The European Commission on Wednesday proposed relaxing environmental requirements tied to the EU\u2019s large agricultural subsidy program as part of plans to cut regulations and paperwork for farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, farmers across Europe used their political influence during months of protests over issues like strict EU rules and cheap imports. In response, the EU eased some of the \u201cgreen\u201d conditions attached to agricultural subsidies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Wednesday, the Commission announced plans to go further, proposing changes that, it said, could save farmers up to \u20ac1.58 billion per year and limit on-site farm inspections to once a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for agricultural subsidies amounts to about \u20ac387 billion, roughly a third of the total budget for the bloc for 2021-2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Small farmers will be exempt from the basic requirements linking their subsidies to environmental efforts, and the EU will double the cap on their annual one-time payments to \u20ac2,500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christoph Hansen, the EU agriculture commissioner, said, \u201cThe Commission is on the side of farmers, and we are doing everything we can to reduce bureaucracy so they can focus on what they do best: producing food for all of us while protecting our natural resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other changes will allow farms to remove 10% (instead of 5%) of permanent grassland, which the EU had encouraged farmers to maintain for CO2 storage in the soil. Farmers will also be able to receive more subsidies for fulfilling existing commitments to preserve peat bogs and wetlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Activists said these changes would make farmers more vulnerable to climate change as water-retaining ecosystems like wetlands help deal with floods and droughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marilda Daskali, a political officer at the Birdlife campaign, said, \u201cInstead of helping farmers protect these vital ecosystems, the Commission is writing an unfilled cheque for their destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This proposal will also allow countries to distribute more funding faster in response to natural disasters exacerbated by climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is part of a series of EU proposals on \u201comnibus simplification\u201d aimed at reducing policy and paperwork for businesses trying to compete with China and the US, where President Donald Trump is aggressively cutting regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EU countries and lawmakers will now need to discuss and approve these proposals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4957,"template":"","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n