Czech MEP Tomáš Kubín (ANO, Patriots) is optimistic about the commissioner-designate for agriculture Christophe Hansen, describing his commitment to enforcing existing regulations as a “breath of fresh air” for Europe’s farmers, he told Euractiv Czechia in a podcast.

Hansen’s hearing before the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee is scheduled for Monday. Kubín has already expressed support for some of his visions in written answers submitted before the hearing.

“The new – hopefully soon-to-be-approved – Agriculture Commissioner, Mr. Hansen, will have 100 days to present his vision for agriculture and the food sector. From what I have read in his written responses, he seems very reasonable,” said Czech MEP Kubín, a member of the European Parliament’s agricultural committee.

According to Kubín, some of Hansen’s positions are “refreshing.”

“(Hansen) clearly stated that there is no need for new regulations; rather, we should enforce the existing ones. This is a breath of fresh air – focusing on what is already in place instead of constantly inventing new things,” said Kubín.

He also expressed interest in discussing food labelling with Hansen during the hearings, stressing the need to ensure that it does not mislead consumers. Kubín is also keen to know whether Hansen will insist that any new legislation be subject to a thorough impact assessment.

On the future of EU agricultural policy, Kubín is critical of the recent strategic dialogue on agriculture, launched by the European Commission following massive farmer protests earlier this year. According to the dialogue’s conclusions, the EU should move away from land-based subsidies and towards more support for small farms and incentives for sustainable producers.

However, Kubín pointed out that some agricultural organisations, such as the Czech Agrarian Chamber, opposed the document resulting from this dialogue.

“It was not a dialogue with farmers but rather a dialogue about farmers. If we presented this document to some farmers here in the Czech Republic, they would not understand it at all,” Kubín added.

He was also disappointed with the way the final document was presented to MEPs in the Agriculture Committee. Professor Peter Strohschneider, who chaired the dialogue, did not really discuss it. As Kubín described it, Strohschneider simply presented the report online and then disconnected.

Kubín also noted that the document was meant to be a starting point for further work, but is now being treated as rigid. “In the mission letters for EU commissioners, the document is referred to as if it were set in stone,” the Czech MEP explained.

As for the future of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, Kubín believes it should first and foremost give farmers more freedom. While he supports measures for organic farming, small and medium-sized farms and generational renewal, he opposes anything that feels like a “diktat”.

Kubín also expects important debates on the future of direct payments.

“Prioritising small businesses does not benefit the Czech Republic much; we have more large farms due to our history, and there is little we can change about that,” he said.

(Aneta Zachová, Kateřina Zichová | Euractiv.cz)

Source: Euractiv.com