The European Parliament has officially backed plans to fast-track changes to the EU’s farming subsidy programme which dismantles its environmental requirements in the process. However civil society is not ready to let the decision go down without a fight, with lawyers gearing up to challenge the move. Natasha Foote reports. […]
Under pressure from farmer protests, upcoming elections and its own cowardice in the face of climate and biodiversity collapse, the political establishment in Brussels and beyond is fast-tracking the evisceration of CAP’s environmental elements. This rush job began on 15th March with a proposal from the Commission, and will likely end Thursday 25th when the last full plenary of the Parliament rubber stamps the proposed regulation. The latest piece of sequencing was confidential legal advice given to the European Parliament on the process. In part one Natasha Foote outlined the proposal and the legal advice. Here Oliver Moore applies a critical analysis to shortcomings therein. […]
When the Commission proposed re-opening the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy in efforts to placate protesting farmers, stakeholders were quick to question the legitimacy of the process, with some even labelling the move “unlawful”. Now, the European Parliament’s legal service has weighed in on the process. So what is the verdict? And what does it mean for the future direction of the policy process? Natasha Foote digs in. […]
The European Parliament has given its blessing to a fast-track approval process to push through a proposal aimed at simplifying the EU’s farming subsidy programme, which effectively guts the policy of its environmental requirements. Natasha Foote reports. […]
The EU’s Nature Restoration Law has suffered yet another set back after a number of EU countries refused to greenlight the final shape of the negotiated law – something that both the Commission and campaign groups warn risks undermining the EU’s international credibility. Natasha Foote reports. […]
The European Commission has officially put forward plans to slash environmental measures in the EU’s farming subsidy programme and offer up more power to member states in deciding the future course of the policy. Natasha Foote reports. […]
Further exemptions to environmental measures, slashing on-farm checks and a get-out-of-jail free card for farmers that miss requirements due to exceptional circumstances. These these just some of the suggestions put forward by the Commission as part of efforts to lighten the administrative load on farmers. […]
The self-proclaimed ‘farmers party’ failed to mention the farming sector once while officially firing the election gun in Brussels on Wednesday (21 February). That’s despite the centre-right EPP’s efforts to position itself as the friend of farmers in the run up to June’s EU elections. […]
If there’s one thing that’s clear from the past few weeks, it’s that many EU farmers are reaching breaking point. But what exactly has driven them to the brink and to the streets – and how has Brussels responded? Natasha Foote breaks down what you need to know on the farmers’ protests. […]
The European Commission has once again granted a temporary exemption to environmental requirements in the EU farming subsidies programme for 2024 in efforts to appease EU farmers, despite acknowledging the EU executive does not yet have a clear picture of the impact of the previous derogations. Natasha Foote reports […]
The project CAP Strategic Plans co-organised by ARC2020 with the Good Food Good Farming network is now completing its fourth year since its launch in 2020. 2023 can be seen as the end of a policy reform cycle and beginning of a new one for the Common Agricultural Policy, aka CAP. Just recently, the Commission published its main takeaways and conclusions on the joint effort and collective ambition of the CAP Strategic Plans 2023-2027 (CSPs). Read our report. […]
The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) took a massive step forward in the evening of the 9th November, with the conclusion of inter-institutional negotiations. The adopted position, which still has some hurdles to surmount, is certainly less ambitious than the Commission’s initial proposal. While all ecosystems are in, the NRL largely adopts the Council’s flexible position, while some weaking of targets accommodates the Parliament’s position. Oliver Moore has an initial report. […]
After years working towards clinching a free trade deal between Australia and the EU, talks went ‘down under’ on Sunday (29 October) in Osaka after the two sides beefed over market access for agricultural products. So what happened – what’s the beef between these two? – and what does the UK have to do with the dramatic turn of events? Natasha Foote reports […]
As has become very familiar in recent months, another opportunity to better integrate CAP and the pledges of the European Green Deal is being missed. Instead of watering down the ambition, this time the mainstream political establishment simply postponed or abandoned DG SANTE’s law proposal for a European Framework for Sustainable Food Systems. Yet, there are many ways the CAP or the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas could accompany and bridge with the upcoming SFS. […]
Are subsidies provided to farmers in the EU generating deforestation in Brazil? Or the decline of pastoral communities in Sahel? In this article, we shed light on the CAP’s implications beyond the EU, focusing on its influence on the global trade of soya and milk products and examining its implications for local populations. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention