The EPP party on Friday 5 May slammed the European Commission’s ‘European Green Deal’ initiatives by rejecting the proposal on the sustainable use of pesticides, “because the chosen reduction targets are simply not feasible and the proposal does not offer farmers viable alternatives”.
The EPP adopted a resolution on its vision for agriculture at its political assembly in Munich, Germany, on 4-5 May. The EPP believes that “now is not the time to endanger food security in Europe”.
The EPP rejects not only the text on pesticides, but also the proposed law on nature restoration. “In too many regions or Member States, the implementation of existing nature legislation has led to a bureaucratic nightmare and planning deadlock, endangering food security, renewable energy production”, the statement also says.
The EPP is particularly opposed to the objective of taking 10% of agricultural land out of production, a measure deemed “irresponsible in the current context”. Furthermore, “we believe that existing derogations from the cross-compliance to the Common Agricultural Policy conditionality regime should be extended so as to allow more land to be used for productive purposes to tackle potential shortages”.
A debate on EU agriculture will take place in the European Parliament next Wednesday in Strasbourg, a topic placed on the agenda at the request of the EPP group in the European Parliament.
Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, Belgian) said that the EPP campaign was “an attack” on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is a member of the EPP party, and that “this internal party power struggle is being waged at the expense of farmers and nature”. More info: https://www.epp.eu/papers/european-farmers-deal (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)