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
Nov 14, 2022
Sector-Specific EU Business Mission to Nakhchivan
News
EU Business Mission to Nakhchivan part of EU-Azerbaijan BusinessForum 2020-2022 assignment.
Jun 09, 2022
The EU project implemented by UNDP held the first “Ideathon on Agrinnovation” in Lankaran
News
EU4Lankaran supports the youth and innovation in agriculture in Lankaran/Astara economic region.
May 16, 2022
INVESTMENT AGREEMENT SIGNED BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN INVESTMENT COMPANY AND BALACANS AGRO FOOD LLC
News
As a result of the successful socio-economic policy of the head of the state, a favorable business environment has been created in our country. Systematic measures carried out towards the sustainable development of the non-oil economy, effective mechanisms applied to support investments, increase production and export potential also open wide opportunities for business development in the regions.
May 15, 2022
The "Youth Business Workshop" project was launched in Gabala
News
The goal of the “Youth Business Workshop” project, implemented jointly by KOBIA, the State Employment Agency and the State Agency for Vocational Education, is to develop business skills, promote entrepreneurship, ensure self-employment among young people receiving vocational training, increase the number of young people receiving vocational training among micro and small entrepreneurs, support new business initiatives, increase interest in vocational education.
May 15, 2022
Eurovillage 2022 in Baku: join the celebrations on 14 May
News
The EU Delegation to Azerbaijan invites Baku residents to take part in the Eurovillage 2022 this Saturday, 14 May. The main theme of the event is the EU in Baku, the European Youth Year 2022 and the Healthy Lifestyle for All Campaign (H4ALL).
May 14, 2022
Which products became more expensive in April?
News
In April this year, inflation in Azerbaijan was recorded at 1% against 1.1% in March.
May 13, 2022
COVID-19: the EU's response to the economic fallout
News
EU recovery funds to reach 24 EU countries. So far, 24 EU countries have got the green light for the use of EU recovery and resilience funds to boost their economies and assist the recovery from COVID-19.
Mar 16, 2022
EU and UNDP launch new Mayors for Economic Growth Facility in Azerbaijan
News
On 14 March 2022 the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Azerbaijan have launched the new Mayors for Economic Growth Facility (M4EG). The M4EG Facility will run up to 2024 and aim at sustainable development throughout the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region.
Mar 15, 2022
Europe's economy bounces back from a double-dip recession
News
EU countries emerged from a double-dip recession in the second quarter with a growth of 1.9% more than the quarter before, according to figures released by Eurostat. The economy in the 19 countries that use the euro currency grew by 2%.
Feb 24, 2022
Italy pays homeowners 110% of costs to eco-proof their homes
News
While homeowners in the UK were considering a government offer of £5,000 (€5927) towards a heat pump last week, residents in Italy have been enjoying a much more rewarding scheme.
Nov 23, 2021
EU parliament gives green light to agricultural reforms
News
he European Parliament has approved reforms to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), after nearly three years of negotiations. This latest round of changes is intended to be more climate-friendly by strengthening biodiversity and adhering to the bloc's latest climate commitments.