The French President, Emmanuel Macron, is to hold talks with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in Brussels on Thursday 1 February, to discuss the crisis in the farming world and the support measures that farmers are calling for at EU level, the Élysée announced on Monday 29 January.
The discussion, which will take place alongside an extraordinary European Council meeting on the revision of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027, will focus in particular on the trade agreement being negotiated between the EU and Mercosur, the set-aside imposed on farmers and the arrival of Ukrainian products in the Union.
The French Head of State will also have the opportunity to discuss the issue in various formats with all his counterparts, the Élysée added.
The French President has expressed his very clear opposition to the conclusion of the EU/Mercosur trade agreement under the current conditions to the President of the European Commission on several occasions, according to the Élysée Palace. “The Commission understood that it was impossible to reach a conclusion in this context”, the same source assured us.
“Our understanding is that it has instructed its negotiators to put an end to the negotiating sessions underway in Brazil, and in particular to the planned visit by the Vice-President of the Commission in the event of a conclusion”, France pointed out.
The European Commission, for its part, is examining the request for a continuance until 2024 of the possibility for EU Member States to derogate from the application of certain standards relating to the good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC) of land.
These derogations were granted on 27 July 2022, because of the war in Ukraine, to give farmers more flexibility to produce more in a context of shortages.
Several countries are requesting that this derogation for GAEC 8, which expired at the beginning of 2024, be continued into 2024 (see EUROPE 13296/2).
Olof Gill, the European Commission’s spokesman on agriculture, told EUROPE on Monday 29 January that the Commission was continuing to “closely monitor the market situation and analyse the request for derogations”. “Requests concerning GAEC 8 have been heard and meetings at the highest level are underway”, confirmed the spokesperson. GAEC standards are key elements of the CAP’s ‘green’ architecture, the Commission also points out.
In legislative terms, extending the derogations would require a Commission proposal to amend the regulation on strategic plans implementing the CAP, followed by a co-decision procedure (EU Council and European Parliament).
The derogation in question relates to the minimum proportion of the agricultural area devoted to non-productive areas or features: - a minimum of 4% of arable land when it comes to farming devoted to non-productive areas and features, including set-aside land; - where a farmer undertakes to devote at least 7% of their arable land to non-productive areas or features, including set-aside land, as part of a reinforced eco-regime, the share to be attributed to compliance with this GAEC standard is limited to 3%.
At the ‘Agriculture’ Council on 23 January, Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski came out in favour of France’s request to continue the derogation (GAEC 8). “I presented my support for this request at a meeting of the European Commission”, he said. “Farmers don’t understand why they now have to exclude 4% of their arable land from production”, argued Janusz Wojciechowski. He also called for an increase in the budget for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and more tools to help farmers in times of crisis.
According to Benoît Lutgen MEP (EPP, Belgian), interviewed by EUROPE on Monday 29 January, the European measures to be taken in favour of farmers include “indexation of CAP resources”, measures to ensure that prices are sufficiently remunerative for farmers (market regulation) and a halt to imports of agricultural products from third countries, such as New Zealand.
According to Olof Gill, the strategic dialogue on the future of EU agriculture aims to answer longer-term questions. “The importance of farmers to society, food security and the economic viability of rural areas is considered an absolute priority”, concluded Mr Gill.
France hopes that the Commission will move on the request for a derogation from the rules on GAEC 8 and on the safeguard measures concerning the exemption from customs tariffs granted in 2022 to Ukrainian agricultural products (see other news). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur, with Camille-Cerise Gessant)