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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