
As a first official act, the new EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen announced the creation of a permanent advisory board on agriculture and food (the European Board on Agriculture and Food, EBAF).
The announcement comes at a painful time: a day before Brussels – after years of discussions – ratified the controversial free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries. European farmers have protested against this agreement for years, because food imports from those countries have to meet less strict requirements than those that apply to EU farmers.
With the establishment of the EBAF, Hansen is trying to ease tensions in the agricultural sector. The establishment of such a permanent consultation platform was announced earlier this year – shortly before the European elections – by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In response to large farmers' demonstrations in several EU countries, she had convened a strategic agricultural consultation.
The committee will be established for five years and is expected to meet two to six times a year. If urgent advice is needed, Commissioner Hansen can also call additional meetings. The procedure to determine the composition of the advisory board will begin in January.
“It is crucial to involve farmers in the formulation of EU agricultural policy,” said the new Agriculture Commissioner. According to Hansen, the advisory board is a means to provide farmers with a structural platform where they can directly express their concerns in Brussels and influence the policy to be formulated. This, he said, should help to bridge the gap between the agricultural sector and Brussels.
Hansen says he wants to simplify agricultural policy and make it sustainable, with an eye for biodiversity and climate goals. He also wants the EU to further reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) so that farmers can be better supported in meeting environmental requirements without harming their competitiveness.
The ratification of the Mercosur agreement still has to be approved (in part) by a qualified majority of the EU countries and by the European Parliament. The legal status is still being argued behind the scenes.
France and Poland have already announced that they will try to create a 'blocking minority' within the 27 EU countries. If Italy joins them, this could become possible. Other EU countries stress that the free trade agreement is broader and more far-reaching than just the interests of the agricultural sector. They point out that the EU countries can also benefit from the new free trade agreement through EU exports of technology and other products.