On 4th September, the European Commission published its final report on the strategic dialogue regarding the future of agriculture in the European Union.
Professor Peter STROHSCHNEIDER presented the final report to European Commission President Ursula VON DER LEYEN. This report is the result of the work of the 29 members of this strategic dialogue, which was launched in January 2024 amid an agricultural crisis. The dialogue aimed to address the following four questions:
- How can we provide our farmers and the rural communities in which they live with better prospects, including a fair standard of living?
- How can we support agriculture within the limits of our planet and its ecosystem?
- How can we better leverage the vast opportunities offered by knowledge and technological innovation?
- How can we promote a bright and prosperous future for the European food system in a competitive world?
The report, unanimously adopted and titled "A shared prospect for farming and food in Europe" aims to identify challenges and opportunities for the European agricultural sector and offers a series of recommendations.
In this context, 14 recommendations were formulated by the participants in the strategic dialogue, some of which focus on animal welfare, including:
- Preparing a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) fit for purpose (Recommendation 3):
- To accelerate the ongoing transition of food systems towards more sustainable, competitive, profitable, and diversified future systems, the dialogue participants recommend that the future CAP should focus on several core objectives, including“promoting positive environmental, social, and animal welfare outcomes for society”.
- Creating pathways for sustainable farming in the EU (Recommendation 9):
- As part of establishing a strategy on the role of animal farming, including concrete action points, the dialogue participants call for “a revision of the animal welfare legislation as well as establishment of a new regulatory framework for an EU-wide animal welfare labeling system”.
The content of this report will contribute to the vision for agriculture and food that President Ursula VON DER LEYEN will present within the first 100 days of her mandate and represents a first step in the development of the future CAP reform post-2027