EU Puts (Some) Brakes on Its Agricultural Policies
The soft turnabout reads more like electoral maneuvering than genuine concern for struggling farmers.
The soft turnabout reads more like electoral maneuvering than genuine concern for struggling farmers.
North African strawberries were contaminated with Hepatitis A.
Farmers are a potent force in French politics and icons of traditional cuisine and lifestyle, especially this year.
The strategy of the French Right is to change the rules of the game from the inside.
Ignoring the concerns of farmers, EU member states will now have to make swathes of their territory unfarmable by 2030.
Whether the measures requested by the agriculture ministers will be implemented—or make a difference to farmers—remains to be seen.
Fishermen also joined the protests, which took place at the same time as demonstrations in Brussels.
Campaigning for reelection—and dogged by farmer protests against cheap Ukrainian imports—von der Leyen has abruptly mothballed the Ukraine question.
Tarring farmers with the ‘far-right’ brush is a sure sign that the EU elites fear they are losing control of the political agenda.
The Commission dropped the planned 30% CO2 cut in the agricultural sector to appease protesters, but the newly set 90% overall reduction by 2040 will force farmers to comply anyway.
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