In an era where environmental demands are taking growing precedence, farmers are faced with costly and unrealistic challenges, which is significantly impacting agricultural production and thereby subjecting the entire sector to increasingly severe pressure. This has been demonstrated by the continuous waves of protests across Europe over recent months, and although the farmers are less on the streets, the crisis situation very much remains. 

This was the resounding message expressed by panellists at the Study Days event hosted on 3 May by Mr Juan García Gallardo, Vice President of the Government of the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León, and organised by the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions (CoR). Mr Gallardo stated that: "The future of European agriculture is vital for every citizen in the EU, and for the stability and vibrancy of Europe's rural areas. To ensure food security for future generations, the productive potential of agriculture in the European Union must be boosted, including in less economically developed regions, but this is difficult to reconcile with the cost of compliance with EU legislation".

ECR CoR President and keynote speaker Marco Marsilio acknowledged that protecting the environment is a priority but emphasized at the same time that "we need an environment with farmers in it. Nobody knows better than farmers how to preserve the environment, but they need less of the ecological craziness written by those who have never spent a day on the farm".

Keynote speaker Commissioner Wojciechowski provided an overview of the measures recently published by the European Commission and approved by the European Parliament last week to ease the environmental requirements of the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the 2023-2027 period stated that "To prepare European agriculture for the challenges of tomorrow, we must begin our work today: to strengthen the security, stability, sustainability, and solidarity of our food system."

Speakers reflected on the Green Deal and its impact on farmers reiterating that farmers are already actively reducing greenhouse gas emissions while continuing to ensure high quality and productivity. However, the Green Deal in its current form is simply not compatible with ensuring food security for Europeans and at the same time a profitable existence for farmers. Panellists called for a comprehensive impact assessment that the implementation of the Green Deal will have on agriculture and on food security that addresses the concerns of the farming community. 

Other key take-aways from today's event included the reference to agriculture often being seen as an undesirable profession and that the challenges facing rural areas make this problem even more complicated. The establishment of young people in rural areas with access to services and leisure and employment opportunities is key to preserving agriculture across the EU. 

Concluding the event, speakers agreed that the main objectives of the CAP should be its contribution to food security across the world and in maintaining the external and internal competitiveness of the EU's farmers and agri-food sector.