European Union hammers out further environmental concessions for farmers as tractor protests ring out

BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union’s executive arm on Friday issued further warnings to farmers apparently bent on continuing destructive tractor protests until June’s EU elections in the bloc’s latest concession plan. It proposed sacrificing many climate and environmental measures.

The European Commission has proposed further easing of rules for agriculture, angering environmentalists in 27 countries. Until recently, they argued, the rule was an essential part of the EU’s strategy to become climate neutral by 2050. This symbolic challenge has made the EU a pioneer in the world. Fighting climate change.

“The main aim of these legislative proposals is to further reduce the administrative burden on EU farmers and give farmers and Member States greater flexibility to comply with specific environmental conditions,” the statement said. Ta. Ursula von der Leyensaid the committee.

The proposal would weaken or reduce the conditions for a more climate-friendly agricultural transition in areas such as crop rotation, cover protection and tillage practices. And smallholder farmers, who represent about two-thirds of the workforce and are the most active in protests across the continent, will be exempt from some regulations and penalties under the new rules.

Politically, the EU has moved to the right over the past year, with populists and others claiming that the plight of farmers means that the EU’s climate and agricultural policies are nothing more than bureaucratic blunders by elite politicians who have lost touch with soil and the land. This has become the rallying cry of conservatives. . Von der Leyen’s Christian Democratic European People’s Party was one of the most vocal and powerful in championing the peasant cause.

But scientists and environmentalists around the world say drastic measures are needed to stop global warming from worsening, and point to Europe as one of the places with the poorest prospects.

The commission’s proposal still needs approval from member states, but given the concessions made so far, it has a good chance of being accepted quickly, observers said.

Friday’s plan is the EU’s latest concession to protests that have affected the daily lives of tens of millions of EU citizens and cost businesses tens of millions of euros in transport delays. Other bills include shelving legislation that would tighten regulations on pesticides and require some land to fallow.

In addition to the EU itself, member states also responded to several demands as the tractor protests rose to the political agenda. Complaints center on excessive bureaucracy, intrusive environmental regulations, and unfair competition from third countries, including Ukraine.

The European Commission said that although more flexible measures for farmers are now being proposed, overall EU climate change targets remain in place.

“We are the first continent to make a binding legal commitment to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. and ensure that we achieve climate neutrality,” said European Commission spokesperson Eric Mummer. We are on the right path to achieving that goal. ”

He insisted Friday’s proposal does not depart from that commitment, although “it is clear that we will adapt from time to time to changing circumstances.”