A new agricultural strategy is taking shape – sustainability, competitiveness, fairness

Strict rules here, loose standards there

While EU farmers have to meet strict environmental, animal welfare and plant health standards, products from outside the EU often reach the market with lower standards. According to the CoR, this distorts competition and undermines consumer confidence. Carlos Mazón Guixot, rapporteur for the draft opinion, said in plenary that fair competition can only be achieved if the same rules apply to imported products as to domestic producers. One way to achieve this would be to introduce ‘mirror clauses’, which would require the same set of rules for all trading partners.

Changing climate and geopolitical realities

Agriculture is affected on a daily basis by drought, forest fires, extreme weather or labour shortages – all of which require systemic responses. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) remains a key instrument, but the CoR believes it is time to move forward: with innovation, digital tools, water retention infrastructure and targeted funding. Blockchain-based tracking or agro-photovoltaic systems (a combination of agricultural and solar power) are, for example, no longer just a future option, but are now a practice in some places.

The condition for competitiveness: adaptation and innovation

Precision farming, the development of irrigation technologies, the introduction of more resistant varieties and digital tools have been given a central role in the strategy. The profitability and sustainability of agriculture are not mutually exclusive, but can reinforce each other – provided that financing, market protection and knowledge transfer are ensured. It has also become clear: without reducing excessive bureaucracy and the disadvantages that small farms face, there can be no real progress.