Von der Leyen urged to overhaul CAP in reform of EU food policy

euronews (in English)

Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has been urged to open a new chapter in EU food policy and overhaul the current CAP system in the process following recommendations of a reflection group.

Transcript

00:00After months of intense demonstrations by farmers this past winter and spring,

00:06changes could be on the horizon for Europe's agricultural sector.

00:10The European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen,

00:13has just published its strategic dialogue with key stakeholders on the future of farming,

00:18with ideas like shifting how EU funds are allocated to farmers by need rather than by size.

00:24The discussion, spearheaded earlier this year,

00:26is seen as essential in bridging the highly polarised debate

00:29surrounding the Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP.

00:32The CAP, which accounts for one third of the EU's budget, is now under review.

00:38The recommendation is to make the CAP fit for purpose,

00:43and this means on the one side enabling for lively rural areas.

00:51This means, in the second function, income support.

00:57But as the CAP is public money, this income support should be targeted,

01:03much more targeted, to those who actually need this support.

01:10These suggestions are expected to form the basis

01:13for the European Commission's new agriculture and food proposal,

01:17which is set to be released by early 2025.

01:20Environmental groups like Greenpeace have cautiously welcomed the discussions,

01:24calling it a step towards sustainability.

01:27Clearly, if I had to write this, I would write it very differently.

01:32But I accept it, again, as a consensus,

01:35after seven months of very hard work and very tough negotiations.

01:38So I'm extremely happy to see, for instance,

01:41all these group of stakeholders accepting the fact

01:44that we need to address the negative impacts of livestock farming,

01:48not at the expenses of farmers.

01:50We need to help farmers in the transition,

01:53but it's clear that we all agree we need to tackle the problem of livestock

01:58in the areas with very high livestock concentration.

02:02One key issue raised during last spring's protests

02:06was funding the transition to a more sustainable agricultural system.

02:10Farmers, through their main association, COPA COGECA,

02:13were involved in the talks.

02:36The text also calls on the European Commission

02:39to ensure greater coherence between its trade and sustainability policies.

03:09For more UN videos visit www.un.org

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended