WARSAW/BRUSSELS- The European Commission proposed on Friday an easing of a series of rules on leaving land fallow or rotating crops, offering concessions to farmers who have protested with tractor blockades across Europe over the past few months.
The European Union executive said it was sending its proposals to the 27 EU member governments and the European Parliament to reflect on how to improve the position of farmers in the food supply chain.
It said the list of possible actions would be discussed by national agriculture ministers, who are next due to convene in Brussels on March 26.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski had been due to present the reforms on a visit to his native Poland earlier on Friday, but said this was delayed due to a dispute over the timing of some changes.
Polish farmers have been among those that have staged weeks of protest across the EU to press a series of demands, including removing restrictions placed on them by the EU’s Green Deal plan to tackle climate change, as they say they cannot afford them.
Poland’s farmers have a particular grievance because of increased competition from neighboring non-EU Ukraine’s farmers, who they accuse of flooding EU markets with cheap imports that leave them unable to compete.
Commission proposals concentrate on offering farmers more flexibility in heeding mainly environmental rules, such as to protect peat land, limit water pollution and soil erosion, while continuing to benefit from EU agriculture fund payments.
For example, farmers will be able to get more financial support for keeping a share of their land non-productive, such as with hedges or trees, to improve biodiversity.
