On Thursday 24 July, the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) criticised the European Commission’s contradictory announcements regarding the reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP) post-2027, in particular the discreet abandonment of increased support for young people (see EUROPE 13687/11).
“Despite announcements that the earmarked budget would double from 3% to 6% in the new CAP proposals, the texts published 48 hours later did not have any minimum financial ambition dedicated to young farmers”, deplores CEJA.
With just a few weeks to go before an EU Strategy for Generational Renewal is published, the EU’s young farmers “want to express their anger [...] at this major historical setback”.
The proposals include progress on certain interventions linked to generational renewal (start-up kit for young farmers, support for setting up, risk management), but “the absence of earmarking gives a false start to the Strategy for Generational Renewal”, according to CEJA.
For its chairman, Peter Meedendorp, “the absence of earmarking brings us 25 years back in time, when we had to fight to get a miserable percentage of the policy’s envelope. We reject the notion of aspirational targets because we know from experience what happens in the absence of minimum budget allocation”.
The Commission states that young farmers “will receive unprecedented support”. Each Member State will have to adopt a generational renewal strategy, ensuring that the structural, financial and social barriers to entry into the profession are removed, according to the Commission. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)