Edition: International | Greek
MENU

Home » EU Actually

‘Sneaky’ Commission tried to conceal important study

MEP’s were furious that the Commission put an important study for half a year ‘in somebody’s draw in an office’ to keep it away from the EP

By: N. Peter Kramer - Posted: Wednesday, October 20, 2021

The report concludes that environmental improvements of the Farm to Fork strategy would be accompanied by a 10% reduction of EU supply for agricultural products, reaching a maximum of 15% reduction for meats.
The report concludes that environmental improvements of the Farm to Fork strategy would be accompanied by a 10% reduction of EU supply for agricultural products, reaching a maximum of 15% reduction for meats.

N. Peter Kramer’s Weekly Column

MEP’s were furious that the Commission put an important study for half a year ‘in somebody’s draw in an office’ to keep it away from the EP. The JRC (Joint Research Centre) study, an evaluation of the Commission’s food policy called the Farm to Fork strategy, was published mid-August but was clearly earmarked for publication in January. A note dated 13 January addressed to the Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski read: ‘The study has now been cleared’.

EP rapporteur on the Farm to Fork strategy, Herbert Dorfmann, said it was ‘quite obvious’ that the Commission didn’t want to publish this study, so did it ‘in the middle of summer, so nobody would read it’. The discovery that the study was ready months before official publication made MEP’s even more angry.

MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen mentioned that the Commission was pressuring the EP to make the Farm to Fork strategy targets binding and to conclude the negotiations of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) while ‘concealing’ the results of the study. “Throughout those negotiations, this study was put in somebody’s drawer in an office. But it is really going to have an impact on farmers and consumers’, he said. His colleague MEP Clara Aguilera, ‘we need to clarify the issue’. MEP Gilles LeBreton said he was ‘scandalised’ adding that the Commission was ‘sneaky’ because the impact assessment announces ‘catastrophic consequences for agriculture’.

And where is it all about? The report concludes that environmental improvements of the Farm to Fork strategy would be accompanied by a 10% reduction of EU supply for agricultural products, reaching a maximum of 15% reduction for meats.

It makes me think of Niccolo Machiavelli, who once wrote ‘The end justifies the means’. May be the new way of working for the Commission?

READ ALSO

EU Actually

Respite for Wikileaks founder Assange

N. Peter KramerBy: N. Peter Kramer

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can stay in the United Kingdom for at least another two months

View 04/2021 2021 Digital edition

Magazine

Current Issue

04/2021 2021

View past issues
Subscribe
Advertise
Digital edition

Europe

EU says plan to ensure critical raw materials supply is not aimed at China

EU says plan to ensure critical raw materials supply is not aimed at China

A senior European Union official denied that the bloc’s recently agreed-upon plan to diversify its supply of strategically critical raw materials targets China

Business

Artificial intelligence and competitiveness in the retail sector

Artificial intelligence and competitiveness in the retail sector

The importance of AI and machine learning in the retail market is confirmed by the projected dramatic growth of AI services worldwide, which will skyrocket from $5 billion to $30 billion by 2030

MARKET INDICES

Powered by Investing.com
All contents © Copyright EMG Strategic Consulting Ltd. 1997-2024. All Rights Reserved   |   Home Page  |   Disclaimer  |   Website by Theratron