It’s another day of farmers’ protests and debates over the future of agriculture in Europe.
From Spain to Bulgaria, farmers want to have their voices heard. Meanwhile, the European parliament is debating empowering farmers and rural communities.
Stay tuned for updates.
Manfred Weber, head of the centre-right European People’s party group, said in the European parliament today that agriculture is a policy area of its own.
Agriculture policy is also about the future of rural areas, and there are major challenges ahead of us, he stressed.
We as the EPP are in favour of biodiversity, water protection, animal welfare protection – we must tackle the challenges of our time head-on. But we cannot pursue ideological policies – we have to base our policies on arguments and expertise.
He added:
Farmers know that they can depend on us. We will be their advocate. We have fought hard. Yes we are in favour of biodiversity protection, yes we are in favour of protecting the environment, but together with farmers, not against them.
Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission executive vice-president, told MEPs this morning that while the agriculture sector has shown “remarkable resilience,” Europe “must ensure that our food system is also fit for the future.”
With the Green Deal we have already put in place an ambitious roadmap to lead us to that future. And yet the reality of climate change, biodiversity loss, growing resource scarcity, price shocks and an increasingly competitive global market is having a huge impact on the farming sector and rural communities.
We have seen from the farmers protesting on the streets of Europe that many of them feel trapped, that their needs are not being met.
So we must act to secure the future of the sector, and those who work within it, and those who benefit from it – namely, all of us.
He described the need for a “future where farming and nature go hand in hand in balance.”
Šefčovič acknowledged the polarisation and said it’s imperative to bring all stakeholders together to define a common vision.
Our farmers deserve to make a decent living. And that will only happen if we work together to achieve our climate and biodiversity goals.
Hadja Lahbib, the Belgian foreign minister told the European parliament this morning that “the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU has taken note on the measures announced by the Commission to respond to the demand of our farmers.”
“We have put the item on the agenda of the next meeting of the Agrifisheries Council, which will take place on February 26, to allow the ministers of agriculture to express their views on the measures proposed by the Commission as well as on the possible need for further measures,” she said.
The minister added:
As the European Council pointed out on February 1, the European Common Agricultural Policy has an essential role to play. However, the rules adopted in 2021 to reform the CAP need to be reassessed in the light of current realities,” she said, noting that the rules were presented before COVID and before Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It’s another day of farmers’ protests and debates over the future of agriculture in Europe.
From Spain to Bulgaria, farmers want to have their voices heard. Meanwhile, the European parliament is debating empowering farmers and rural communities.
Stay tuned for updates.
Good morning and welcome back to the Europe blog.
Send thoughts and tips to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.