Reform of the European agricultural policy threatens to become a divisive issue within the German coalition of CDU and SPD. In the Bundestag, Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) received no support from the SPD when she defended the 'pared-down' European CAP compromise.
Klöckner, who currently also serves as temporary chair of the Council of Agriculture Ministers, had reached that compromise with the 27 ministers and the European Parliament.
In the Bundestag, the SPD, the Greens, and the left-wing opposition aligned themselves with the position of Climate and Environment Commissioner Frans Timmermans, who believes that in the tripartite negotiations (the trilogue) in Brussels, efforts should be made to improve the new CAP somewhat.
The SPD accuses their German CDU minister of making too many concessions to the agri-lobby within the EU, and that as a result, very little or nothing will come of the Green Deal, biodiversity, and food safety.
“Minister Klöckner must now seize the opportunity in the CAP negotiations and not remain stuck in deficiency,” demanded Matthias Miersch, deputy parliamentary group leader of the SPD. By doing so, he supported Timmermans' approach, who is also a social democrat.
On Monday, Klöckner openly complained about Timmermans’ criticism, who even hinted at the possibility of withdrawing the watered-down proposal. “It is absolutely essential to take democratic compromises that were reached for good reasons seriously,” Klöckner said on the matter.
The disagreement in the Bundestag about the consequences of European agricultural policy for German farmers is yet another confrontation between Klöckner and the SPD. Earlier this week, she complained about a new insect protection law from the Environment Ministry (led by SPD members). The environmental agency does not take farmers’ objections into account in any way but ignores them, she claimed.
Next year, Bundestag elections will be held in Germany, after which a new chancellor must also be chosen. Now that Angela Merkel has announced her departure, the CDU is falling in opinion polls.