Agrifood strategy launch, Newsletter
Key diary dates
Monday 17 February: European Parliament's special committee on European Democracy Shield to discuss Romania and Germany.
Wednesday 19 February: European Commission to present its 'Vision for Agriculture and Food'.
Wednesday 19 February: European Parliament exchange of views with the Commission on US trade restrictions on AI chips exports and state of play of EU/US trade relations.
In spotlight
Watch out for the European Commission's upcoming communication, set to be unveiled on Wednesday, outlining a vision for Europe's agri-food system in 2024.
This paper is expected to replace the much-criticised 'Farm to Fork' strategy. However, a leaked draft of the document last week has left many underwhelmed, as it appears far from ambitious despite its high-sounding title.
For instance, much of the content expected to be announced—such as EU strategies for protein production and farmers' generational renewal—has already been in circulation for some time.In the leaked document, the Commission acknowledges that several topics remain sensitive and struggle to gain societal consensus, particularly concerning livestock and the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
While the document demonstrates goodwill in addressing the critical issue of ensuring a fair standard of living for Europe's agricultural community, its approach to farming subsidies is particularly disappointing.
It lacks fresh ideas and instead reiterates old, yet unrealised, proposals such as degressivity and capping—measures aimed at making subsidy distribution fairer by allocating more funds to small farmers and less to large agricultural enterprises.
On the other hand, the document suggests a stronger policy stance on Europe's strategic autonomy by prioritising the production of essential agricultural products to enhance food sovereignty.
A key principle of the next CAP will be then directing more support toward farmers who actively contribute to food security—a position influenced by the centre-right European People's Party, to which both Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are affiliated.
The document maintains a balanced stance on trade despite concerns over looming conflicts. It emphasises the importance of diversifying trade relationships, fostering new export opportunities, and reducing critical dependencies.
All of these measures fall under the EU's latest buzzword: simplification, beginning with efforts to streamline the implementation of CAP policies.
The previous Farm to Fork strategy, though highly ambitious and, in some cases, difficult to implement—such as the goal of halving pesticide use by 2030—was at least direct.
The new vision, by comparison, seems to lack the same level of decisiveness and ambition. If the goal is to envision the future of farming in 2040, the approach needs to be bolder while the current draft appears too mild or, at best, transitional.
Policy newsmakers
Call for root-and-branch review
Chief of Federation of Austrian Industries, Christoph Neumayer and Chamber of Commerce chief Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, called on the EU executive to roll back Green Deal regulations in its ongoing war on red tape, while the European insurance industry lobby has also weighed into the debate.
Policy Poll
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
Top scientist wants to prevent AI from going rogue
Canadian computer science professor Yoshua Bengio is considered one of the godfathers of the artificial intelligence revolution and on Tuesday announced the launch of LawZero, a non-profit organization intended to mitigate the technology's inherent risks. The winner of the Turing Award, also known as the Nobel Prize for computer science, has been warning for several years of the risks of AI, whether through its malicious use or the software itself going awry. Those risks are increasing with the development of so-called AI agents, a use of the technology that tasks computers with making decisions that were once made by human workers. The goal of these agents is to build virtual employees that can do practically any job a human can, at a fraction of the cost. "Currently, AI is developed to maximize profit," Bengio said, adding it was being deployed even as it persists to show flaws. Moreover, for Bengio, giving AI human-like agency will easily be used for malicious purposes such as disinformation, bioweapons, and cyberattacks. "If we lose control of rogue super-intelligent AIs, they could greatly harm humanity," he said. One of the first objectives at LawZero will be to develop Scientist AI, a form of specially trained AI that can be used as a guardrail to ensure other AIs are behaving properly, the company said. The organization already has over 15 researchers and has received funding from Schmidt Sciences, a charity set up by former Google boss Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy. The project comes as powerful large language models (or LLMs) from OpenAI, Google and Anthropic are deployed across all sectors of the digital economy, while still showing significant problems. These include AI models that show a capability to deceive and fabricate false information even as they increase productivity. In a recent example, AI company Anthropic said that during safety testing, its latest AI model tried to blackmail an engineer to avoid being replaced by another system.
