The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) has combed through the manifestoes of the main groups in the European Parliament to weed out the empty promises and scrutinize the proposals. First up in the series is the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). So how did ALDE do on agricultural policy? […]
The Agriculture Committee in the European Parliament voted today by 27 votes to 17 (with one abstention) to agree its position on the CAP strategic plan. This votes represents a significant weakening of the environmental ambition of the CAP reform process, and little progress on fairness in agri and rural supports. However the next Parliament will have the option to reject this and start anew. […]
A new report published by Nyeleni Europe, a network of European grassroots civil society organisations campaigning for food sovereignty, and Central Asia Platform for Food Sovereignty, calls for a Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) that explicitly supports small-scale sustainable producers and promotes a re-localisation of food supply-chains. […]
In part one of this two part series, we outlined the background to the current CAP reform process thus far. Below, Sebastian Lakner unpacks where the different actors are at now, before a significant vote in the Agriculture Committee on the 2nd April (agenda here) (meeting documents here) […]
Here we present part one of two articles by Sebastian Lakner on the background and current developments in the CAP reform process. […]
Business as usual in agriculture will see no more than a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – but there are other approaches. The most ambitious of these could see up to an 81% reduction –with targets and taxes – an IEEP report finds. […]
CAP has had a massive influence on British agriculture. No other industry will have been so greatly impacted by the United Kingdom’s EU membership, and no other industry will be as affected as Britain leaves the European Union. Leaving the EU now offers the UK the opportunity to create a new food and farming policy. […]
New research into the resilience of CAP and national agricultural policies have found a bias ‘stabilising the status quo’ rather than encouraging farming to adapt to the myriad of challenges it faces. […]
Kieran Sullivan, our Man in Muddy Boots, is keen to regenerate the soil on his sheep farm in Ireland. Here he reports on his journey to understanding the soil and implementing some measures to improve soil health. This is no small feat, he finds out. […]
Some countries in Europe do a better job at bringing younger people into farming. So what techniques work – and don’t work – in an aging industry? With Hans Wetzels. […]
The Environment Committee (ENVI) voted on the 14th February on CAP proposals (Strategic Plans). With the Agriculture Committee voting in the coming weeks, before a full Parliament plenary, what were the key areas ENVI emphasised? […]
The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) analysed the CAP’s new plan to increase environmental action and found it falls short on the ambition and finance needed to shift EU agriculture towards a sustainable future. […]
As a major agricultural nation in the east, Poland has a significant interest in how CAP will unfold in the current reform process. We have commissioned journalist Hans Wetzels to get to grips with CAP and Poland. Here we introduce part four, which focuses on smaller producers and how they cope with (or without) CAP supports. […]
Today (14th February) a vote was held in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. For the first time, the Environment Committee (ENVI) had some shared powers (‘competencies’) with the Agriculture committee (AGRI). Voting to dedicate E15 billion in cash for biodiversity, while also moving it away from intensive ‘factory’ farms are two of the main takeaways. Its not over yet, however, as more votes will take place. […]
As a major agricultural nation in the east, Poland has a significant interest in how CAP will unfold in the current reform process. While not all regions or sectors are the same in this large country, there are some common considerations. Hans Wetzels to get to grips with CAP and Poland, in particular how Polish farmers and Polish policy makers will adapt to likely changes, including a lower overall CAP budget, greater environmental focus and the new delivery model. Part 3. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention