Farmers’ demonstration in front of the Parliament, in Berlin, January 20, 2024 (AFP/Tobias SCHWARZ)
Imports from Ukraine, fuel costs, ecological standards… A few months before the June elections, EU agriculture ministers are calling for a response to anger with very diverse causes, before Brussels launches Thursday a “strategic dialogue” with vague contours with the sector.
“The anger of farmers is multifactorial, it is not necessarily for the same reasons that they demonstrate from one country to another” but at the European level their concerns “must be better taken into account”, warned the minister Belgian David Clarinval, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU.
“Their work is perhaps not sufficiently recognized. They may have the impression of being under constant pressure, with a lot of policy developments in recent years,” echoed his Irish counterpart Charlie McConalogue.
Meeting in Brussels, the ministers of the Twenty-Seven will discuss in the afternoon the “strategic dialogue” proposed by the European Commission, which will bring together organizations from the agricultural and agri-food sectors, NGOs and experts on Thursday.
Confirmed only last week, the initiative was promised in September by the president of the European executive Ursula von der Leyen, calling for “less polarization” around the Green Deal, a vast set of environmental legislation.
“Welcome initiative, but late,” responded Copa-Cogeca, the organization of the majority European agricultural unions.
The agricultural issue is explosive before the European elections: “The far right is trying to use farmers as political leverage. They must be defended without political manipulation,” said Spanish Minister Luis Planas.
On the agenda for Thursday’s meeting: farmers’ income, sustainability of practices, technological innovation, competitiveness, to “forge a common vision of the future” and “ensure that farmers are rewarded for their contribution to environmental objectives”.
-“Regulatory overheating”-
“This dialogue should have started when the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) or the Green Deal proposals were presented,” laments Luis Planas. “But it is never too late if it is done correctly. The voice of farmers must be heard,”
Demonstration of Romanian farmers in Timisoara, Romania, January 19, 2024 (AFP/ATTILA KISBENEDEK)
Beyond the immediate problems, it is a question of preparing the ground for the next legislature and the post-2028 CAP, he believes.
If the recent demonstrations evoke various national factors (taxation of diesel in Germany, for example), the tremors have multiplied everywhere: extreme climatic episodes, avian flu, surge in energy prices…
Another divisive subject: the influx of Ukrainian agricultural products into the EU since the lifting of customs duties in 2022. Brussels was to present its proposals to the Twenty-Seven on Tuesday for a renewal in June, with probable “safeguard” mechanisms.
Beyond Polish and Romanian farmers, agricultural organizations are calling for restrictions on these imports (cereals, poultry, sugar, etc.) accused of lowering prices – echoing recurring criticism of the free trade agreements negotiated by Brussels.
Above all, a common “exasperation” is expressed in a diffuse way in the face of “regulatory overheating”, believes Christiane Lambert, president of Copa.
The first item in the European budget, the new CAP, which entered into force in 2023, has reinforced environmental obligations (fallows, hedges, etc.), and since then “the regulatory machine has been operating at full speed, ignoring the geopolitical, climatic and economic context”. alarms his organization.
In its sights: the “nature restoration” law promoting the repair of degraded agricultural ecosystems (peat bogs, etc.) — yet largely watered down after a violent battle led by the right in the European Parliament.
– “Alerts ignored” –
Another text regulating polluting emissions from large livestock farms will ultimately spare cattle farms, but will concern pigs and poultry. MEPs, however, rejected legislation reducing the use of pesticides.
Farmers block a highway, in Villefranche-de-Lauragais (Haute-Garonne), January 23, 2024 (AFP/Ed JONES)
Faced with growing resistance from farmers – and conservative elected officials – the Commission gave assurances, proposing to relax the protection of wolves and abandoning a nutritional labeling project.
In the European Parliament, the EPP (right), the leading group in Strasbourg, worked to drastically water down agricultural texts.
“We share the environmental ambition, but it must be adapted to the economic situation. (…) The Commission ignored the agricultural world and the warnings for four years,” regrets EPP MEP Anne Sander.
In the center and on the left, there is rather a call to strengthen financial support for farmers – especially as the EU is preparing to launch the debate on its 2040 climate objective, which would involve a painful decarbonization of the agricultural world (11% of European greenhouse gas emissions).
© 2024 AFP
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