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The European People’s Party (EPP) has called for the Farm to Fork strategy to be postponed “until at least after the summer".
The EPP is the largest political group in the European Parliament; Fine Gael is a member of it.
The latest draft of the plan, seen by the Irish Farmers Journal, says that farmers will have to reduce input use by 2030 to achieve sustainable food production
The strategy would impose new rules and restrictions on farmers across Europe, who are currently coping with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and have to ensure food production in Europe at the same time, a statement from the EPP said.
It is surely not the right moment to impose additional rules on farmers, Herbert Dorfmann MEP, the group’s spokesman for agriculture said.
Biggest crisis in decades
“We are facing the biggest crisis that the agricultural sector has seen in decades. European farmers are confronted with new and unforeseen challenges and find themselves in situations of great difficulty.
“The entire agriculture sector is heavily affected by the spread of the coronavirus, but the wine sector and the fresh product sector suffer the most. I firmly believe that during the following months we need to help the agricultural sector to recover from this crisis as quickly as possible,” Dorfmann said.
March launch
The Farm to Fork strategy was due to be announced in March. However, the European Commission since postponed the strategy to April. The EPPnow wants this to be further postponed.
“We have to give farmers security and must not create additional uncertainties. In this crisis, we should let farmers produce the food we need in a serein atmosphere. We should postpone the Farm to Fork strategy until at least after the summer.
“Now, it is essential to use our energy to find adequate measures to help our farmers and to re-establish good working and market conditions for them,” Dorfmann said.
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