The future of agriculture and the Mercosur agreement are set to come under the spotlight again at the European Parliament later this week.
MEPs are scheduled to discuss the impact of the Mercosur agreement on the agri-food sector with Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen and also the Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic later this week.
Commissioner Hansen will also discuss the future of agriculture with members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI).
Agriculture
Fresh discussions at the European Parliament on the future of agriculture come as the European Commission today (Monday, January 27) “officially established” the European Board on Agriculture and Food (EBAF) which will be chaired by Commissioner Hansen.
The formation of the board was one of the key recommendations that came out of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture which was launched in 2023 by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in response to widespread protests by farmers across Europe.
The new European Board on Agriculture and Food (EBAF) is expected to provide high-level advice to the commission to inform the strategy for the Vision for Agriculture and Food which Commissioner Hansen is responsible for developing.
The first meeting of the 30 member strong organisation will take place next week (February 4).
They represent the rural and farming communities, producers in food supply chain environment and climate groups, animal welfare organisations and consumer protection groups.
The commission outlined in a statement that the selected organisations demonstrate a “broad competence and expertise” and display a wide geographical representativeness across member states.
According to Commissioner Hansen he now looks looks forward to “benefitting from their advice and practical experience in shaping our agricultural policies”.
“I also encourage members to continue talking to each other and to maintain the spirit of consensus fostered by the Strategic Dialogue.
“In our common interest, we must put behind us the polarised discussions and work together for the future,” the commissioner added.
Last week Commissioner Hansen told Irish farmers that the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) needs to “build on what is working well” but also “fix elements not working well”.
Speaking during his first official visit to Ireland last week (Thursday, January 23) Commissioner Hansen said he believes this approach would give more predictability and will “foster investments” and encourage people to enter farming.