A far-right agriculture minister in France: Panic in the Agrifish Council?

On Sunday evening (7 July), after the second round of legislative elections, France will have a new National Assembly. If the Rassemblement national (RN) and its right-wing allies win an absolute majority – which is unlikely but not impossible – it will be up to the probable new prime minister, Jordan Bardella, to propose a new minister of agriculture.

Who, then, would sit on the EU’s Agrifish Council after Marc Fesneau, who has been in the post since 2022? “I haven’t seen any agricultural experts in the Rassemblement national,” was the straight answer of the EU farmers’ leader Christiane Lambert when we asked her.

While Marine Le Pen’s party is not known for having many specialists in agricultural issues in its ranks, two names are doing the rounds.

One is Gilles Lebreton, a former RN MEP and member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, whose expertise in the field is recognised even among his political opponents.

French MP Grégoire de Fournas, a winegrower from the Bordeaux region, is also said to be on the short list.

What could their appointment to lead the French farming powerhouse mean for the EU Council? The two have in common strong reservations about the Green Deal, and in particular the Farm to Fork strategy.

The flagship EU initiative to support sustainable food systems, in their view, undermines economic competitiveness and threatens the European food sovereignty.

On gene edited plants (NGTs), an issue that is still on the Council’s table, an RN minister is expected to maintain France’s favourable line, as 90% of RN representatives in the European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favour of the Commission’s text.

Another project for the next legislature is the revision of animal welfare legislation, and France’s position on these issues is unpredictable. Much criticised by animal protection NGOs for its inertia, the RN is divided on the issue: Several MEPs, for example, defended a ban on the export of live animals in Strasbourg.

It remains to be seen how much room for manoeuvre an RN minister will have in the Council of Agriculture Ministers, as texts are usually voted on by qualified majority (15 member states and 65% of the EU population).

Another likely scenario is the emergence of a far-right agricultural alliance.

We can imagine the French minister joining forces with his Italian colleague, but also with the Dutch, Hungarians, Austrians, and Czechs. But the combined population of these six countries does not exceed 35.7% of the EU population. Not enough to impose a vision on the Council.

Still, one thing is certain: France and its influence in Brussels could help to further slow the progress of the Farm to Fork strategy.

“An RN minister can put forward ideas to the Council, supported by the allied states, such as renationalising the CAP. All the more so as agriculture is a highly strategic sector for the far right,” Sébastien Abis, a specialist in international agricultural issues, told Euractiv.

The sector is also strategic for President Emmanuel Macron, who, in the expert’s opinion, will not easily cede the future of agriculture to the Rassemblement national. A tug-of-war could start as early as 15 July at the next Agrifish Council.

Nibbles of the week 

Farmers’ position in food supply chain a top priority for new EU coalition. Addressing unfair trading practices in the food supply chain is set to be a top priority for the three “centrist” political groups forming the new majority coalition in the European Parliament, according to draft documents seen by Euractiv.

But the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the European People’s Party (EPP), and Renew Europe have different ambitions when it comes to sustainability.

In particular, the EPP’s draft plan seeks to place anti-deforestation law on the back-burner. The centre-right party wants to delay the implementation of the EU’s anti-deforestation law, scheduled to take effect by the end of the year.

The Agrifood Hub published a series of interviews asking stakeholders about their expectations for the upcoming mandate.  We started with the food industry, which is  calling for the relaunch of the EU initiative for a food sustainable system legal framework.

The farmers chief called for a vice-president for agriculture in the next Commission to reflect the rising importance of food and farming on the political agenda.

EU retailers warned of market fragmentation, saying the bloc should avoid “counterproductive” measures when tackling unfair trading practices and instead remove barriers to investment.

For the consumers’ representative, labelling will be a challenge for the next mandate, and taking up pending files will require “political courage” from the Commission.

Farming group Via Campesina said the EU’s trade policy clashes with sustainability and food sovereignty ambitions, calling on the next executive to control food prices and abandon the long-stalled trade deal with Mercosur.

EU reintroduces quotas on sugar and egg imports from Ukraine. The European Commission announced on Monday (1 July) that the two commodities will no longer be exempted from duties and quotas as of Tuesday (2 July), since they exceeded the cap fixed in the regulation on trade benefits for Kyiv.

Europe has recorded the lowest number of avian flu in poultry in four years, say EU agencies. A new report found that cases of avian influenza are in decline across the bloc and recommended surveillance in the upcoming season.

EU considers ‘hazardous to bees’ warning in pesticides. Next week, the Commission will present to member states a proposal for the harmonisation of pesticide labels including a new pictogram to warn against the potential effects of the chemicals on bees.

Commission authorises import of genetically modified maize for food and animal feed. On 2 July, the Commission granted a 10-year authorisation for the import of two genetically modified maize crops for use in food and animal feed and renewed the authorisation for another one. The EU executive adopted the decision after member states were unable to reach a qualified majority either in favour or against the authorisation.

EU executive highlights CAP’s role in strengthening rural areas. A study published on Thursday showed that between 2014-2022, the CAP has allocated €8.6 billion to support activities not related to farming in rural areas.

[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Zoran Radosavljevic]

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