The meeting was extremely tense. Several peasant and environmental organizations slammed the door, Friday, May 21, of the Higher Council for Guidance and Coordination of the Agricultural and Food Economy (CSO), during which the Minister of Agriculture, Julien Denormandie, presented to unions, industry representatives and NGOs the main French orientations of the future common agricultural policy (CAP).
Main novelty introduced in this new version of the CAP, which will come into force from 2023: the greater latitude given to each Member State in the manner of redistributing European aid, through the development of “national strategic plans”, real local variations of the CAP. But after several months of negotiations on these national arbitrations, the Confédération paysanne, the National Federation of Organic Agriculture (FNAB), the Pour une autre PAC platform, as well as the organizations WWF, Greenpeace and France Nature Environnement (FNE) left the CSO with a crash, denouncing a “Sham negotiation” and “A status quo” which reinforces an agricultural model ” breathless “.
“These people were in a pre-programmed theatrical organization and did not listen to my proposals”, lamented Julien Denormandie, shortly after, during a presentation to the press, criticizing positions “Caricatures”. “The political and societal debate dies of simplism”, he insisted. “It was not planned and organized, retorts Loïc Madeline, national secretary of the FNAB, but we have all arrived at a time when we individually said to ourselves that what is put on the table was unacceptable. “
Protesting organizations ask the government to review its copy, believing that the arbitrations presented will not allow French agriculture to be put on a more sustainable path. “The problem is the disconnection between the minister’s proposals and scientific reality, critic Arnaud Gauffier, WWF. We have a CAP that pretends all is well, while we are witnessing a collapse in biodiversity and a climate that is constantly warming. ” For the association manager, “The CAP should be a policy of orientation, but as it stands, it does not make it possible to anticipate”.
A “green box”
The main tool for greening the future CAP, “eco-regimes” crystallize all the discontent. For the National Federation of Farmers Unions (FNSEA), the establishment of this “green box”, which will be used to remunerate virtuous environmental practices, will represent a net loss of income for part of the profession.
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