Eleven Central and Eastern European EU countries call for a ‘realistic and achievable’ level of ambition for the European Green Deal climate goals and the farm-to-fork food strategy.
European Commissioners plan to introduce new environmental measures in agriculture, such as a ban on the use of chemical pesticides and an expansion of the area for organic farming. Earlier, several agriculture ministers and European farmers’ unions warned that Brussels wants too much, too quickly.
The appeal from the eleven agriculture ministers comes days before important meetings and decisions are scheduled in Brussels this October, both regarding the Green Deal and F2F, as well as the revision of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The new coalition is formed by the four Visegrad countries (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic), together with Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Romania. Their Agriculture Ministers last week signed a joint declaration during the international agricultural event Polagra Fair in Poznan, Poland. That intergovernmental meeting focused particularly on the planning of the next phase of the CAP.
At the end of the previous European Commission’s term (spring 2018), proposals were presented for updating European agricultural policy. Attention mainly focused on looming cuts to the CAP budget. But soon after the European elections, Vice-President Frans Timmermans presented the extensive and far-reaching Green Deal climate plans.
When the global corona pandemic largely halted many national economies earlier this year, it became clear that a European billion-euro recovery fund would be necessary, and that all EU budgets would need substantial cuts. This put both the content and budgets of the new CAP under scrutiny. For now, the ‘old’ CAP has been extended by two years, giving the EU a ‘breathing space’ to better recalculate all Green Deal plans.
The eleven ministers emphasize that the objectives of the Green Deal, Farm to Fork, and Biodiversity Strategies are necessary, but that the ambition level of these strategies must be realistic and attainable. They also want to make the CAP more predictable, feasible, and reliable, in order to reduce the financial risks for the EU countries.
The Polish minister pointed out that the ministers acknowledge that a shift toward a sustainable agricultural economy is necessary, but that this must also fit within the CAP’s financing system.
The eleven ministers stressed that each country has its own specific agricultural characteristics, such as farm size, climatic conditions, types of crops, and therefore more consideration should be given to national and regional circumstances when choosing environmental measures.