We would like to inform our Vatican Radio English Africa Service Short Wave listeners that with the beginning of Daylight-Saving Time in Italy on Sunday when clocks are turned forward one hour, there will be changes in our broadcast time and Short Wave frequencies as follows:
Our first broadcast from Sunday 28 March will be aired at 16.30 UTC or 18.30 local time in Rome on the 7360 kHz and 15565 kHz on the 40.76 and 19.27 metre bands, respectively.
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The UK government’s plans to seek to deport asylum seekers to other countries are not workable and will end up costing the department more, former Home Office ministers and civil servants have warned.
Lord David Blunkett, who served as home secretary between 2001 and 2004 under Tony Blair, said there was not a “cat’s chance in hell” that the UK would manage to secure bilateral returns deals with EU nations.
The criticism comes after Priti Patel unveiled new measures that will see refugees who arrive in Britain via unauthorised routes denied an automatic right to asylum and instead regularly reassessed for removal to safe countries they passed through, which are usually in the EU.
Under the plans, ministers will seek to “rapidly return” what they term “inadmissible” asylum seekers to the safe country they most recently travelled through, “contingent on securing returns agreements” with said countries. No such arrangements are currently in place.
The former home secretary and a number of ex-civil servants who worked in senior positions in the department have told The Independent that bilateral returns deals with EU countries are “not feasible”, and that the plans will therefore only push more asylum seekers into the undocumented population and increase delays in the asylum system.
Read more:
Prior to Brexit, the UK was part of the Dublin Regulation, which provided a framework through which asylum seekers who had travelled through safe EU nations before reaching Britain could be returned to those countries. Britain returned 891 individuals under this law between 2017 and 2020.
Lord Blunkett said: “It was really difficult to send people back even when we were part of the EU. While [Ms Patel] is right in saying Dublin didn’t work as intended, at least it existed, and you could argue with other countries that they had an obligation to take people back to mainland Europe – we’ve got no argument for that now,” he said.
The Labour peer, who held the post at a time when asylum applications in the UK were the highest they have ever been – at more than 80,000, compared with around 30,000 now – accused the current government of “inventing a crisis that doesn’t exist”.
“There isn’t a crisis, and to pretend there is does everybody a disservice. You may have a successful party political hit in pressing buttons for those who remain concerned about immigration, but it won’t in practice be implementable,” he added.
Lord Blunkett’s remarks were echoed by Dave Wood, who was head of immigration enforcement under Theresa May’s Conservative government, and said that the idea of striking deals with EU countries to send people back was “not realistic”.
“I don’t see the agreements being feasible. I don’t think they will be able to [work]. They haven’t in the past,” he said.
Under the new immigration plans, people who cannot immediately be removed will be stripped of benefits – placing them in the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) category – and have their family reunion rights limited.
Ms Patel also plans to change sections of the law to make it possible to move asylum seekers from the UK while their claims are processed, in order to “keep the option open” to develop the capacity for offshore asylum processing if required in the future.
Asked about Ms Patel’s plans to develop capacity for offshore asylum processing, Mr Wood said that this was “mad” and “cannot work”, adding: “We do get a bit caught up in this country with the idea we’re being invaded. There is a balance to that – we’re not; not compared to some others in northern Europe who take quite a heavy burden.”
A former senior staff member at the Home Office, who did not want to be named, said he believed Ms Patel was trying to “sound tough”, but that her policies would have very little effect.
“There is little incentive for most member states to do a bilateral deal, since the UK tends to be the end of the journey for asylum seekers, and there aren’t really any sanctions the UK can credibly threaten if member states don’t want to agree to a deal,” he said.
“And the longer asylum cases are held up in the UK, the more complex and costly they become to resolve – and actually, the more likely it is that you will have to allow less meritorious claimants to stay, if only by default, which is of course the opposite of what Patel says she wants.
“I think Patel is playing to the gallery when it would be more fruitful to focus on improving the system, and dealing with the culture issues identified by the Windrush Lessons Learned review.”
Raising alarm over the Home Office plan to “divide people into acceptable and unacceptable methods of arrival”, Lord Blunkett added: “It will end up with many people who you can’t send back and are thus treated as second-class citizens, and they will disappear into the sub-economy. All you’re doing is pushing people into illegality.”
The Home Office said Britain and the EU had agreed a joint political declaration which “made clear” the UK’s intention to engage in bilateral discussions with member states to discuss “suitable practical arrangements” on asylum.
