A group of European investment firms believes that the European Union should implement the Environmental and Climate plan Green Deal more generously and faster. Only then can the EU reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next thirty years.
Among the British and European investors, together accounting for nearly 2 trillion dollars, is also the Dutch firm Robeco.
The investorsâ call coincides with the Agriculture Council meeting held today and tomorrow in Brussels. The 27 Agriculture ministers want to establish the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2023 â 2027, which they are currently still negotiating in trilogues with EU Commissioners Wojciechowski, Timmermans, and Kyriakides, and with committees of the European Parliament.
The investment firms also believe that the EU should allocate more CAP agricultural subsidies to farmers who want to transform their traditional agricultural businesses. They also advocate reducing direct financial support for commodities with high emissions, such as red meat and dairy products. Financial support should be much more linked to the costs of environmental protection.
In contrast, the European agricultural umbrella organization Cogeca has urged the Agriculture ministers not to yet agree to the many proposed production adjustments, but first to map out all the practical and financial consequences (âimpact assessmentâ).
In an opinion article in several European trade journals, Cogeca chairman Ramon Armengol links the CAP subsidies, the Green Deal environmental policy, and the EU trade agreements (including Mercosur). He points out that the EU applies different (read: lesser) environmental criteria for import products, which disadvantages European farmers. Although Cogeca agreed to Mercosur last year, it now threatens to scrutinize trade agreements much more critically in the future.
Dutch Member of the European Parliament Lara Wolters (PvdA) calls on the European Commission and EU countries to provide more transparency regarding the payments of agricultural subsidies. Wolters is a member of the budget-control committee that annually audits the EUâs accounts. For several years there have been reports that some Central European countries have fudged agricultural subsidies, with large sums being paid out to political allies of prime ministers and agriculture ministers.
According to a European diplomatic source, âMarch is a crucial monthâ for negotiations on the new agricultural policy. The Portuguese Minister of Agriculture, Maria do CĂ©u Antunes, says progress has been made in earlier trilogues. She wants to hold a âsuper trilogueâ at the end of this week to enable the ministers, commissioners, and parliamentary committees to make a decision.