Farmers protesting across Europe have won their first concession from Brussels, with the EU announcing a delay in rules that would have forced them to set aside land to encourage biodiversity and soil health.
The European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, described Wednesday’s decision, which is expected to be rubber-stamped by member states within 15 days, as “a helping hand” for the sector at a difficult time.
Citing flooding, wildfires in Greece, heatwaves across southern Europe and drought in Spain, he said it was important to listen to farmers and “to avoid the polarisation which is making any good conversation and discussion more difficult.
“We feel we are obliged to act under this pressure which the farming community [is feeling],” he said. “We have had a number of extreme meteorological events, droughts, flooding in various parts of Europe, and there was a clear negative effect on the output, on the revenue – and of course, decreased income – for the farmers.”
Combined with higher energy prices, the weather-related risks to crops meant farmers were now at a “persistent pain point” that was “driving up the cost of production and squeezing revenues,” Šefčovič said.
Under the rules, farmers were expected to keep 4% of their arable land free from crop production in an effort to regenerate the health of the soil and increase biodiversity, which is also in crisis.
Alternatively, farmers could have got an exemption from this “set-aside” rule if they had used 7% of their land for “catch crops” such as clover, which provide cover for the soil after the main crop is harvested.
However, under the new proposals, farmers will not be obliged to set aside fallow land, or any portion of land for catch crops, until 2025.
The change comes as farm protests have been intensifying,with the port of Zeebrugge blockaded in Belgium and protests continuing in France and Italy.
Until now, farmers have not been impressed with the quick fixes offered by politicians or officials in Brussels. They have concerns about the high cost of land, the pressure from supermarkets to sell crops at near-cost prices, and the plethora of new environment rules coming in the form of EU nature restoration laws.
Their critics say EU farmers are among the most cosseted in the industry, with more than €307bn (£260bn) – 30% of the overall EU budget – earmarked for them between 2023 and 2027.
Asked if Wednesday’s concession would be enough to quell the protests, Šefčovič admitted that the EU had to “intensify” the dialogue with farmers to make sure they were listened to. “We have to make sure that Europe will become a continent which will be habitable, also, in the future,” he added.
