Following farmers’ protests in several European countries, the European Commission has proposed huge concessions to farmers (see video above). Small companies with less than ten hectares no longer have to expect fines if they do not comply with EU rules.
They should also be exempt from inspection visits. Further exemptions are planned for environmental regulations. In detail, the requirements for crop rotation and the cultivation of catch crops must be relaxed. Companies should be able to convert more pasture land into arable land, which should especially benefit livestock farmers if, for example, they want to switch to grain cultivation due to declining incomes. Moreover, according to the European Commission, a regulation for the minimum share of fallow land on arable land should remain suspended.
Decision possible in April
The Council of 27 member states had already pushed through the concessions at the end of March. The European Parliament has now also voted in favor of an accelerated procedure, which means that additional consultation is no longer necessary. A final decision could come this month. Most of the relief will apply from next year, some retroactively to January 1, 2024.
However, not everyone is satisfied with this. On Thursday, activists from the environmental protection organization Greenpeace protested in front of the European Parliament building in Brussels. Conservation on farms is not the problem at all, but rather the cheap prices of large agricultural and food companies. “Farmers are rightly angry,” says Marco Contiero of Greenpeace.
Source: Krone
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