Von der Leyen launches Strategic Dialogue with Farmers Against Polarization

Brussels –  To mend the rift with European farmers, before European elections, Ursula von der Leyen launched January 25 the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of European Agriculture, an opportunity for farmers, cooperatives, agricultural businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society representatives to develop a “common vision” for European agribusiness.

“We all sense there is an increasing division and polarization when it comes to topics related to agriculture. I am deeply convinced that we can only overcome this polarization, often very pronounced, that we all sense by dialogue,” she said at the opening of the initiative that she announced during his State of the Union Address in September. According to the Commission, the dialogue — involving some 30 industry organizations — will help focus on challenges and opportunities for the supply chain, starting with income.

What agri-food in Europe needs is a long-term perspective.

A predictable way forward.

Today, we’re launching our strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture.

The time has come to find a new consensus ↓ https://t.co/EeDUmHljI0

– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 25, 2024

Farmers deserve “fair remuneration” for their work. “Our goal is to support your livelihoods and ensure food security in Europe,” von der Leyen said, adding that “your task is of crucial importance. It is thanks to European agriculture – the women and men who work the land – that Europe has the healthiest and highest quality food in the world. Our farmers work every day in a very competitive global market, and you are often the most vulnerable part of the value chain.” She went on to acknowledge their essential role in overcoming “very difficult years,” including the pandemic, the energy crisis, and a global food crisis.

The discussion will end this summer, with meetings every 4-6 weeks and a portal to gather input. Forms and modalities will be determined in the coming days. The first results should arrive by summer, after the European elections (June 6-9), and in time for the start of the new institutional cycle.

Peter Strohschneider and Ursula von der Leyen

Peter Strohschneider, singled out for his “long and recognized professional experience,” particularly as chairman of the German federal government’s ‘commission for the future of agriculture’ (Zukunftskommission Landwirtschaft, ZKL), will lead the debate. Von der Leyen in September announced the Dialogue in her State of the Union address, when the German leader declared her intention to launch a new phase of the Green Deal, shifting its focus from the environment to industries and farmers to try to counter the growing polarization in the debate over agricultural policy and the goals of the Green Deal.

A pivotal pillar of the Ursula von der Leyen-led European Commission, the Green Deal over the past year has drawn criticism and fueled ill-feeling in the social, business, and agricultural fabric on which Brussels has imposed ambitious (but necessary) targets to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. There has been plenty of criticism, and some legislative files, especially the Farm to Fork agricultural ones, were slowed down, forcing von der Leyen to rethink her green agenda, speaking clearly about a new phase that winks at the world of industry, effectively sanctioned by the exit Dutchman Frans Timmermans and the appointment of Vice President Maros Sefcovic to lead the Green Pact. While the Dialogue on the EU’s agricultural future takes place in Brussels, in the rest of Europe, protests by struggling farmers in France, Poland, and Germany against EU environmental policies do not subside.