EU experts urge direct CAP support for struggling farmers

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 15 - Link CAP subsidies to income to support farmers in difficulty and create a temporary, complementary fund to the Common Agricultural Policy, to accelerate the transition towards sustainability of the European agri-food sector - these are some of the 14 recommendations for the future Common Agricultural Policy contained in the final report of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture, the forum launched by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in response to the farmers protests.
    The final document was delivered to von der Leyen on September 4 and it will guide the work of the next Commission, which, in the first 100 days of its term, will present a new "vision for agriculture" of the EU.
    The 110-page final report is divided into 10 guiding principles and 14 recommendations.
    In response to the farmers' protests that have shaken the continent in recent months, the report urges European decision-makers to take "decisive action to address the challenges", in particular those of the transition of the sector and fair income for farmers.
    The core of the 14 recommendations is the one regarding the CAP of tomorrow, which recommends providing direct support to farmers "who need it most", rather than tying subsidies solely to the amount of land they own and to mandatory environmental standards.
    This new targeted support - the report states - should "prevent farm abandonment and help ensure farmers a decent income, targeting those most in difficulty, in particular small and mixed farms, young farmers, new entrants and areas subject to natural constraints".
    To accompany the challenges of the transition, the dialogue also suggests adding a "temporary just transition fund" to the CAP resources to complement support for the transition towards sustainability in the sector.
    Other recommendations include "a review of animal welfare legislation and a new regulatory framework" to introduce a system of animal welfare labelling at the European level.
    Launched in January by President von der Leyen, the strategic forum is made up of 29 participants from cooperatives, non-governmental organisations and civil society representatives under the leadership of German professor Peter Strohschneider.
    A total of seven plenary sessions were held from the end of January to the end of August, leading to the unanimous adoption of the final document, which was handed over to von der Leyen.
    It also highlights the need to establish a European Commission "nature restoration fund", with "adequate resources outside the Common Agricultural Policy" to support farmers and other land managers in restoring and managing the EU's natural habitats.
    Stressing the urgency of "ambitious and feasible action at all levels to ensure that the sector operates within planetary boundaries and contributes to climate protection and restoration", the forum suggests the establishment of a fund separate from CAP resources dedicated to supporting Member States in achieving the objectives of the controversial nature restoration law, which came into force in August.
    The report was presented at a press conference by the president of the dialogue alongside von der Leyen, who confirmed her intention to present the roadmap on the future of European agriculture "within the first 100 days of the next mandate". In the future roadmap, von der Leyen anticipated, the European executive will focus on "ensuring a fair and sufficient income for our farmers", because Europe "has the best food quality in the world. Therefore, they must receive the livelihood they deserve".
    The second point, she added, will be support for sustainability objectives for an agriculture that "works for nature and with nature", since farming communities are the first "victims of the climate crisis", she pointed out.
    The third pillar of the roadmap will be the "reduction of administrative burdens for companies to make the sector competitive", which the community executive has already tried to reduce in recent months by getting down to work on the CAP.
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    (ANSA).