EU Prez ‘Bait ‘n Switch’ Ursula Throws a Bone to Angry Farmers

“So we’re cool now, guys, right? No more messy, unfortunate, noisy demonstrations?”

isn’t the bigger story today the target for 90% cuts in emissions by 2040? While I agree on the edges you have green measures that are being scaled back, the direction of travel remains amazingly ambitious. I think “rolling back” is a bit too strong.

— Stanley Pignal (@spignal) February 6, 2024

I mean, seriously. Who wouldn’t trust her and her good intentions, being every bit the Bond villain the rest of the German Greens are?

Yeah. About that.

One of the items von der Leyen announced this morning in her speech to the European Parliament was the withdrawal of the proposed Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR). This pesticide use control measure met with widespread controversy when it was introduced in 2022. Last year it didn’t survive a vote by the parliament for implementation because of protests from a united European agricultural sector. Prospects were already looking glum for attempts at passage this year even before France, Belgium, and Germany’s farming communities erupted.

When tractors began descending on the parliament compound itself during this recent session, that put the kibosh on the measure…for now.

…The so-called Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR) was first tabled in June 2022 with the ambitious goal of slashing by half the use of pesticides by 2030. It also envisioned the total prohibition of these products in sensitive areas, such as urban green spaces and Natura 2000 sites, and promoted the uptake of low-risk alternatives.

Chemical pesticides employed to maintain crop yields are considered a major source of pollution and have been linked to biodiversity loss, poor-quality water, degraded soils, pest resistance and chronic illnesses.

SUR proved divisive from its inception and became the object of fierce lobbying from the agricultural sector. Last year, it was rejected by the European Parliament with 299 votes in favour, 207 against and 121 abstentions, and is currently stuck in political negotiations among member states, signalling a very low appetite to push it over the finish line.

In true Bond villain fashion, buried in her announcement and mollifying words about the farming community was the underlying message that farming is a problem – a big problem. While their betters in Brussels might throw them a bone here and there to quiet the unruly farming children, the ultimate goal is what has already been laid out. And, by Ursula’s Hammer, that WILL happen. 

Temper tantrums are only postponing the inevitable.

The threat wrapped in a promise is as plain as methane in a cow belch and twice as deadly.

…During her speech on Tuesday morning, the Commission chief spoke at length about farmers, saying they “deserve to be listened to” as they face the ravages of climate change, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis.

But she insisted the sector, which accounts for over 10% of the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions and is heavily subsidised through the EU budget, needs to transition towards  a “more sustainable model of production.” 

“Only if our farmers can live off the land will they invest in the future. And only if we achieve our climate and environmental goals together, will farmers be able to continue to make a living,” the Commission president said.

“Our farmers are well aware of this. We should place more trust in them.”

…The withdrawal of the proposed law is not immediate and still has to be ratified by the College of Commissioners, a process expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.

Despite the news, von der Leyen stressed the issue of regulating pesticides, whose carbon footprint stems from their manufacture, transport and application, would remain on the agenda and could be subject to a “new proposal much more mature.”

Note that her climb down is also performance art – it might count for nothing if not “ratified” by the “College of Commissioners,” whoever they are and depending on how motivated to whatever side’s argument. Are they a rubber stamp for Ursula’s agenda, or do they rebel on occasion?

She’s coming for you guys – make no mistake about it.

Another sop given to the agriculture community from this EU Parliament gathering was relaxing their incredibly strict nitrogen standards, but, again, with a caveat: it’s only for this year.

Such generosity. Such compassion. Such a trip with bureaucrats – they’ve discovered the miracle of “crop rotation.”

Hang on, didn’t they realise this and do it in the Medieval period?!?

— Pete242 (@Pete2427) February 6, 2024

The Brussels crowd has their greasy fingers in so many cow pies, it’s no wonder the people having to live with this are agitating to break loose.

Today, the European Commission proposes to allow EU farmers to avail of derogations for the year 2024 from Common Agricultural Policy rules obliging them to keep certain areas non-productive. The Commission’s proposal, sent today to Member States who will vote on it in a committee meeting, provides a first concrete policy response to address farmers’ income concerns. It also follows requests outlined by several Member States in Agriculture Council meetings.

To receive the CAP support they are entitled to, farmers must respect an enhanced set of nine standards beneficial to the environment and climate. This principle of conditionality applies to close to 90% of the utilised agricultural area in the EU and plays an important role in mainstreaming sustainable farming practices. This set of basic standards is referred to as GAECs, meaning “good agricultural and environmental conditions”.

…The Commission proposal is carefully calibrated to provide the right balance between offering appropriate relief to farmers facing numerous crises on the one hand, and protecting biodiversity and soil quality on the other hand.

“Carefully calibrated” to “get these tractors out the damn street” is what it should say. But the intent is clearly there as no one on earth ever solved a crisis with a year’s grace before reverting to what caused the crisis to begin with.

Being an earnest cub reporter (I only play one here at HotAir), I went to a well-versed European source to make sure I hadn’t misinterpreted the text of the EU press announcement. It turns out I hadn’t; just like the pesticide walkback, it could all be performance art. This also must be voted on by bureaucrats who have to choose between their lunatic party activists screeching at them for betraying the earth or having the citizens they purport to serve boot them unceremoniously to the curb in a few months.

Yep – and it has to be approved by the Council and the EP. That is not a given. The Greenies are going to be up in arms.

— Pete North (@PeteNorth303) February 6, 2024

What to do, what to do?

Farmers should be taking what the EU is dangling with this session’s bait and switch…

…while not letting the political and public pressure off one iota. 

Don’t fall for the softer tone and broken pieces of Beggin’ Bits thrown from the bureaucratic table…

…The updated version of the plan, which is still subject to change, framed agriculture in a more positive light compared to earlier drafts. The role the sector plays in the EU’s “food sovereignty” was also emphasized.

This reframing is in line with a demand made by the powerful center-right European People’s Party (EPP) — the political family of top EU executive Ursula von der Leyen and the European Parliament’s largest group.

Brussels has farming’s number, and there is no end to the climate cult torment for them now. 

…But however positive the framing, the reality is hard to escape, said one EU official. The agriculture industry, the official argued, could and should contribute to hitting the EU’s climate goals, which include a legal mandate to be climate-neutral by 2050.

If they allow these same elected and unelected elites to remain in control of the EU thanks to meekly driving into the sunset, satisfied with crop rotation and bug spray for a year?

They may never have another chance to dump a bunch of  Brussels bureaucrats into the moldering mulch pile of bad ideas.