The Agriculture and Rural Development Committee questioned Christophe Hansen, Luxembourgish candidate for the Agriculture and Food portfolio, on Monday.
The chair and political group coordinators will meet at 22.30 to assess the performance and qualification of the Commissioner-designate.
Vision to improve conditions of farmers
In his introductory statement, Christophe Hansen, Commissioner-designate for Agriculture and Food, said that nine million farms supply Europeans with safe and high quality food while being Europe’s first line of defence against biodiversity loss and climate change. However, they also experience increasing economic pressure from global competition and are the first to suffer from extreme weather events.
Mr Hansen committed to build on and continue the “Strategic Dialogue” initiated by the Commission President, visit farmers throughout the continent, and develop – in close cooperation with Parliament – a vision for the future agricultural and food policy during his first 100 days in office.
Having grown up on a farm, Mr Hansen said he would pay special attention to an accessible land market and fair income for young farmers, to enable them to drive change in an environmentally sustainable and economically viable agricultural sector.
Next Common Agricultural Policy
MEPs questioned the Commissioner-designate on the size and structure of the future budget for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and on guaranteeing that farmers receive a fair price for their production. Mr Hansen promised to explore alternative sources of income and boost capital investment, while strengthening the bargaining power of farmers and promoting sustainable supply chains and consumption.
Replying to questions about the reduction of red tape for farmers and the implementation of Green Deal objectives in the new CAP, Mr Hansen stressed the need to simplify current rules and contribute at the same time to EU environmental commitments.
Other issues raised by MEPs included the need for a level playing field for EU farmers and competitors from outside of the EU, access to investment and innovation, and fair wages for people working in the agricultural sector.
Watch the video recording of the full hearing.
Next steps
Based on the committee recommendations, the Conference of Presidents (EP President Metsola and political group chairs) is set to conduct the final evaluation and declare the hearings closed on 21 November. Once the Conference of Presidents declares all hearings closed, the evaluation letters will be published.
The election by MEPs of the full college of Commissioners (by a majority of the votes cast, by roll-call) is currently scheduled to take place during the 25-28 November plenary session in Strasbourg.
