I would like to thank the farmers for their protests because this will help strengthen European agriculture and improve agricultural policy, EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski said on Wednesday during a meeting with representatives of Spanish agricultural associations in the European Parliament.
Farmers are protesting (all over Europe) because they are in a very difficult situation. I also wanted to thank you for this protest. This is an important voice that should strengthen European agriculture and improve EU agricultural policy and other policies related to agriculture, which are currently the most problematic.
– said Wojciechowski.
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According to him, the agricultural protests in different countries partly have different causes: in Germany it was about the withdrawal of subsidies for agricultural fuel; in France – tax matters; in the Netherlands – a national livestock reduction program; in Greece – insufficient aid after the flood.
But there are also problems related to European politics. One, under the general name Green Deal, and some of its consequences for agriculture. The second is the problem of imports from Ukraine
– diagnosis made by the EC representative.
Of what was introduced into the Common Agricultural Policy from the Green Deal concept, the protests actually highlighted one thing: the 4% set-aside. country. This was questioned by farmers all over Europe. (…) I was the member of the European Commission who worked to ensure that it was not 10% as was assumed.
– Wojciechowski revealed.
The second point that was controversial – and which fell outside the CAP – is the reduction of pesticides. It was a proposal related to environmental and climate policy, not agricultural policy. I was against this automatic 50% reduction in pesticides. I felt that this was not a good proposal for the farmers themselves and for the Member States. She did not take into account the large differences in pesticide use between Member States: from 9 kg of active substances per hectare in the Netherlands to 0.5 kg in Romania or Finland. If everyone were to make cuts equally, it wouldn’t be a fair solution. President Von der Leyen has already stated that this project will be withdrawn from further legislative work. This means that there will be no such arrangement in the near future
– reminded the Commissioner and stressed that the further fate of this project will depend on the new composition of the EC and the European Parliament.
Three proposals
Wojciechowski announced that he had submitted three proposals that would bring short-term relief to farmers.
I proposed that Member States – it is more their decision on public aid, as we have no money for that in the EU budget – increase direct payments by 10%, in the form of compensation for inflation. The second proposal is to waive fines in 2024 for farmers who cannot meet GAEC requirements regarding minimum land cover in sensitive periods, rotation and diversification of crops on arable and fallow land.
– mentions the Commissioner for Agriculture.
The third is the continuation of the open framework for government support for agriculture for another year. Let it not end in June this year, but extend for the next period
– concluded Janusz Wojciechowski.
gah/PAP
Source: wPolityce