernstimme”. […]
For months, we have been hearing about the bureaucratic burden that has been pushing EU farmers to the brink. Now, the preliminary results of a Commission survey designed to unpack this are in – so does this administrative load turn out to be heavy enough to justify the hasty re-opening of the EU’s farming subsidy programme? Natasha Foote digs in. […]
Oliver Moore rounds up the state of play as the mandate of the EU institutions completes. Its not been a good finish, but there are amazing things happening on the ground. It is from here – from the ground up – that we must build better policy. […]
The ongoing farmer protests are the longest and most impactful of all the farmer protests in the history of the European Union and have led to dangerous changes in EU environmental policy and triggered a new rise of far-right political groups across the EU. In this interview, Natalia Mamonova talks about the limits of neoliberalism, the current state of farmer protests, changes in EU policy and the alarming forecast for the upcoming EU parliamentary elections in June. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention