Brussels approves new environmental exemptions for small farms

BrusselsThe European Union continues to relax environmental regulations. The European Commission announced on Tuesday that it will not postpone the entry into force of the controversial anti-deforestation law, but it has included exceptions for small and medium-sized farms. This legal reform is one of the flagship measures of the Brussels green plan and requires companies to demonstrate through a geolocation system that products sold in the EU have not generated deforestation or forest degradation worldwide.

The materials (apart from livestock) that are affected once the regulation comes into force are coffee, cocoa, rubber, palm oil, soy, or wood, as well as derivatives such as chocolate, leather, or, among others, furniture. This list of products can be updated and expanded over time.

The measure was already approved in 2023, but the European right and far right have turned it into one of his main workhorses They oppose the EU's fight against climate change and continually create obstacles to its implementation. Their pressure has even led the European Commission to propose postponing its entry into force on several occasions. However, it ultimately opted to exclude small and medium-sized farms. In fact, one of the priorities of the new EU executive is theoretically to provide greater protection for smaller companies in the primary sector and, conversely, to increase environmental demands on large agri-food groups, which are the most damaging to the environment.

A plan to promote generational change in the agricultural sector

The European Commission also presented a plan this Tuesday to promote generational renewal in the agricultural sector throughout the European Union. Agri-food farms are one of the EU's priorities, which wants to avoid dependence on external powers in this regard. But one of the problems it faces is that few young Europeans want to work in these fields, and more and more companies in the primary sector are closing their doors.

The EU executive's goal is to double the proportion of young European farmers by 2040, reaching 24% of the total. The plan proposes various measures to improve access to public funding and subsidies, as well as to generally improve living conditions in rural areas. Furthermore, as a key measure of the plan, Brussels recommends that Member States allocate at least 6% of the funds they will receive from the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to measures to promote agricultural professions among young people.