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Brussels (ANSA) – No intention of imposing on Europeans what to put on their own table, but a more incentive-oriented Common Agricultural Policy through targeted support and simplification. Brussels is responding to the call of farmers who last year set Europe on fire, and in its ‘Vision for the Future Agriculture’ promises to work on a more flexible future CAP and to dismantle the last remaining bureaucratic hurdles in the current one.
It is a roadmap that will guide the work of the European Commission of Ursula von der Leyen to make the sector “more attractive” and “competitive”. First and foremost, putting “food sovereignty” back at the center of the political agenda. “Food and food sovereignty are non-negotiable for the EU,” said the Commission’s Vice-President in charge of Cohesion, Raffaele Fitto, during his first press conference at the Berlaymont Palace since the start of his mandate in Brussels.
Europe intends to reserve an annual dialogue with food chain actors “to address urgent issues such as food reformulation, data collection on food intake,” diets “and economic accessibility.”
“We will never impose what people should eat: we will not say that you should eat more of this or less of that. We must, of course, work on food education and a balanced diet in the interest of the whole society,” assured ANSA the commissioner responsible for the dossier, Christophe Hansen.
A “clear and radical” change of course that, according to Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, is fully in line with the direction Italy has brought to Brussels. “From essential and non-negotiable European food sovereignty, to valuing local production, to recognizing the central role of farmers and fishermen: the issues addressed in recent years finally find a place in the new EU vision.” Today, he claimed, the Italian vision “not only has become a reality, but has also gained a central role in the future of Europe” (February 19).