Can the EU achieve the urgently needed re-construction of the CAP? ARC2020’s president Hannes Lorenzen, on the causes of European farmers’ protests, the EU’s panic deconstruction of farm policies, and why civil society must deliver now.
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The EU’s Nature Restoration Law has suffered yet another set back after a number of EU countries refused to greenlight the final shape of the negotiated law – something that both the Commission and campaign groups warn risks undermining the EU’s international credibility. Natasha Foote reports. […]
Jean-Marc Desfilhes and Hannes Lorenzen present a history of French farmers’ associations and social alliances in light of the recent demonstrations and associated political reactions. They propose: Now is the time to mobilise love and protest to stop the current agricultural policy rollback. […]
The European Commission has officially put forward plans to slash environmental measures in the EU’s farming subsidy programme and offer up more power to member states in deciding the future course of the policy. Natasha Foote reports. […]
We’re back on Cortijo El Manzano in Campotéjar, rural Andalusia, with another letter from ARC2020’s Matteo Metta. This agroecological farm has been building resilience collectively since 1986. After his experience living and volunteering on the farm in February, Matteo reflects on what El Manzano can teach us about some key ingredients of rural resilience: housing, labour and energy […]
“Given the technical, economic and social uncertainties identified in this report and the controversies raised by the development of NTG-derived plants, the Working Group recommends that a system be set up to monitor NTG plants and products derived from them…an assessment of the risks…should be carried out on a case-by-case basis”. […]
Here we republish the joint statement, signed by 125 organisations, on the withdrawal of the proposal for the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR), the implications of this move, and what these organisations want to happen now. […]
The self-proclaimed ‘farmers party’ failed to mention the farming sector once while officially firing the election gun in Brussels on Wednesday (21 February). That’s despite the centre-right EPP’s efforts to position itself as the friend of farmers in the run up to June’s EU elections. […]
On Wednesday February 1, Tomaso Ferrando stood side-by-side with the farmers who had taken over Place Luxembourg and the streets adjacent to the European Parliament in Brussels. On my way, long lines of tractors with Belgian, French and Dutch plates could be seen almost a kilometre away from the square. As he drew closer to the scene, the sound of their horns and the smell of burned tires saturated my ears and nose. Here he outlines his thoughts on the farmers’ protests and what they mean. […]
We’re with Czech farmer Terezie Daňková on Hoslovice ranch in South Bohemia for a wintertime ‘Czech-in’ on animal welfare. This is the season for the cattle, sheep and hardworking horses on the ranch to take a rest. As well as feeding the animals, Terezie gives them special care in the winter months before they return to pasture. Like the animals, pastures must be carefully managed, to allow them to play a role in efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. […]
The European Parliament has given its blessing to the EU’s plan to loosen rules on new genetic technologies, but added key conditions on labelling requirements and a ban on patents – the latter of which could prove a key sticking point for moving forward with negotiations. Natasha Foote brings you up to speed on all you need to know. […]
Launched at the end of 2020, the Rural Resilience project is now halfway through its second phase. The annual report 2023 is now available to download. Below you can read an excerpt: the editorial of the report. By Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne. […]
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to bury the EU’s plans to slash the use and risk of pesticides by half by 2030 once and for all, proposing to withdraw the sustainable use of pesticides regulation (SUR) from the table with hopes to start afresh under the next mandate. […]
The European Commission has once again granted a temporary exemption to environmental requirements in the EU farming subsidies programme for 2024 in efforts to appease EU farmers, despite acknowledging the EU executive does not yet have a clear picture of the impact of the previous derogations. Natasha Foote reports […]
These ongoing farmer protests in Europe indicate that there is something fundamentally wrong with the European agricultural system. However, many journalists and politicians do not see the wood for the trees and link the protests to a specific policy or event. In this opinion piece, Natalia Mamonova discusses the farmer protests as indicators of the systemic crisis of the neoliberal agricultural model that has failed farmers and the planet. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention