About: agricultural policy Archives

The new Common Agricultural Policy for the period 2014-2020 is expected to provide nearly 180,000 young farmers with an installation grant, an EU spokesman has told EURACTIV.

The Italian Ministry of Agriculture is working on allowing the replanting of olive trees, up to now prohibited because of the virulent Xylella bacterium. EURACTIV Italy reports.

Four large seed companies will no longer grow genetically modified maize in Germany. "We have achieved our goal," said Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt on Tuesday (3 November). EURACTIV Germany reports.

SPECIAL REPORT / The agricultural sector has stepped into the digital era, in an effort to respond to rising global nutrition needs and tackle the environmental crisis.

SPECIAL REPORT / 'New plant breeding techniques' focus on developing new seed traits within a given species through genetic engineering. A troubling question for policymakers is whether these techniques should fall under GMO legislation.

SPECIAL REPORT / The introduction of new information and communications technologies in the EU agricultural sector could significantly contribute to its future sustainability, as well as the quality of life for farmers and consumers.

SPECIAL REPORT / According to the European Commission, boosting innovation and research in the agricultural sector is key if EU farmers are to produce more with less, and feed billions.

The destruction of olive trees in Puglia has been temporarily halted on the orders of a regional court, pending further tests on the disease affecting them. EURACTIV Italy reports.

A proposed boost to German dairy-exports has been criticised for the potential economic damage it could do to developing countries, EURACTIV Germany reports. 

Greek farmers are determined to organize massive demonstrations across the country in order to protest against the “unfair” and “brutal” tax hikes that Alexis Tsipras government is pushing through.

The European Commission is considering stricter pesticide limits for organic products. The organic sector and the European Parliament are not in agreement. EURACTIV's partner Tagesspiegel reports.

The Italian government has no intention of repealing a law that prohibits the use of powdered milk in the production of dairy products. EURACTIV Italy reports.

SPECIAL REPORT / The looming threat of a cut to the EU agriculture budget has prevented the Parliament to fight for a full-fledged CAP reform, but all is not lost as it can be changed through the mid-term review, said Paolo de Castro, Italy's former Minister of Agriculture. EURACTIV Italy reports.

SPECIAL REPORT / The farmers' protests that paralysed Brussels on 7 September, and hit Europe over the summer, are the result of agriculture prices volatility, which experts say "is here to stay". EURACTIV Italy reports.

The European Commission announced the details of a “flexible” €500 million agriculture aid package on Tuesday (15 September), in an effort to tackle the food crisis EU farmers are facing.

Under pressure from farm ministers and food producers, the European Commission is working to simplify agricultural rules that took effect this year. But some analysts say what the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) really needs is a radical change in the way it is financed.

Germany is hungry for organic products. But, despite good market conditions, and heavy marketing, organic farmers are not reaping their share of the boom’s benefits, something Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt intends to change. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt hopes to create a legislative framework that would cover cultivation bans on genetically modified plants, but leave them up to the regions. Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, meanwhile, is insisting on a national GMO ban. EURACTIV Germany reports.

The world can enjoy higher standards of living and more travel, while drastically cutting emissions to avoid dangerous climate change – but only with sweeping changes to our infrastructure, the natural world and agriculture, a new analysis has found.

The European Union will use agricultural funds to help EU producers store butter, Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP) and cheese, to help diminish the impact of the Russian ban on EU food imports, the Commission announced on Thursday (28 August).

The European Union is ready to support exporters of dairy products hit by Russia's ban on Western food imports, adding to emergency measures already taken for fruit and vegetables, the EU's executive arm said on Friday (22 August).

Member states show a mixed record when it comes to reporting irregularities in how EU funds for agriculture and regional policy are being spent. While Italy has been "overzealous" in its reporting, others hardly report any fraud at all, according to a new EU report. EURACTIV France reports.

The UN is preparing the publication of a set of principles to foster corporate responsibility in the agricultural sector, based on the theory that long-term food security depends on businesses taking more seriously their role in the global food system.

The last working document published by the EU's Cypriot presidency has sparked fears in France that the new EU budget will slash direct subsidies to farmers, despite the country's firm opposition. EURACTIV.fr reports.