European farmers have returned to Brussels today (Tuesday, March 26) for the third time in less than two months calling for “an adequate response” to their demands for fair incomes and prices.
European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) and FUGEA are among the farm organisations taking part in the demonstration which coincides with a meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH).
Hundreds of tractors are again lining the streets of Brussels as part of the day-long demonstration which is expected to disrupt traffic and public transport in the city.
ECVC said that the EU Commission proposals to change parts of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) “are insufficient to tackle the root causes that have driven farmer protests across Europe for months”.
“The priority is to ensure as many farmers as possible stay in and take up the profession, while providing support for more sustainable models.
“For this, we need remunerative prices and support that correspond to our efforts.
“European policies, and the CAP in particular, must be capable of regulating markets and supporting the transition,” it said.
Farmers
In response to a wave of farmer protests in recent months, the EU Commission has proposed a series of measures in a bid to reduce the administrative burden on farmers and provide greater flexibility for complying with certain environmental conditions.
The commission said that the proposal aims to strike a balance between maintain the environment and climate ambitions of CAP, while ensuring that farmers’ concerns are addressed.
The Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) which informs the work of the AGRIFISH council has today endorsed this targeted review of “basic acts” under the CAP.
The SCA endorsed the changes to the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) standards proposed by the commission.
GAECs are a set of nine standards beneficial to the environment and the climate that apply to farmers who receive support under the CAP.
One of the main changes would allow member states to grant temporary and targeted derogations from certain conditionality requirements in the event of unforeseen climate conditions that prevent farmers from complying with them.
On top of that, specific exemptions from certain GAEC standards would be introduced, such as:
- GAEC 6 on soil cover during sensitive periods: Member states will have more flexibility to decide which soils to protect and in which season, based on national and regional specificities;
- GAEC 7 on crop rotation: Crop rotation will remain the main practice, but member states will be able to use crop diversification as an alternative;
- GAEC 8: Farmers will only be obliged to maintain existing landscape features and will from now on be encouraged, on a voluntary basis, to keep land fallow or to create new landscape features through eco-schemes.
The committee also endorsed a proposal to exempt small farms of under 10ha from controls and penalties related to compliance with conditionality requirements under the CAP.
This would apply to 65% of CAP beneficiaries but only accounts for around 10% of agricultural land in the EU,.
EU countries would be amend their CAP strategic plans twice each year on a permanent basis, as opposed to once, as it currently stands.
The chair of the SCA will now send a letter to the European Parliament confirming its decision.