EU wants to help those “who need it most”

A study commissioned by the Commission calls for structural reform of the current Common Agricultural Policy and its €387 billion in funding.

A report commissioned by the European Commission calls for the future common agricultural policy to be refocused on farmers “who need it most” and advocates the creation of a specific fund dedicated to the ecological transition of the sector.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen commissioned the report in early 2024 amid growing agricultural anger in several European countries.

The result of a “strategic dialogue” between agricultural stakeholders and environmental NGOs, led by German academic Peter Strohschneider, the document presented on Wednesday calls for a structural reform of the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its 387 billion euros in funding.

The negotiation of the future CAP (2028-2034) is one of the sensitive issues facing the new European Commission currently being installed.

Preventing the abandonment of farms

Rather than calculating aid based on farm size, the report recommends “much more targeted income support” towards farmers “who need it most” in order to “prevent farms from being abandoned” and enable them to “earn a decent income”.

It calls for support for “small and mixed farms, young farmers, new entrants and farmers established in areas subject to natural constraints”.

The environmental NGO Greenpeace has given its support to this report, judging the current functioning of the CAP to be “stupid” because it is too favourable to “factory farms”.

In terms of ecological transition, the report also considers that a “temporary fund for a just transition should be set up outside the CAP to complement support for the rapid transition of the sector”.

Faced with the farmers’ angry movement, Brussels made a series of concessions at the start of 2024, going back on part of the ambitions of the green pact, the “Green Deal”, even if it meant attracting criticism from NGOs.

Speaking to the press on Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen called for a “new approach” with farmers, more “trust” and less bureaucracy, while stressing her commitment to “climate objectives”.

“We must support an agriculture that works for nature and with nature,” she assured.