EU plotting new course for its rural economies

The European Commission has unveiled a new long-term plan for rural areas, outlining both threats and opportunities.

This will be converted into a new action plan. The policy will apply across the EU 27, with the aim of making these areas better connected, stronger, more resilient and prosperous.

The report identifies the challenge of population loss to urban areas and an ageing population, but stresses the key role of rural areas in the plans to green the EU and drive the transition to a digital era.

It warns however the demographic time bomb of an ageing population will get worse in the coming years and stresses the future lies in developments beyond agriculture.

The process will begin with a new rural pact, committing the EU to tackle these problems.

Commitments will include better services, improved infrastructure including transport, social innovation, greening in farming and economic diversification.

The target is radical change by 2040, but the commitments are little different to what was promised, but never delivered, from rural development when it began in the 1990s.

Farmers in the EU now have certainty that the support mechanism will remain in place until 2027.

The European Commission insists the reformed CAP will be fairer, greener, more animalfriendly and flexible.

In effect it is more of the same, in terms of direct support, with some additional environmental

demands bolted on. These relate to compulsory greening, farm to fork policy delivery.

For the first time, member states will have to direct at least 10% of funding to smaller farms.

At least 3% will have to go to young farmers and for the first time farmers will have to show they are meeting EU social welfare and labour laws.

There will be extra encouragement for farmers to work together to strengthen their position in

the marketplace. At least 35% of rural development funding must go to agrienvironment schemes.

Many of the new policies are tick-box exercises for farmers and member states and crucially the CAP budget and the direct payments model have been largely protected.

The European Commission has set out plans to end all cage systems in farming.

However while draft legislation will emerge by

the end of 2023, implementation remains a long way down the road – probably 2027 at the earliest.

The road to legislation began with a European Citizens Initiative that gathered signatures across all member states.

The legislation will apply to all farmed animals, including pigs and calves, but the biggest impact will be felt in the poultry sector.

The European Food Safety Authority has been

charged with coming up with scientific plans to move from cages to new systems.

This is a big victory for the animal welfare lobby and it is already encouraging member organisations to press for more.

The farming lobby, through COPA, has accepted the inevitability of legislation but says the commission lacks commitment to ensure imports meet the same standards.

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