The EU Commission is trying to contain farmers’ protests in Europe by acting alone.
According to a publication in the EU’s Official Journal on Tuesday, despite disagreements among member states, Brussels has made concessions to farmers and decided to waive the minimum proportion of fallow land on arable land.
The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) stipulates that farmers must leave four per cent of their farmland fallow. This is to create areas for wildlife species. With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Commission temporarily suspended this rule in concern for food security. The derogation will now be extended until the end of the year.
However, Brussels is introducing a replacement regulation that says farmers meet the requirement if they use “a minimum of four per cent of their cultivated land for non-production land and facilities”, the publication said on Tuesday. In addition to fallow land, this also includes the cultivation of nitrogen-fixing plants such as lentils, peas and beans, or intercrops.
Brussels initially proposed a minimum share of seven per cent of arable land for nitrogen-fixing plants, which was welcomed by German Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir (Alliance 90/Greens). By reducing the share to four per cent, the Commission is overreaching, Ozdemir criticised last week when the new plans were revealed.
In a preliminary vote on Friday, Germany abstained from voting. Other EU countries also abstained and a majority vote was not reached. However, under current EU law, the Commission’s decision does not depend on the approval of member states. It can independently promote its plans, which it has done. In particular, it has won praise from the French government, which has been facing fierce protests from farmers for weeks and has therefore been pushing for exemptions to EU environmental rules.
