STRASBOURG - "
Our farmers deserve to be listened to
. I know that they are worried about the future of agriculture and their future. But they also know that
agriculture must move to a more sustainable production model,
so that their companies remain profitable for years to come."
The president of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen said this
at the EP plenary
, announcing that she will propose to the college of commissioners "the
withdrawal" of the legislative proposal on pesticides
.
The regulation "has become a symbol of polarization" she explained, underlining that "a new, more mature proposal" will be made in the future.
"The proposal was rejected by the European Chamber, and there is no progress in the Council either", underlined von der Leyen, focusing at length in his speech on the farmers' protests.
"Many of them feel cornered. Farmers are the first to feel the effects of climate change. Droughts and floods have destroyed crops and threatened livestock. Farmers are feeling the impact of the Russian war. Inflation, the rising cost of energy and fertilizers. Nonetheless, they work hard every day to produce the quality food we eat. For this, we owe them appreciation, thanks and respect," he stressed.
"We have launched the Strategic Dialogue on the future of agriculture in the EU.
We invited representatives from the agricultural sector, rural communities, the seed and fertilizer industry, the food sector, but also from the financial sector, consumers and the food sector, consumer and environmental groups and science.
We need to analyze the situation together, share ideas and develop scenarios for the future.
We need to move beyond a polarized debate and build trust.
Trust is the fundamental basis for workable solutions.
The stakes are high for all of us.
Our food production system is unique," he further explained.
Incentives with subsidies for farmers were also announced.
“Farmers need a valid commercial argument for nature improvement measures – says von der Leyen – and perhaps we have not made it convincingly. A real incentive that goes beyond simple yield loss Public subsidies can provide such incentives,”
“Fertile soil has always been the backbone of a farmer's livelihood. But 60 to 70 percent of soils in Europe are now in poor condition. We can reverse these trends. And many farmers are doing so. But we need to do more ", emphasized von der Leyen adding: "nature conservation can only succeed through a bottom-up, incentive-based approach. Because only if our farmers can live off the land, will they invest in the future."
Coldiretti, 'withdrawal of pesticide proposal to save 30% made in Italy'
The withdrawal of the proposed regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides (Sur) saves 30% of the production at the basis of the Mediterranean diet, from wine to tomatoes, put at risk by the unrealistic objective of halving the use of agrochemicals.
This is what the president of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini states in commenting on the announcement by the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen of the rejection of the proposal "in her speech to the European Parliament after the large Coldiretti demonstration in Brussels on the occasion of the EU summit".
A response, says Coldiretti "to the protest of farmers from the south and north of the European Union, from Coldiretti to the Spaniards of Asaja, from the Portuguese of Cap to the Belgians of FWA up to the young farmers which was followed by the meeting between the president of Coldiretti and Von der Leyen".
Furthermore, according to the European Commission study, adds Coldiretti, "the greatest impacts on yield would have occurred in crops that have limited relevance, such as grapes, hops and tomatoes".
“The battle to guarantee dignity and fair income to Italian farmers does not stop” specifies Prandini in underlining that "no cut to the economic resources of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for farmers will be accepted since today it is necessary to ensure the food autonomy of European citizens and encourage generational change. From this perspective, it is not even possible for the enlargement of the Union to include Ukraine to be paid for by agricultural companies".
We then need to definitively cancel "the absurd obligation to leave land uncultivated which undermines the productive capacity of our agriculture and paradoxically favors imports of food products from abroad which do not respect the same rules as European ones. A striking case is Mercosur, the trade agreement with South American countries which must be rejected.
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