Updates from the EU Commission, Council and Parliament
According to Eurostat statistics farm incomes are at a record high. So why aren’t farm organisations celebrating? And what do these numbers say about actual farm income in different member states of the European Union? […]
New research into the resilience of CAP and national agricultural policies have found a bias ‘stabilising the status quo’ rather than encouraging farming to adapt to the myriad of challenges it faces. […]
Some countries in Europe do a better job at bringing younger people into farming. So what techniques work – and don’t work – in an aging industry? With Hans Wetzels. […]
The Environment Committee (ENVI) voted on the 14th February on CAP proposals (Strategic Plans). With the Agriculture Committee voting in the coming weeks, before a full Parliament plenary, what were the key areas ENVI emphasised? […]
Organic agriculture is a productive form of agriculture delivering significantly higher public goods like soil fertility, biodiversity and better quality of surface and drinking water than conventional agriculture. Consequently, organic farming and other agro-ecological approaches have great potential to contribute to the achievement of sustainability goals at both domestic and international levels. […]
The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) analysed the CAP’s new plan to increase environmental action and found it falls short on the ambition and finance needed to shift EU agriculture towards a sustainable future. […]
The European Parliament last week called on member states to step up enforcement of existing rules on protecting livestock during transport. MEPs are urging member states to ramp up spot checks, use tracking technology to monitor compliance, and apply tougher penalties for offenders. Transport times should be cut, but the preference is to phase out live exports altogether in favour of local slaughtering. And when animals are transported to non-EU countries, EU standards should be applied. […]
Today (14th February) a vote was held in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. For the first time, the Environment Committee (ENVI) had some shared powers (‘competencies’) with the Agriculture committee (AGRI). Voting to dedicate E15 billion in cash for biodiversity, while also moving it away from intensive ‘factory’ farms are two of the main takeaways. Its not over yet, however, as more votes will take place. […]
A Common Food Policy will help address “climate change, halt biodiversity loss, curb obesity, and make farming viable for the next generation” according to the new IPES Food report. More, including full report to download, in this article. […]
The Agriculture and Fisheries Council meets today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday) in Brussels, and CAP post 2020 is on the agenda. Find all the links you need – including to the live video stream – in one handy article! […]
Protein plants and the animals and humans that eat them are in the news this week, as the European Commission and a range of farming and environmental NGOs publish reports and opinions on the matter. A number of organisations reacted positively, but with caveats. So what were the concerns? […]
“Its longer-term vision for EU agriculture (taking account of long-term trends for technological, climate, societal and demographic change, etc.) is not apparent” So say the ECA – European Court of Auditors – about the European Commission’s CAP proposals in a damning new report seen by ARC2020. […]
CAP should better support all of those who work the land and produce food, while helping develop agroecological practices. Read extracts from two European Coordination of Via Campesina (ECVC) documents on the Future of CAP. […]
CAP greening changes have been announced by the EU Commission because of drought However, these moves have annoyed some as they involve the cancellation of measures supposed to help make farming more resilient and robust in the face of climate extremes. And what will happen next, once this emergency passes? […]
What’s going on with the new EU and US trade plans? Will it be TTIP on steroids? Is it to be zero tariffs, a bonfire of the regulations, or is it all much ado about nothing? […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention