Ciao, Bruxelles! EU farming policy speaks a little more Italian

It’s an unwritten rule in Brussels that the agriculture commissioner’s portfolio rarely goes to the EU’s top farming players—France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. Together, these four countries accounted for 58% of the total value of the EU’s agricultural production in 2023, according to Eurostat. 

There has been just one exception: Italy’s Carlo Scarascia-Mugnozza, who held the post briefly from 1972 to 1973 during the Mansholt Commission – himself a farmer and one of the fathers of modern European agriculture. 

But potential influence on EU policy does not depend solely on the Commissioner’s nationality.

Christophe Hansen is poised to become the second Luxembourgish politician to secure the agriculture portfolio – if he survives the European Parliament grilling, of course. 

However, Hansen’s boss, if confirmed, will be Italy’s Raffaele Fitto as the Commission’s executive vice-president for cohesion and reforms. Fitto has been tasked with improving the “competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability of the food and farming sector” while prioritising support for farmers who need it most. 

The presence of Italians presence in key positions in the EU agricultural bubble was further cemented today (27 September). Massimiliano Giansanti, the head of Italy’s oldest farming association, Confagricoltura, has been elected president of Copa, the influential EU umbrella organisation for farmers’ unions. 

“The coming years will define the future of European agriculture,” Giansanti – a Roman agricultural entrepreneur who produces cereals, kiwifruit, milk and livestock products – said after his election, citing the enlargement and climate change as some of the most pressing issues affecting the bloc’s farmers.  

Italy also has the largest presence in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee (AGRI), with nine full members and six substitutes. Of the eight political groups represented, four are led by Italians on agriculture matters. 

European Commission challenges China dairy probe at WTO. In an unexpected move, the EU executive on Monday (23 September) launched consultations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against an ongoing investigation by the Beijing authorities into the compatibility of EU subsidies with global trade rules. 

EU countries back proposal to downgrade wolf protection status. A majority of EU ambassadors on Wednesday (25 September) supported a European Commission proposal to lower the protection status of wolves in Europe, marking a crucial first step towards changing the current rules under the Bern Convention. 

Tensions rise between the EU and Norway over fishing quotas. At the Agrifish Council on Monday (23 September), EU agriculture ministers called on the European Commission to crack down on Norway for exceeding the quotas on certain species.  

EU countries reiterate calls to increase de minimis state aid. In the Council, a total of 16 countries backed a proposal presented by Germany and France to raise the limit for de minimis state aid in the agricultural sector to €50,000 per farm over three years, EU diplomats told Euractiv.  A new draft regulation is expected to be presented by the Commission this autumn, the sources added. 

European Commission activates crisis reserve for five countries. On the same day, the EU executive proposed to allocate €119.7 million from the agricultural reserve to help farmers affected by extreme weather conditions in Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Italy and Romania. 

Ministers call for a delay in pesticide tracking obligations. A coalition of at least 17 agriculture ministers in the Agrifish Council, led by Poland, has pushed to delay new obligations to electronically track pesticide use in a further effort to reduce the burden on farmers. 

The anti-deforestation saga goes on. On Wednesday (25 September), in two parallel statements, the German Ministry of Agriculture and 28 organisations from the agri-food, forestry and timber-derived sectors raised the alarm over the Commission’s intention to stick to the current timeline for the EU’s anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR).  

EU auditors say the bloc must step up support for organic market. On the EU Organic Farming Day on Monday (23 September), the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published a report warning that the bloc will miss its target of 25% organic farmland by 2030 due to weak support. On the same day, the EU executive announced the winners of the third edition of the EU Organic Awards. 

Meanwhile, EU farm subsidies inflate aromatic herb crops in southern France. Declarations for organic coriander cultivation have boomed in Occitanie this year, as farmers benefit from generous aid to convert to the bio cultivation of aromatic herbs, amid growing criticism in the sector of “misappropriation” of funds. 

Eurostat data shows slight increase in food waste. Each European wasted 132 kg of food per capita in 2022, according to the latest Eurostat data published on Friday (27 September). Overall, the EU generated 59.2 million tonnes of food waste, with households accounting for more than half (54%). In 2021, the waste per capita was 131 kg, and the total was 58.4 million tonnes.

Rising prices push EU agrifood trade surplus value to new high. Between January and June 2024, the EU’s agri-food trade surplus reached €33.7 billion, an increase of €1.5 billion compared to the same period in 2023, according to a report published today (27 September) by the European Commission. EU exports reached €116.4 billion (+1% compared to the same period in 2023), mainly due to rising prices for olive oil and coffee, tea and cocoa. Imports remained stable at €82.7 billion.

[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Daniel Eck]

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