European agriculture ministers are holding an informal meeting in Austria from 23 to 25 September to discuss the development of rural areas and the quality of farm production. Other items on the agenda are African swine fever and the appointment of a European Union candidate to the post of FAO director general.
EU agriculture ministers will thus be meeting at Schloss Hof in Austria some 50 km to the east of Vienna for an informal meeting to discuss matters pertaining to the future common agricultural policy (CAP).
The Austrian presidency of the Council has chosen to devote the round-the-table discussion on 25 September to the question of “CAP after 2020: shaping the future of viable rural areas and quality food production in the EU”. The presidency explains that discussion will be on the importance of CAP instruments, on one hand, with emphasis on family farms, and, on the other, the promotion of sustainable high quality food production.
In a working paper, Austria says the CAP has contributed to maintaining and developing viable rural areas by creating jobs and providing public assets (preserving the landscape, cultural heritage, safeguarding natural resources, biodiversity).
A first question will be put to the EU28 ministers: Which instruments should be given preference when it comes to maintaining farm production throughout the Union, including in areas subject to natural constraints, and to strengthening the multi-functionality of agriculture and European rural areas?
In addition, the Austrian presidency states, the production of high quality food generates added value for farmers and meets the expectations of consumers. EU ministers should therefore indicate how, in their view, the CAP can help farmers to produce sustainable and competitive quality food, in order to generate adequate farming income.
In parallel to this discussion, the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) will be meeting on 24 September to discuss, in particular, the rural development chapter of the proposals on CAP post-2020.
Swine fever and FAO. The issue of African swine fever will also be discussed at the request of Belgium, the country in which wild boar have been discovered with the disease. The informal meeting provides an opportunity for Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle of France - who has put her candidacy forward to be the European Union’s candidate to the post of FAO director general (Rome), to be filled on 1 January 2020 - to officially meet the EU28 agriculture ministers.
Environment NGOs kept away from the debate. In a press release published on Thursday 20 September, certain environmental NGOs protest against the farm ministers’ refusal to grant them accreditation allowing them to take part in the debates on the future CAP “while representatives of the most intensive and polluting farms are time and time again given special access to these informal agriculture ministerial meetings”.
In a document on CAP, the European Environment Bureau (EEB), BirdLife Europe, the WWF and Greenpeace call on ministers to ensure that the CAP supports farmers in their transition towards sustainable agriculture. The paper identifies the need for “funding nature protection; ending perverse subsidies for intensive agriculture and factory farming”. The NGOs hope to be involved in the CAP reform process. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)