Farm Europe welcomes the breakthrough to strengthen farmers’ position in the agrifood supply chain, after the vote, by the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development today of the draft report of MEP Céline Imart, amending the single Common Market Organisation reform, during its extraordinary meeting in Strasbourg.
Following the adoption of the Council’s position on 19th May, the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee of the European Parliament adopted a crucial report, with key proposals to rebalance the functioning of the food supply chain and better protect EU farmers, in the context of the reform of the Common Market Organisation (CMO).
Even if the compromises adopted are by definition compromises, most of them represent an important and very positive step forward for farmers, and send an important signal ahead of the upcoming discussions on the new CAP reform.
They constitute an important step to improve the functioning of the EU food chain and overcome the chronic weakness of the agricultural link, clarifying contractual relations, enhancing farmers’ capacity to get organised by consolidating offer, and recognise the specificities of cooperatives with adequate provisions to underline and valorise their high standards of fair relations with their members. Those modifications do not constitute a definitive end point in this matter, but they do make a real step forward to the need of rebalancing.
The negotiating position that the European Parliament will adopt in this regard is important, not only to provide some short-term answers, but also to send a clear signal ahead of the negotiations and decisions that will have to be taken in the context of the CAP reform, the process for which was launched with the Commission’s proposal on July 16th.
O artigo foi publicado originalmente em Farm Europe.
