Parliament gives final nod to loosen green requirements for farmers

7 months ago 24

The European Parliament gave its final green light on Wednesday (24 April) to changes to some environmental conditions for receiving payments under the bloc’s subsidy scheme, which are expected to come into force by June, after member states’ approval.

With 425 votes in favour, 130 against, and 33 abstentions, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) formally approved the so-called “simplification package” to relax the environmental requirements for payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

In a bid to meet farmers’ demands for cutting red tape, the EU executive proposed on 15 March to change six of the nine Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) and to exempt small farms from compliance controls.

The most conspicuous change concerns GAEC 8, which originally required farmers to leave 4% of arable land fallow to maintain soil health. The requirement will no longer be a condition for access to CAP payments but will become a voluntary scheme.

On Tuesday, in a separate procedure, MEPs approved changes to GAEC 1, which requires farmers to maintain a certain area of permanent grassland.

Swift approval

In a rush to approve the package before the EU elections in June and the end of the legislature, EU lawmakers have sped up the legislative process in recent weeks, leading environmental NGOs to accuse them of disregarding democratic principles.

As MEPs from the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the Greens, and the Left have failed to pass amendments to the Commission’s proposal – with the minor changes introduced by the EU Council – it is in this case possible to bypass interinstitutional negotiations between Parliament and Council and swiftly approve the measures.

After today’s vote, it will be up to the EU Council to rubber-stamp the text so that it can enter into force by June.

“The result of the vote is a victory for European farmers and our food security,” MEP Norbert Lins (EPP), chairman of the Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, said in a press release.

Conversely, Greenpeace EU agriculture policy director Marco Contiero said that “this vote shreds the last scraps of credibility that the EU’s farm policy protects the environment and the public interest”.

[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Zoran Radosavljevic]