The European executive proposes to tap into the “crisis reserve“, a fund of 450 million euros intended to help farmers in the event of price instability.
EU agriculture ministers were discussing on Monday ways to cushion the impact of the Ukrainian conflict, through financial aid and a temporary reduction in fallow land, to boost EU production and avoid food shortages in some parts of the world. .
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The European Commission must present to the Ministers of the Twenty-Seven, meeting in Brussels, its recipes to help farmers absorb the soaring cost of fuels, animal feed and fertilizers, while boosting European production to export more to the countries in need, indicated on his arrival the French Minister Julien Denormandie. Faced with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia – two major exporting countries of cereals (notably for animal feed in Europe) and fertilizers – Brussels is working on specific aid to support storage, particularly in the pig sector. , and on derogations from the rules on fallow land.
Tap into the “crisis reserve”
«It is necessary to compensate for the loss of crops in Ukraine. Commission proposal would bring 4 million hectares back into cultivation in the EU“, temporarily, observed Austrian Minister Elisabeth Köstinger. According to the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which will come into force in January 2023, farms of more than 10 hectares had to leave at least 4% of their land uncultivated and returned to nature. In addition, the European executive proposes to tap into the “crisis reserve», a fund of 450 million euros intended to help farmers in the event of price instability, and will present «a framework agreement also making possible additional aid from the Member States“Said French Minister Julien Denormandie.
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The Commission will take stock on Monday of its assessment of the strategic plans of the States, which decline the future CAP at the national level, and which could, in addition to fallow land, provide for temporary relaxation of environmental rules, while some farmers are already preparing their rotations for 2023.”It’s a matter of common sense (…) We have to make these (environmental) transitions, but we have to both assume our nurturing role, this aspect of production“, while the war in Ukraine could provoke “a global food crisis“, pleaded Julien Denormandie.
Some of the States are demanding to question the European strategy “From farm to fork“, which aims, by 2030, to halve the use of pesticides, by 20% that of fertilizers, and to devote a quarter of the land to organic, which would result according to several studies – criticized by the Commission – by a significant drop in yields in Europe.
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