A preliminary agreement has been reached after 20 months of trilogue negotiations between EU Commission, Council of Ministers and European Parliament for a new organic regulation. The main outstanding issues, which delayed agreement for so long have either been settled or deferred. Here’s what this means. […]
A vote in the European Parliament this coming Wednesday 14th June will be crucial in deciding whether pesticides will be banned from Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). It is a simple majority vote by MEPs, and it is likely to be tight. Here we outline what you can do, make the case for keeping pesticides out of EFAs, and myth bust some common misconceptions on pesticides and EFAs. […]
MEPs on the Agriculture Committee (COMAGRI) have rejected a proposal by the EU Commission to ban pesticides from Ecological Focus Areas. The proposal was part of a simplification initiative by the EU Commission, whereby a bundle of 14 changes in CAP greening rules were put forward. […]
The CAP consultation is complete, and the results are in. So who participated, and how representative was the process? Here ARC2020 presents the top three key insights from the information available so far. […]
Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan appears to be sticking to his guns on the banning of pesticides in Ecological Focus Areas, despite the opposition of 18 EU Member States. So what’s next? […]
Having announced its intention to try to approve The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement – CETA – with Canada today, 5th July, the Commission has back tracked. Approval will now be sought from Member States’ national parliaments, though there are still caveats and concerns for campaigners. […]
Following a long and fractious process, it appears the herbicide glyphosate will have its approval extended for 18 months, pending another agencies’ assessment. […]
The European Commission “should not renew the approval of the herbicide substance glyphosate on the EU market.” That’s according to the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, which objects to the Commission’s plans to approve the controversial substance in June of this year, for a further 15 years. […]
A national experts’ vote on the European Commission’s plan to grant a new 15-year lease to the herbicide glyphosate was cancelled today (Tuesday) as several countries raised concerns over cancer warnings by the World Health Organisation. […]
Europe’s strongest economy is seeing its farming sector decimated. At an incredibly rapid rate, both the number of farmers and the income of those left farming is nose diving. Why is this happening and what can – or will – be done? […]
plummeting prices despite the all the signals and scientific evidence have made the Commissioner’s position untenable, the EMB claim. […]
20% the number of inspections and even more adjustment to the lighter shade of pale that is greening. Simplification Hogan style. […]
UPDATED 17/09/2015 at 12.42 CET (with US Chamber of Commerce information in final paragraph) Critics have rounded on yet another fudge by the EU Commission on the highly controversial ISDS – Investor State Dispute Settlement – element of TTIP – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Today at midday, the Commission announced “a new Investment Court System which would replace the ISDS mechanism in all on-going and future EU investment negotiations.” It “has approved its proposal for a new and transparent system for resolving disputes between investors and states – the Investment Court System. This new system would replace the existing investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism in all ongoing and future EU investment negotiations, including the EU-US talks on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).” The Commission’s First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said “With our proposals for a new Investment Court System, we are breaking new ground. The new Investment Court System will be composed of fully qualified judges, proceedings will be transparent, and cases will be decided on the basis of clear rules. With this new […]
Commission announces contentious €500m aid package for dairy, pork ARC2020 […]
Translated from French exclusively for ARC2020 by Samel Feret and Peter Crosskey. Part one outlines the milk crisis and the Commission’s responsibility in same; part two, here, suggests solutions. #MilkCrisis […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention