Controversy Over New EU Common Agricultural Policy Draft... Thunberg Urges "European Parliament Must Reject"

Greta Thunberg [Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Greta Thunberg, a teenage environmental activist born in Sweden, urged on her Twitter on the 27th of last month (local time) that it is now "up to the European Parliament's decision" and called for the rejection of the European Union's (EU) new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) provisional agreement.

Environmentalists are opposing the CAP provisional agreement reached by the EU at the end of last month. They point out that the CAP provisional plan lacks sufficient eco-friendly measures and will hinder the EU's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The agricultural sector accounts for 15% of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, the EU announced a new eco-friendly agricultural plan called "Farm to Fork," which aims to halve the use of fertilizers and antibiotics.

The CAP budget is approximately 387 billion euros, accounting for about one-third of the entire EU budget. It supports the income of millions of farmers across Europe through subsidies. EU agriculture ministers expressed support for the provisional agreement during a meeting held on the 28th and 29th of last month. The agreement must go through a vote in the European Parliament and approval by member state governments. The European Parliament vote is expected to take place within the next few months, but it is anticipated that the outcome will be difficult to predict.

According to the provisional agreement, 25% of the agricultural subsidy budget is allocated to farmers using eco-friendly methods. Farmers can receive subsidies if they convert 3% of their arable land into eco-friendly farmland to preserve biodiversity.

Environmentalists argue that the subsidy rate for eco-friendly farmers is too low.

Opposition also arises within the European Parliament. The Green Party insists that the subsidy rate for eco-friendly farmers should be raised to 30%. Bas Eickhout, leader of the Green Party, criticized the provisional agreement, saying that previous eco-friendly claims were empty words and that the false nature of conservatives has been revealed. He warned that if this provisional agreement passes, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector will fail.

On the other hand, the European People's Party, the largest centrist-right faction in the European Parliament, has expressed support for the provisional agreement. The Liberal Democrats also support it.

This CAP is scheduled to be applied from 2023 to 2027. Since there are more than two years left until actual implementation, many negotiations and discussions are expected before the final plan is drawn up. In particular, countries with a large agricultural sector such as France, Italy, and Spain are expected to respond very sensitively to the subsidy payment criteria.

Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the European Commission, said, "It is a great step forward in the right direction," but added, "there is still a long way to go." Vice President Timmermans oversees EU agricultural policy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.