Euronews
12 hours ago
- Euronews
Meloni meets Macron and Fico in Rome with Ukraine war topping agenda
Meloni first received Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico who arrived at the prime minister's residence, the Chigi Palace, at around 4pm. According to a statement released by the Slovak government, the two leaders discussed the development of bilateral relations and the possibility of further cooperation in the field of energy. "I really appreciate the pragmatic approach of your Prime Minister. I really like your pragmatic way of dealing with issues," Fico told reporters following the meeting. "We focused on the war in Ukraine. The President of the Council was very interested in my position, since Slovakia is a neighbouring country, of course," he said. "We discussed the issue of repowering, that is, what will happen in Europe when all energy supplies from Russia will no longer reach the European Union." "I think there are countries in the EU that want to prolong this war with the idea that this is the way to harm Russia. I don't think this strategy works," Fico stressed. Fico is a divisive figure at home with his critics accusing him of being pro-Russia. In January, Fico threatened to cut financial aid for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees living in the country as part of a set of retaliatory measures against Kyiv over its decision to halt the flow of Russian gas through its territory to Slovakia. He has also said that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO, stopped military aid to Ukraine and criticised EU sanctions on Russia, all views which are largely at odds with the European mainstream. Fico and Meloni "discussed their support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and their commitment to the reconstruction of the country in view of the Ukraine Recovery Conference that Italy will host in July 2025," a joint government statement said. Later on Tuesday, Meloni welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron to the Chigi Palace for talks which covered Ukraine, Gaza and relations with the European Union and the Trump administration. "Prime Minister Meloni is part of the collective format of the Coalition of the Willing. She was present in the meetings in Paris and London, Italy is an important partner," the Elysée Palace said in a statement released on Monday. That was a reference to a group of European countries spearheaded by Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer primarily to continue support for Ukraine's armed forces. The group is also working on the creation of a reassurance force that could be deployed to Ukraine as an additional security guarantee in a post-war scenario. In addition to Italy, the coalition also includes Germany, Denmark, Greece, Portugal and Romania among others. Italy's government said that both countries have "common positions" on many issues and expectations were high for productive talks but the leaders' opinions don't align on all issues. There have been differences of position regarding military support for Ukraine with Macron adopting a more aggressive stance while Italy has generally remained cooler. Macron has hinted at western boots on the ground in Ukraine while Meloni favours extending NATO's mutual defence agreement under Article 5 to Kyiv, an idea which hasn't found much support among allies. Meloni was noticeably absent from Macron's mid-May trip to Kyiv with Starmer and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz. And a week later she also didn't attend a working meeting of the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing in Tirana on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit. Tuesday's meeting and working dinner were expected to bridge some of those gaps and see discussions on economic cooperation between Italy and France, with Meloni hoping to find common ground with Macron on addressing migration and transatlantic relations. The Court of Justice of the European Union on Tuesday ruled in favour of migrants' rights in a case filed by an Italian court regarding what can be considered aiding and abetting illegal immigration. The court ruling noted that, in the case of a third-country national entering the EU irregularly accompanied by a child in their care, their conduct "cannot be regarded as aiding and abetting illegal immigration." "In fact, the parent in this case assumes an obligation related to his or her personal responsibility towards the child in accordance with fundamental rights, in particular respect for family life and the child," the president of the EU's highest legal authority, Koen Lenaerts, explained in his judgment. With this preliminary ruling, the court agrees with the Court of Bologna, which filed the proceedings in July 2023 following the entry into Italy of a Congolese citizen in 2019. The woman entered the country at the airport border of Bologna with two minors — her daughter and niece, over whom she had actual care following the death of the niece's mother — using false documents. She said she fled Congo after receiving threats from her ex-partner and took the two minors with her because she feared for their physical well-being. She was arrested and is being prosecuted for facilitating unauthorised entry into Italy. The Italian court had asked the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) whether the 2002 directive on the facilitation of illegal immigration was compatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The referring court doubted whether the directive provides for humanitarian assistance as a justification for making the crime of aiding and abetting not punishable. In other words, it was asking the EU court about the scope of the general offence of facilitation of unauthorised entry, provided for by EU law. "The court answers that the conduct of a person who, in breach of the rules governing the movement of people across borders, brings into the territory of a member state minors who are third-country nationals and are accompanying him or her, and over whom he or she exercises actual care, does not fall within the scope of that offence," the ruling on Tuesday said. It added that this conduct "does not constitute facilitation of illegal immigration, which EU law seeks to combat" but rather "the exercise by that person of his or her responsibility stemming from the family relationship and the actual care over those minors." Lenaerts went further, stating that the interpretation is necessary, also in light of the fundamental right to asylum. He explained that, because the woman had made an application for international protection, she could not be regarded as staying illegally on the territory. This is the case so long as no decision has been given on her application at first instance, Lenaerts explained.
