In response to farmers’ protests in EU countries, the European Commission proposes simplifying the regulations. The idea is to reduce the administrative burden that protesters complain about.
The European Commission has proposals for farmers
Above all, the European Commission wants to simplify many of the environmental requirements that farmers currently have to meet, which it admits have proven difficult to implement. One requirement has already been withdrawn – the mandatory fallowing of 4 percent of agricultural land. Now Brussels is proposing further measures that will, among other things, ease the pressure on animal breeders. Moreover, the European Commission wants to reduce the number of inspections on farms by up to half. They are carried out to monitor the correctness of spending EU funds.
Brussels announces that it wants to improve the analysis of photos from the Copernicus satellite monitoring system. This will free farmers from providing detailed, technical documentation. The European Commission argues that this will help them avoid mistakes and possible penalties and will allow them to engage in basic work on farms.
Pesticides and requirements of the Common Agricultural Policy
Brussels also wants to relax the requirements of the EU Common Agricultural Policy so that farmers are not punished for breaking them if exceptional and unpredictable events occur. The European Commission also plans to exempt small farms of less than 10 hectares from inspections regarding compliance with environmental requirements in the future. Brussels explains that this exemption would simplify the daily work of small farmers.
On Wednesday, the European Commission agreed to withdraw draft regulations to cut pesticides by half by 2030. The proposal of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was approved by EU commissioners. This is the announcement made by the President of the Commission from just over two weeks ago. – The proposal has become a symbol of polarization. Therefore, I will propose to the College of Commissioners to withdraw this proposal, she said then.
The proposal was previously rejected by the European Parliament, and work among EU countries on this project has stalled. Only after the farmers’ protests did the head of the Commission change her mind. Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski wrote on the X website that this is good news for farmers. – This marks the end of a divisive proposal and the beginning of a more constructive process: working with farmers on fair, practical and realistic solutions. I have always argued that this is the best approach to protecting crops and promoting sustainable food security, we read in the EU commissioner’s post.
Farmers’ protests across the country
Polish farmers intensified their protests across the country this week, in over 200 places, protesters organized blockades. Farmers are demanding a restriction on the import of Ukrainian goods to Poland and a departure from some of the changes in agriculture announced by EU institutions related to the Green Deal. The proposal to limit pesticides was one of the projects criticized by agricultural centers. Agricultural protests also took place in many European countries, including Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
Source: Gazeta
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