Political Hotspot December 2024

On December 1st, the new College of Commissioners started its work under current (and former) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, proposing EU policies for the next five years.

Start of the new EU Commission
After intense weeks of hearings of the proposed Commissioners by the Members of the European Parliament, where some glimpses were visible on what to expect from them, the European Parliament approved the von der Leyen Commission at the end of November. The College of Commissioners therefore took office on 1 December.
For the organic sector, the closest point of contact will be Christophe Hansen, the new Commissioner for Agriculture and Food. In his hearing, the Luxembourgish European People’s Party politician expressed his ambition to be a “boots on the ground commissioner”, drawing from his background in family farming. Moving to organic, he said that “Agriculture and the preservation of nature can go hand in hand. Organic farming is a good example for that”. Asked about pesticide use, Hansen stated that “All farmers would like to reduce their pesticide use … this is something we need to help them with”. He also said he wanted to speed up the authorisation procedure for biopesticides and safer alternatives to replace more toxic agrochemicals. “Organic farming is a way forward. It is in all national (CAP) strategic plans, but some member states need more push.”
 
New Commissioner’s focus: Competitiveness & generational renewal
Even though Commissioner Hansen acknowledged fair incomes for farmers with fair prices rather than public subsidies, and the benefits of organic agriculture, the general outlook for future food systems was more focused on competitiveness than sustainability. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) “will remain the framework for delivering the vision [on agriculture] to 2027 and beyond,” he said, including support for the Mercosur trade deal and advocating technical solutions rather than “blunt cuts” for livestock emissions.
 
Addressing the need for generational renewal in farming, the Commission organised the first edition of the annual Youth Policy Dialogues  on 10-11 December – presided by Commissioner Hansen. IFOAM Organics Europe was present representing EU organic  and, together with representatives of other youth organizations in the field of food, farming, and rural development, discussed how to attract more young people into agriculture and how to make their voices heard. Commissioner Hansen clearly identified generational renewal as a major challenge for the future of European agriculture that he intends to tackle during his mandate and highlighted that the voice of young people in this topic is especially pertinent. Among other things, the youth representatives underlined that the upcoming new CAP scheme and the recommendations outlined in the Strategic Dialogue Report offer many opportunities to support generational renewal.

Other Commissioners relevant to agriculture and the organic sector specifically are:

• Oliver Varhelyi (Hungary; Independent / affiliated to Fidesz), Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare
• Jessika Roswall (Sweden; European People’s Party), Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy
• Wopke Hoekstra (Netherlands, European People’s Party), Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth
• Teresa Ribera (Spain; Socialists and Democrats) Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition
• Raffaele Fitto (Italy; European Conservatives and Reformists), Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms

The EU’s new vision for agriculture and food & IFOAM Organics Europe’s “vision for the Vision”

Building on the Strategic Dialogue, Commissioner Hansen promised to deliver a vision for agriculture and food within the first 100 days of his mandate, probably as early as mid-February. Many topics are on the table addressed in his mission letter: how to ensure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of the farming and food sector within the boundaries of our planet, a look at food waste and the promotion of cutting-edge science, innovative technologies and emerging products in the agrifood sector.

On 12 December 2024, IFOAM Organics Europe published its own “vision for the Vision”. In its recommendations, in line with the strategic dialogue, IFOAM Organics Europe calls inter alia for targeted support for organic and other sustainable practices, fair remuneration for farmers providing ecosystem services, and developing a holistic benchmarking system based on a whole-farm approach. Organic innovations and practices, leading for instance to independence from synthetic inputs, are not for the organic sector only – they can also be used by conventional farmers, to increase the number of instruments in their toolbox. Our Policy Manager Silvia Schmidt recorded a short explanatory video on this.