France 24
13 hours ago
- France 24
Rivals Meloni and Macron seek to mend fences in Rome talks
The far-right prime minister welcomed the centrist French president to her Palazzo Chigi office, the pair kissing lightly on the cheek and both smiling. A guard of honour played both national anthems before the two European rivals headed inside for talks and a dinner, with no plans to speak to the press. They are not natural political allies, but as the leaders of the EU's second- and third-largest economies, they are both grappling with the fall-out from the war in Ukraine, as well as US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs against the bloc. Meloni on Friday acknowledged "divergences" with Macron but denied she had any "personal problems" with him, and said she was "very happy" with the visit. An Italian government source said Rome and Paris hoped to "lay the foundations for a further strengthening of relations" between two nations "on the front line of the various fronts of international politics". Macron's office said Italy was "an important partner" with "a crucial role to play in European decisions", particularly in the Ukrainian conflict. Despite their political rivalry, the French presidency said the two leaders were showing they were "capable of moving forward together on the essentials". 'Undeniable rivalry' Their cooperation has been sorely tested by Trump, with the pair disagreeing over how to deal with the US president on both tariffs and Ukraine. Meloni and Macron have and "undeniable rivalry", said Marc Lazar, a professor at Sciences Po university in Paris. He said the pair were following different strategies with Meloni seeking "mediation and compromise" with the US president and Macron favouring "unwavering firmness". Rome "believes that because it is ideologically close to the US administration... it will be able to force it to back down on trade tariffs", he told AFP. But while Paris says it has "respect" for those who can "maintain the best possible relationship with President Trump", it insists trade negotiations are the responsibility of the European Commission -- effectively sidelining Meloni as a would-be mediator. On Ukraine, Macron presents himself as the EU's go-to man on the issue, speaking to Trump regularly and invoking the relationship developed during the billionaire's first term. And he has seriously ruffled feathers in Rome with his attempts to put together a "coalition of the willing" ready to provide "security guarantees" to Ukraine. In recent weeks, the French president's meetings on the Russian invasion with the British, German and Polish leaders -- but without Meloni -- have ratcheted up tensions. Paris says that "between Europeans, the issue of formats must be arranged to achieve the best impact we can under the circumstances". It says that Italy has always insisted the US take part. But Lazar notes that as a nuclear power with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, France sees itself as less dependent on the United States. The mood was not helped when an adviser to Macron dismissed Italy's proposal to grant Ukraine protection under Article 5 of the NATO treaty without Kyiv joining the military alliance itself. The article stipulates that if one member is attacked all the others must act as if they too were attacked. While that idea "deserves discussion", it would in practice be very hard to implement, Lazar said, not least "because if the Trump administration refuses Ukraine's accession, it is precisely because it does not want to implement Article 5 for Ukraine's benefit".
