EU parliament gives green light to agricultural reforms
Nov 23, 2021
It also aims to be fairer to small farms and young farmers, with 10% of direct payments earmarked for small and medium-sized farms.
But Tijs Boelens, a thirty-year-old organic farmer in Belgium who falls into this category, said the reforms mean nothing to him.
"Again, it's us who get nothing. Once again, we are not being supported," Boelens told Euronews. "This new CAP reform is business as usual. It's making the big ones bigger than before. We are giving money to the rich with this CAP."
"I don't know if the people of the European Union understand this. We are giving public money to people who already have a lot of money," he added.
Boelens and his partners produce around 60 kinds of vegetables but receive just €2,500 per year in European aid.
Anna Panier, 27, another young Belgian producer, says she deplores the difficulties faced by new, younger farmers.
"For young people like us, it's already very difficult to set up. We don't have any land, we don't have a farmhouse, we don't have any buildings. We work with plastic tents, we build our own sheds with containers. We do what we can," Panier said.
For the representatives of the main agricultural organisations and cooperatives, it's time to move forward.
CAP reform negotiations opened in 2018 and Pekka Pesonen, Copa-Cogeca secretary-general, says they must now come to an end.
"Well, it's never enough if you ask any stakeholder group. We all have our ambitions, but this is about the compromise that has been reached. We do not get everything for European agriculture. It's a compromise we have to live with," Pesonen told Euronews.
"However, we consider this is a good compromise where most of the objectives have been addressed and we are committed to it."
Many MEPs have been vocal in their criticism of the latest CAP reforms, however, with the Greens saying the final agreement preserves the status quo and falls to live up to the promises of the EU's Green Deal.
"Many are desperately claiming this is a sustainable CAP reform, but a powerful and entrenched intensive farming lobby, and the governments and MEPs serving them, have done their utmost to preserve the destructive status quo, resisting at every step additional safeguards and watering down environmental conditionality rules," Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout said.
"They have wasted this 'last chance' CAP reform, holding back positive change for climate, biodiversity and small farmers this decade."
For Éric Andrieu, a Socialist MEP and one of the rapporteurs on the issue, the reforms bring some certainty.
"For the first time since the beginning of the reform, we will have more regulation than deregulation. And the pandemic has shown us once again, that markets, and in particular agricultural markets, are structurally unstable. And when you have unstable markets, you need regulation and crisis management tools to guarantee farmers' incomes," Andrieu told Euronews.
According to the European Commission, €386.6 billion are earmarked for the bloc's agricultural policy between 2021 and 2027, representing just under a third of the bloc's long-term budget (31.95%).
The next and final step is for the European Council to rubberstamp the legislation, after which the reforms will come into force on January 1st, 2023.
Latest
Jan 22, 2025
EBRD finances water infrastructure in Ganja, Azerbaijan
News
The EBRD has signed a €35m loan with Azerbaijan to upgrade Ganja’s water systems. Following the COP29 Azerbaijan memorandum, this is the first step in a larger programme to improve services for 300k+ residents.
Jan 11, 2025
Azerbaijan, Latvia explore prospects for tax cooperation
News
Orkhan Nazarli, Head of the State Tax Service under Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Economy, President of the Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations (IOTA), held a virtual meeting with Baiba Šmite-Roķe, Director General of the State Revenue Service of Latvia.
Jan 06, 2025
IFC issues manat bonds to boost Azerbaijan’s climate and social projects
News
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a key member of the World Bank Group, has issued bonds denominated in Azerbaijani manat (AZN) to expand access to loans for small, micro, and medium enterprises in Azerbaijan.
Dec 27, 2024
Renewables account for 24.5% of EU energy use in 2023
News
In 2023, 24.5% of gross final energy consumption in the EU came from renewable sources, up by 1.4 percentage points compared with 2022.
Dec 26, 2024
Azerbaijan to digitise public administration with €43 million loan from EIB Global
News
The European Investment Bank’s global arm (EIB Global) has signed a €43 million loan agreement to develop a digital infrastructure for governmental services.
Dec 17, 2024
"Green Future" knowledge competition
News
If you are ready to transform your green ideas into powerful and tangible solutions, join the European Union's "Green Future" knowledge competition!
Nov 25, 2024
EBRD invests in Azerbaijan’s solar power expansion at COP29
News
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has unveiled a significant investment in Azerbaijan's renewable energy sector during COP29 in Baku, Trend reports.
Nov 23, 2024
EBRD, EU and Bank Respublika to support Azerbaijani MSMEs
News
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is extending a loan of up to US$ 7.5 million (€7 million) in local currency to Bank Respublika, one of Azerbaijan’s leading commercial banks.
Nov 23, 2024
Boosting Green: Polish-Azerbaijani Business Forum in Baku
News
On November 18, 2024, the Boosting Green: Polish-Azerbaijani Business Forum took place in Baku, organized by the Ministry of Climate and Environment of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Embassy in Baku as a side event of the COP29 climate summit held in the capital of Azerbaijan.
Nov 05, 2024
European Union at COP29
News
Join us on the ground at the EU Pavilion and discover how the European Union is leading the way to a sustainable future!
Oct 15, 2024
The European Union-Türkiye Azerbaijan Investment Meet, 2024
News
The event is titled the European Union-Türkiye Azerbaijan Investment Meet, 2024 and will take place at the Lankaran Springs Hotel in Lankaran, Azerbaijan, on October 30-31, 2024.
Oct 01, 2024
"NORDIC TALKS" Initiative Ahead of COP29 in Baku
News
Nordic Embassies Launch the "NORDIC TALKS" Initiative Ahead of COP29 in Baku