EU Parliament approves Luxembourg's Hansen for Agriculture

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 18 - After a hearing of just over three hours, the coordinators of the political groups in the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee gave their broad support, without further questions, to the nomination of Luxembourg's Christophe Hansen as the next European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, parliamentary sources told ANSA The final appointment, however, will only come after the entire Commission is approved by the European Parliament plenary and then by the EU Council.
    The Luxembourg politician did not receive full backing from representatives of the Left, the Europe of Nations, and the Patriots for Europe groups. However, his nomination was supported by the European People's Party (EPP), the Socialists & Democrats, the Renew Europe liberals, the Greens, and the Conservatives of the ECR.
    The Luxembourg politician - who will be directly supervised by the Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto - has committed to promoting a strategy for generational renewal, ensuring income support, and accelerating the approval of biopesticides. All this will be part of a new vision for agriculture that Ursula von der Leyen promised to present within the first 100 days of her mandate, which will be based directly on the recommendations from the "Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture." This forum, launched in January by the European Commission President, was created to address the protests by farmers' groups that recently shook Europe. The new 'Vision' will lay the foundations for the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2027, with a proposal from the European Commission expected by next summer.
    In the framework of the CAP, Hansen committed to improving the current socio-economic situation of farmers and ensuring them "a fair income," addressing one of the main demands voiced during the recent tractor protests across the European Union. It is estimated that the average income of a family farmer is around 60% of the average salary in the EU.
    For the next five years, the Luxembourg politician's focus will also be on promoting a strategy for generational renewal, "since only 10% of farmers are under 40 years old," he emphasized, assuring that - if confirmed in the role - he would be a Commissioner with "boots on the ground." Responding to the many concerns raised by MEPs, many of whom were Italian, he promised to work to ensure that EU environmental standards are applied to all imports in compliance with World Trade Organization rules.
    "One of the main concerns expressed by farmers during their protests is that our producers are required to meet higher standards than others," he explained.
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    (ANSA).