Greens/EFA call on Commission and Council to fix EU’s broken agricultural policies

Today, Members of the European Parliament will debate Empowering farmers and rural communities - a dialogue towards sustainable and fairly rewarded EU agriculture following the farmers protests that are spreading across the EU. It is clear that the EU’s agricultural policies are broken. Farmers are being crushed by a broken system that doesn't leave the opportunity to make a fair income from their hard work. Meanwhile, those who work to keep this broken system alive pretend to care about farmers. The Greens/EFA have long called for a complete reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and was the only political group to vote no to the CAP. 

Tilly Metz MEP, Greens/EFA member of the Agricultural Committee, comments:

“The farmers' protests come as no surprise to us. For too long, the EU agricultural policies have favoured big agri interest over the small farmers. And hard working farmers find it difficult to make ends meet. Farmers are on the frontline of climate change, and already have to adapt to a hotter and drier climate. They know very well that without nature there is no food. 

“Farmers are squeezed between high input costs and low retail prices. The Greens/EFA call on the Commission to launch an investigation into how powerful agri-food oligopolies impact farmers’ incomes and propose guidelines for an agri-food windfall tax. We need fair conditions for our farmers and that includes trade deals, which is why we also call for an end to the Mercosur fair trade agreement. A thorough reform of the CAP, including the Common Market Organisation, is necessary to ensure a fair distribution of support, rural job creation, and progress in the ecological transition.”

More:
Greens/EFA letter on our key agricultural policy demands to the Commission