The European Parliament has signed the death warrant for smaller farms and nature. That is what environmental organization Greenpeace says about the watered-down EU agreement on the new Common Agricultural Policy.
Greenpeace also regrets that the vote in parliament goes against the European promises for climate policy, which were previously agreed upon in the Green Deal. Renewal and sustainability are therefore given no chance, conclude also Natuurmonumenten, LandschappenNL, the World Wildlife Fund, SoortenNL, Milieudefensie, RAVON, FLORON, and the Butterfly Foundation.
Member of the European Parliament Peter van Dalen (Christian Union) also believes that the proposals for the new agricultural policy should be more ambitious. For that reason, he abstained from the vote: “As far as I’m concerned, there should be an extra push.”
Prior to the votes, an agreement was already reached between the three largest groups in the European Parliament, the Christian Democrats (EPP), Socialists (S&D), and Liberals (Renew Europe), to ensure that a series of compromise amendments would be adopted. Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) members voted against this.
In the coming years, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union will be overhauled in such a way that the principle of subsidized climate and environmental objectives is introduced for the first time in agriculture. There will also be a stronger focus on local production, more support for young farmers, and attention to climate-smart agriculture (taking into account the Paris climate goals).
According to Van Dalen, especially the latter point can be improved: “Part of the European Parliament fears that a too-green policy will lead to the collapse of food production, whereas the exact opposite is true! Sustainable agriculture actually contributes to securing food production in the long term.”
In the new plans, the Netherlands and other EU countries must each draw up a strategic national plan to ensure that their agriculture becomes less harmful to the climate, environment, biodiversity, animal welfare, liveability, and health. However, the European Court of Auditors states that these goals are not quantified. According to a report by the Institute for Applied Ecology, the proposed agricultural policy will not reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture at all.
Especially countries in Central and Eastern Europe still put on the brakes too much. Van Dalen: “The laggards must not set the pace. In recent decades, the number of meadow birds has halved, but bee and insect populations have also sharply declined. In the coming years, much more attention must therefore be paid to biodiversity in agriculture.”
The new proposal states that European member states must aim for an area where at least 10% of landscape elements are favorable to biodiversity.