German EU Council Presidency must help to save bees and farmers!

On July 1st, Germany has taken over the reigns of the Presidency of the European Council from Croatia, for the next six months. Now, the German government must make sure that the voices of hundreds of thousands of European citizens who demand a bee-friendly agriculture are being heard!

The next few months will be decisive in terms of how the future of agriculture will look in the European Union, as the negotiations on the reform of the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is under way. We urgently ask the German government not to miss the opportunity to make the new CAP truly sustainable – that means promoting an agricultural model 100% free of toxic pesticides, that does its part to protect and recover farmland biodiversity and supports farmers in the transition towards agroecology.

However, looking at the current state of discussions within the Council of Agricultural Ministers and the European Parliament, the alliance behind the European Citizens’ Initiative “Save Bees and Farmers” is sceptical about future CAP proposals, even where these are in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, which is in itself far from the true system change we need. Indeed, it seems agricultural ministries across the EU keep acting to maintain an agricultural system that destroys the environment, people’s health and farmers’ livelihoods themselves! We will be watching closely to oversee whether the aims of the recently published Farm-to-Fork and Biodiversity-Strategies will now be translated into law.

At the same time, we stand by our assessment that the proposed 50% reduction in the use and risk of pesticides within the next ten years is not enough to protect pollinators and human health. As such, we will continue our fight for bees and the survival of small-scale farming within the European Union.