On Monday 14 February, the European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, said that she had written to the European Commission to ask how it “ensures transparency and balanced representation of interests” in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The information request follows the approval of the new CAP in November 2021, “which aims to reduce the environmental impact of farming”, explained a press release. Ms O’Reilly noted that the public needs to be reassured that vested interests do not unduly influence future decisions on climate action and environmental protection.
In light of this, the Ombudsman has asked the Commission how it intends to follow up on its commitment to guarantee that non-economic interests are adequately represented in its stakeholder forums (Civil Dialogue Groups).
The Ombudsman also asked whether the Commission will monitor the accuracy of the information it receives from the Member States about the beneficiaries of CAP funds and what transparency measures it will take regarding its discussions with the Member States on how they plan to achieve CAP objectives, including the objectives of the European Green Deal.
The Ombudsman is interested in how the EU administration interacts with lobbyists and stakeholders.
As a sign of good faith, Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski announced that his inbox was open “regarding issues related to agriculture, including opinions on national strategic plans under the CAP”.
Mr Wojciechowski regularly details the procedure that has been put in place: assessment of the plans first, then the comment letters, then the revision and finally, the final adoption (see EUROPE 12893/26).
Link to the European Ombudsman’s letter: https://aeur.eu/f/e8 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)