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Field in Brandenburg (symbol picture)
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Patrick Pleul / dpa
The European Parliament has voted in favor of the reform of the EU's common agricultural policy (CAP).
A majority of MEPs voted in Strasbourg on Tuesday for the changes to make agriculture in Europe more environmentally friendly and fairer.
To this end, a stronger link between subsidies and the fulfillment of environmental requirements is planned in the future.
This is "more than just a step in the right direction for a performance-oriented, transparent and more effective agricultural policy in Europe," said Ulrike Müller from the Free Voters, who was involved in the GAP negotiations.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said: "This was a difficult compromise, but I think it is the best compromise that could be reached." He spoke of a "good result", it could ensure "the transition to more sustainable agriculture" .
Criticism from links
The Greens parliamentary group as well as German SPD parliamentarians and members of the left parliamentary group had previously announced that they would vote against the reform plans.
The changes don't go far enough for you.
The agricultural policy spokesman for the Greens in the EU Parliament, Martin Häusling, spoke of a "black day for farmers in Europe".
He criticized the fact that climate protection measures adopted by the EU, such as the Green Deal and the “farm to table” strategy, were not reflected in the CAP.
"The European agricultural policy can and must do more to counteract climate change and the loss of biodiversity," criticized the SPD MEP Maria Noichl.
Peter Jahr from the conservative EPP Group replied: "We want to adopt an agricultural reform, and we did not want a lifelong agricultural debate."
After tough negotiations, Parliament and member states agreed on the reform at the end of June.
After that, the final approval of both sides was still pending.
Now the Council has to give the green light.
The new rules will come into force in 2023.
The common agricultural policy is the second largest item in the EU budget with 387 billion euros by 2027.
Germany is entitled to around 42 billion euros of this.
beb / afp
