You searched for greece - Page 3 of 11 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

SURe to find excuses – MEPs, Ministers & their PPPs (Persistent Pesticide Proposals)

November 29, 2022 Ashley Parsons

After last week’s clear challenge to the SUR pesticide reform, this week the guns are blazing between MEPs and Commissioners pushing the reform. And in a familiar pattern in EU law-making, many Ministers are backing the business-as-usual block. Will we be reporting on the SUR until there are no more puns to be made? It seems that’s just what many politicians, with thier persistent pesticide proposals, want to enSURe. Ashley Parsons and Oliver Moore report. […]

Rural Europe Takes Action | Seeds of Collaboration

July 22, 2022 ARC

“Rural Europe Takes Action – No more business as usual”, a policy guide for rural Europe by ARC2020 and Forum Synergies, launched in June 2022. Today’s extract from Rural Europe Takes Action tells the story of the Balkan Seeds Network, a network of scientists and seed savers’ organisations tapping into the rich biodiversity and agricultural heritage of South Eastern Europe to stimulate resilient food systems, and establishing a paradigm of collaboration for the Balkan region. […]

Brussels July 22 Bulletin – there are always exceptions

July 19, 2022 Ashley Parsons

Before the summer break, Brussels and beyond is still bustling. This round-up includes an open letter addressing the drop in numbers of EU farmers, the July 18th AGRIFISH council, and your friendly reporter’s favorite subject: pesticide regulation. By Ashley Parsons […]

Nitrogen – Just Fix it! CAP’s Nature & Rotation Rules Under Threat

July 4, 2022 ARC

Crop rotations and space for nature are again under threat, as pressure mounts on basic conditionality in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Under the pretext of the impact of the War in Ukraine, it has emerged that the European Commission and 16 member states are prepared to allow such exemptions from the basic environmental standards to be continued for beyond the initial 12 months proposed. […]

Where’s the Impact? The Commission’s Rural Pact Conference

June 21, 2022 Alison Brogan

A year after the European Commission adopted a Communication on “A long-term Vision for the EU’s rural areas – Towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040”, it hosted a Rural Pact Conference in Brussels on June 15 and 16. Some 450 stakeholders participated. ARC2020 comments on its impact. […]

CAP Plans in Negotiations: What is the Substance?

June 20, 2022 Mathieu Willard

In a context of war and spiking food prices, a series of observation letters, meetings, and negotiations between the Commission and Member States are shaping the future national CAP Strategic Plans. Are these negotiations going to make any changes that matter? Here is our analysis. […]

The Influence of EU Policies in National Rural Digitalisation

May 9, 2022 ARC

Digitalisation is progressing in rural areas around Europe in different ways. There are a number of reasons for variability in style and substance, as María Alonso-Roldán and Mar Delgado-Serrano of the DESIRA project show. The pair have engaged with experts in 15 countries. Here’s what they’ve found. […]

Manifesto for Regenerative Agriculture Adopted at Climate Farming Congress

November 17, 2021 ARC

A Manifesto for Regenerative Agriculture was signed by participants of the first Climate Farming Congress which took place in Germany this month. Experts and practitioners came together with the objective of unifying the voice of regenerative agriculture in Europe. […]

Switzerland | Illegal Seeds – Really?

October 27, 2021 ARC

“The seeds regulation is unconstitutional.” A thesis from the University of Geneva’s Faculty of Law demonstrates that the system that decides which plant varieties can be sold in Switzerland contradicts other objectives of agriculture under the Swiss constitution, such as safeguarding the environment, landscape and local economy. By Anton Vos. […]

Germany | Surviving Below Sea Level

September 24, 2021 Hannes Lorenzen

How does a rural community plan for the future when it is literally living below sea level? In this excerpt from the book “Rural Europe on the Move: A travel guide to transitions”, Hannes Lorenzen shares the story of his home island of Pellworm on Germany’s North Frisian coast, where the community has come together in the face of climate change, rising sea levels, and other threats to its survival. […]

Western Balkans | Reviving Rural Areas & Moving Towards EU Integration

June 17, 2021 ARC

This week the second Balkan Rural Parliament took place in Ohrid, North Macedonia. Organised by the Balkan Rural Development Network, the Balkan Rural Parliament gives a voice to rural communities in the making of rural development policy for the Western Balkans. For EU accession countries, rural development is a key driver to accelerate the process of EU integration. The Parliament highlighted the need to strengthen mutual trust on every level between people and national institutions, as well as between the Western Balkans and the EU to build equal partnerships, writes Aleksandra Todorovska. […]

Letter From The Farm | Rasputin The Ram & The Ethics Of Lamb For Easter Dinner

April 12, 2021 Matthew Hayes

We’re back on Zsámbok farm in Hungary, where Matthew, Kata and the team have been doing some deep thinking about the ethics of taking a life as they slaughter their first sheep. The farm is trying to strike a balance between respecting traditions while pursuing sustainability and efficiency, writes Matthew – and learning as they go. […]

Labour Pains – are Workers Exploited in Ecological Farming?

March 29, 2021 Brendan Ó Conchúir (Brendan Conchuir)

Over 100 organisations including trade unions, NGOs, and organisations representing small farmers have signed an open letter highlighting the need for social conditionality in the next CAP. Unsurprisingly the major farming organisations in Europe have not signed the letter. But how are labour standards on smaller farms at the ecological end of the spectrum? The picture isn’t always rosy, as Brendán Ó Conchúir find out, though there are some tentative solutions emerging. […]

Letter From The Farm | Welcome To The Herdade

March 24, 2021 Freixo do Meio Users Cooperative

Welcome to Herdade do Freixo do Meio, a 600-hectare community farm in Alentejo, Portugal. Run by a cooperative, the farm prides itself on agroecological food production that is local, responsible and conscious. Alfredo Sendim explains how the farm is building resilience through a collective approach. […]

Damning Report on CAP Cash in Central and Eastern Europe Released

March 9, 2021 Hans van Scharen

There are “strong links between politics and the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidies” in five Central and East European member states of the EU. That’s according to a new in-depth study “Where does the money go”, which examines the implementation of the EU agriculture funds in Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and the Czech Republic. The study, which was commissioned by the Greens/EFA political group in the European Parliament, sheds a stark light on how the CAP is not only funding degradation of biodiversity but also degrading democracy. Hans van Scharen reports. […]