Sustainability Under Threat after European Parliament Opens CAP Revision
BeeLife stands in staunch opposition to the recent decision by the European Parliament to use the urgent procedure mechanism to revise the Common Agricultural Policy. The decision follows the European Commission's proposal to weaken or remove the majority of environmental conditionality from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This move is deeply problematic and utterly unacceptable in the face of biodiversity collapse, climate crisis, and environmental pollution, contradicting all scientific recommendations. For years, experts, civil society, and policymakers have strived to establish basic environmental requirements as a condition for receiving agricultural subsidies. Yet, these conditions are still significantly lacking, and agricultural subsidies urgently need to be more closely tied to environmental objectives and public goods, not less.
In an inappropriate and irresponsible response to farmer protests, the European Commission is shamefully attempting to push through the proposal, demonstrating a total disregard for the need for due process, negotiations, and democratic engagement. For instance, no impact assessment or proper consultation with stakeholders has been conducted. In light of this, numerous organisations have sent letters and messages to the Commission, the Ministers of Agriculture, Environment, and Health, and the Parliament. Recently, a vast coalition (including BeeLife) has presented various arguments on why the Commission’s proposal is scientifically unsound and undemocratic. The proposal lacks transparency and fails to call for sufficient public participation.
Today, members of the European Parliament have ignored these actions and have now taken a step further in creating greater risks for environmental protection backtracking. The revision of the CAP following the Commission’s proposal will water down hard-fought and already negotiated conditionalities for subsidies that seek to promote sustainability in Europe. Should European institutions continue this path, problems for Agriculture and Nature will become more problematic, and citizens will have to bear the costs.
To find out more about why the Commission proposal is problematic and the claims by BeeLife and a large coalition of organisations have developed, read the letter to Members of the European Parliament of April 8, 2024.
