Ursula von der Leyen did not forget about angered EU farmers during the launch of her election campaign for a second mandate at the European Commission on Thursday (7 March) but omitted all reference to the agricultural policies she penned during her five-year term.
Unsurprisingly, von der Leyen was crowned as the lead candidate for this year’s European Parliament elections by her centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) during a congress this week in Bucharest, Romania.
“Farmers are telling me about the enormous challenges they face,” von der Leyen told EPP members.
“They get up early in the morning, they work hard for the quality food we eat. But costs are going up, and the prices they get for milk, meat and grain are volatile and often set by others in the food chain,” she continued.
Von der Leyen pitched promises of “less red tape, less reporting and faster procedures” for European businesses, including the agricultural sector.
Last month, the EU Commission chief admitted that slashing bureaucratic procedures for farmers is an issue “close to her heart” and committed to reducing the hurdles the agricultural sector faces.
The Commission’s recent proposals include easing the environmental requirements of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and withdrawing a controversial pesticide reduction plan aimed at appeasing protesting farmers across Europe. However, they also serve von der Leyen’s efforts to court farmers and rural communities before this year’s elections.
Despite acknowledging the challenges faced by farmers during her intervention in Bucharest, von der Leyen didn’t highlight her flagship blueprint for agri-food sector sustainability, the Farm to Fork Strategy, which is now largely forgotten amidst farmer protests.
The Commission President first signalled her newfound interest in farming last September, announcing the launch of a strategic dialogue on agriculture during her State of the Union speech. Since then, the Commission has eased its stance on environmental plans for the agricultural sector, putting much-anticipated proposals, like an overhaul of animal welfare rules and a sustainable food systems law, on hold.
Meanwhile, the EPP dubbed itself the EU’s farmers’ party for upcoming elections and has relentlessly tried to court the sector by opposing new green legislation – even if it meant clashing with von der Leyen’s Farm to Fork strategy.
Backed by far-right groups, the EPP killed off a pesticide reduction proposal in a crucial Parliament vote last November and almost succeeded in doing the same with a contested nature restoration law.
Now, they’re gearing up for a similar move to scrap new emissions rules for livestock farms next week, even after EU co-legislators agreed on the legislation.
To secure the title of “farmer’s queen” in this year’s election and align with the EPP strategy, von der Leyen faces the task of campaigning against remnants of her own agri-food legacy.
“Their hard work has to pay off! I want to be clear: EPP will always be by the side of our farmers,” said von der Leyen.
Leading EPP lawmaker to challenge new EU livestock emissions rules vote next week. Centre-right MEPs could obstruct the approval of rules to curb industrial emissions from the livestock sector next Tuesday by opposing the inclusion of more livestock farms in the scope of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
European People’s Party (EPP) MEP Benoît Lutgen, who is leading work on the file in the agriculture committee (AGRI), told Euractiv that he would table five amendments to maintain the current emissions rules.
Ukraine, Poland close to solving imports dispute, says Kyiv trade minister. Kyiv’s talks with Warsaw will soon lead to safeguard measures to protect Polish farmers from the influx of Ukrainian agricultural imports, Ukraine’s trade representative Taras Kachka told Euractiv on Thursday.
On the same day, the European Parliament’s trade committee approved the extension of trade liberalisation with Ukraine until June 2025, rejecting all of the amendments backed by farming groups concerned about not giving enough protection to EU food producers.
Ukraine and Poland are working to tackle tensions on their shared border, where Polish farmers have staged blockades and dumped Ukrainian grain in recent weeks to protest against imports “flooding” their markets.
Meanwhile, along with Kyiv, several Eastern European states are pointing the finger at Moscow and calling for an EU-wide ban on Russian agricultural imports.
Euractiv mapped the farmers’ protests across the bloc since the start of 2024, which opened the debate on action at the EU level and, in most cases, led to concessions from national governments.
European Commission launched a survey for farmers on CAP simplification. The EU executive is inviting farmers to fill in an online survey, launched on Thursday, on how to cut red tape in the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The move is part of the Commission’s proposals to reduce the administrative burden on farmers, who have been protesting across the EU in recent months. Next week, the EU executive will present further proposals.
EU herd expected to shrink in the second half of 2024. According to Eurostat projections, the production of bovine animals is to decrease by 1% in the second semester of 2024 compared with the same period last year. The decline for sheep is expected to be 7%, while for goats it is 9%. The estimates show France is to remain the largest producer of bovine meat.
