New EU Agriculture Commissioner Hansen: too much farmer and too little plate

In Brussels, oral hearings of the 27 prospective commissioners for the new European Commission will begin on Monday. In recent weeks, they have already answered a large number of questions in writing from the various committees of the European Parliament. 

The oral discussions will last several days. The aim is for President Ursula von der Leyen to have her second Commission approved by the full European Parliament by the end of November.

There is criticism of the tight timetable that President von der Leyen is using. If questioners from the European Parliament are not satisfied with the answers of a candidate Commissioner, groups want to keep open the possibility of a second hearing.

Critics say that Von der Leyen is trying to prevent that with a tight schedule. The European Parliament cannot reject one or a few commissioners, but – in case of great dissatisfaction – only prevent the installation of the entire Commission.

The oral hearings begin on Monday evening with the intended new Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Luxembourg's Christian Democrat Cristophe Hansen. He will have to find his way in the increasingly polarised debate on food policy. 

However, his previous written answers have left an aftertaste with many EU politicians. According to them, Hansen's focus is too much on agriculture and too little on food-related issues: too much farmer and not enough plate…

Hansen last week reiterated his promise to present a comprehensive vision for agriculture and food within his first 100 days. This roadmap will ideally replace the current Farm to Fork strategy, but it is unclear to what extent Hansen will keep the Green Deal afloat. 

In Hansen's 12-page written response, the food industry was mentioned only once, and that was only to emphasize the industry's duty to support farmers' incomes. 

This focus on agriculture may also reflect recent political trends. During the European election campaigns, farmer protests brought agricultural issues into focus, and von der Leyen’s European People’s Party (EPP) — of which Hansen is a member — positioned itself as a champion of farmers.

A key issue for Hansen is farmers' incomes, which he says are affected by “weaker bargaining power and a lack of market transparency.”

In this context, Hansen has committed to strengthening the bargaining position of farmers to reduce the risk that they will be forced to sell their products below production costs.

This includes revising the Unfair Trading Practices Directive (UTP), which was adopted five years ago but is still largely unimplemented, to address power imbalances in the food supply chain.