It is “unacceptable” that billionaires benefit lucratively from CAP when small farmers are not being adequately supported, the next European Commissioner for Agriculture has said.

Speaking at a hearing of the Agriculture and Food Committee ahead of a vote on his ratification, commissioner-designate Christophe Hansen said he wants to champion a CAP that supports small farmers.

“When you read articles. . . on billionaires getting billions, literally, of public money, of taxpayers’ money, that is not the CAP I want to stand for.

“I want to look into how we can distribute [the funds] better. . . but we need to see as well, one size does not fit all,” he said.

Hansen added that the definition of a farmer needs to be assessed across the bloc.

Commissioner-designate for agriculture and food Christophe Hansen.

“We really need to look as well at the definition of farmers, which is not the same in all the member states.

“The criteria are very different, but we really need to take a closer look, because for me, it is unacceptable the billionaires get this [CAP support] and those in need maybe get €100 more in a year, but this is not going to make them profitable in the end,” he said.

The commissioner-designate, who was responding to a question from Irish MEP Luke Ming Flanagan, also said a mandatory instrument in CAP which would require member states to give a certain percentage of monies to small farmers (which was previously examined) needs to be discussed again.

Mercosur

At the hearing, where Hansen answered questions from the committee members for three hours, whether or not the commissioner-designate supported Mercosur came up on multiple occasions.

Hansen reiterated that he takes a “balanced approach” to the potential Mercosur trade deal.

“International trade provides an opportunity for our farmers and for our agri-food sector, €230bn in exports last year and a €70m excess in terms of our import-export balance.

“That is something we also very clearly need to take into account, because we do have a broader agri and agri-food sector which does benefit from international agreements.

“Obviously, there are sectors that are very exposed. Particularly because their margins are already very tight and they [concern] products where the exports are cheaper.

“These are areas where we very clearly need to look at what is being negotiated and what’s currently being negotiated is the additional protocol for Mercosur,” Hansen added.

The commissioner-designate, who is from Luxembourg, added that this needs to be analysed in detail.

“That is the job of this European Parliament and also to ensure that the necessary arguments are put forward for its ratification or not.

“I think we’ve got opportunities, but we’ve also got challenges and we need to find the right balance,” he said.