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Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Janusz Wojciechowski said last week in an interview for Euractiv that the European Green Deal remains a key priority of the European Commission. At present, the European Commission is busy dealing with the coronavirus crisis, but the Green Deal remains the number one priority for future Commission activities. The Commissioner said that, given the ongoing crisis, the rules of the CAP should be simplified and strengthened, and market measures, including public intervention, could be introduced in the event of serious market disruption. The current crisis, however, should not significantly affect the adoption of rules for the transitional period of the CAP; Wojciechowski said in this context, that a rapid agreement on the CAP will be crucial. However, even now the European Commission will not abandon the need to strengthen the environmental aspects of the CAP.
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Last week, the European People's Party called for a postponement of the Farm to Fork Strategy in the context of the current coronavirus pandemic, at least until autumn 2020. According to Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, IT), agriculture is currently experiencing the biggest crisis in decades, farmers will have to deal with completely new unforeseen situations and consequences. Accordingly, according to EPP, the Farm to Fork Strategy should be postponed to allow the sector time to deal with the current situation and to allow the Farm to Fork Strategy to be properly discussed. Postponement is also requested by the ECR political faction, including Czech MEP Alexander Vondra. Vondra stressed the need to maintain a pragmatic approach in the current situation and to target funding to address the effects of coronavirus pandemic. Similarly, Czech MEP Jan Zahradil (ECR) stressed that the European Commission's green plans are too ambitious and costly in the current situation.
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Last week, the European Commission published an assessment of the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on biodiversity, which was prepared for the European Commission by the Alliance Environment. Among other things, the focus was on direct payments - i.e. the link between direct payments and the intensification of agriculture. According to the assessment, intensive agriculture is one of the main causes of biodiversity decline. Although academic literature suggests that direct payments could allow farms to boost investment and thus support the development of intensive agriculture, the study failed to find evidence of whether this actually happened in practice or not. The study also states that coupled payments (VCS) should bear the greatest risks of biodiversity decline, but even in this case the link between the payment of VCS payments and the intensification of agriculture could not be demonstrated.
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In recent weeks, Member States of the European Union have introduced a number of measures to limit the further spread of coronavirus in the EU, including reinforced border controls and border closure. As a result, waiting times at border crossing points of up to 20 hours were reported last week, and vehicles carrying live animals were also stuck in long columns. In response to this situation, a group of more than 40 MEPs called for a ban on the transport of live animals to third countries and, at the same time, over long distances (more than 8 hours) within the European Union, at least for as long as border restrictions apply. According to MEPs, the continuation of the transport of live animals, even at a long wait at the border, contradicts Article 13 of the Treaty with the European Union, which refers to ensuring animal welfare. The ban on the transport of live animals was also supported by 35 environmental and animal welfare organizations. Last week, these organizations sent a letter to Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans and Commissioners for Agriculture and Rural Development Janusz Wojciechowski and for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides calling for a ban on the transport of live animals during the coronavirus crisis for distances longer than 8 hours and to the third countries.
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The European Dairy Association (EDA) has released an update of its document summarizing the situation in the dairy sector during the coronavirus crisis, prior to a video conference of EU agriculture ministers. In the document, the EDA asks the Commission and the Member States to introduce a support system for milk producers, to facilitate the smooth collection and distribution of milk, and to facilitate the movement of labour between Member States. It also calls for the introduction of a private storage aid scheme for stocks of butter, milk powder and cheese and for the priority transport of milk and butter.
More information is available here.