But Catherine Woollard, director of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), a network of non-governmental organisations across the continent, said the prospect of the UK securing bilateral agreements with EU states was “wishful thinking”.
“We don’t see any appetite for this in any European country, EU or not – why on earth would there be? What interest would they have in a bilateral agreement with the UK where the main purpose is for the UK to return people that have crossed one of those EU countries?” she said.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty UK’s programme director for refugee and migrant rights, said the prospect of striking bilateral deals was “pie in the sky”, but that even if the UK did reach such deals with EU nations, they were likely to be “inefficient” and expensive.
He added: “It will lead to more backlogs and delays in the asylum system. The UK will have to pile people away while they’re in limbo, and will still have to pay for that.”
Minister for immigration compliance and justice, Chris Philp, said: “Our new plan for immigration will overhaul our asylum system and speed up the removal of failed asylum seekers and dangerous foreign criminals.
“While people are dying making life-threatening journeys, no one – at home or abroad – can ignore the moral responsibility to tackle this issue.
“We expect our international partners to work with us on facilitating the return of their own nationals back to their country where they have no lawful right to remain in the UK. This is an established principle of any functioning migration relationship.”
Passover, which commemorates the Hebrews’ liberation from enslavement in ancient Egypt, begins this weekend. But many European Jews don’t feel like celebrating. Many feel that their religious freedoms are being eroded.
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister, recently said pandemic safety measures had curtailed religiou freedoms. In his video, published to coincide with the 46th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Gallagher said state public health policies are infringing peoples’ ability to exercise their human rights.
Gallagher’s statement struck a chord: Religious communities across the world have changed the way they worship during the pandemic. Alas, restrictions of the fundamental right to religious freedom are not a new phenomenon.
In some case, the coronavirus pandemic has served as a pretext to restrict worship. Jews in the European Union are deeply troubled by this development.
Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis
For over a decade, the European Union has been preoccupied with itself and in permanent crisis mode, seemingly forgetting its much touted motto “united in diversity.” The United States, in contrast, is much more outward looking. Speaking at an OSCE expert summit last month, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Kara McDonald gave an outlook regarding President Joe Biden’s agenda on tackling Anti-Semitism.
The good news is that Biden plans to intensify the US’s fight against anti-Semitism in accordance with the definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Much more surprising, however, were McDonald’s observations concerning Jewish life in Europe today. Europeans should take her concerns seriously.
McDonald said Jewish communities in numerous countries were confronted with planned and actual bans on religious practices such as ritual animal slaughter and circumcision of male babies.
EU restricts religion
McDonald’s remarks were primarily directed at EU leaders. Keeping the memory of the past alive is essential, she said, but ensuring that people can freely practice their religious beliefs here and now is even more important.
In December, the European Court of Justice upheld a ban on ritual slaughters — a religious and humane method for killing animals for consumption — in Belgium.
The ruling jeopardizes the ability of Jews in Belgium to freely practice their religion. Banning access to and the producing of kosher meat makes Jewish life impossible. Similarly, proposed bans on male circumcision in Denmark, Finland and Iceland run counter to religious freedom.
These policies are de facto bans on Jewish life. Is a Europe “united in diversity” really willing to accept this? While professing to uphold individual liberty, Europe is undermining freedom.
Goldschmidt: Speeches and symbolic gestures seem empty when EU countries impose restrictions on Jewish religious life
The EU’s empty words
EU lawmakers repeat over and over that Jewish life must be appreciated and respected. But assertions like these ring hollow and hypocritical in light of recent laws outlawing religious practices. Indeed, commemorative speeches made at last January’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day appear disingenuous given that Europe is the only continent pursuing such dangerous initiatives curtailing religious freedom.
McDonald’s statements do not only highlight the need to keep the memory of the past alive to fight anti-Semitism. They also stress the significance of making Jewish life possible in the future. The US model for protecting religious freedoms is exemplary. Europe must follow the US lead and adopt its norms so that Europe’s Jews can freely practice their beliefs.
We want to see determined and positive steps by EU politicians to protect and foster Jewish life — and to prevent a looming exodus. This is not an exaggerated fear: It is already happening. Over the past decade, many Jews have left EU countries, feeling no longer welcome. That stems not only from the growing number of anti-Semitic incidents, but also from the gradual curtailment of religious freedoms.
Diana Acconcia, Head of the EU delegation to Ghana
Head of the EU delegation to Ghana, Diana Acconcia has hinted of plans by the European Union to delist Ghana from countries blacklisted for illicit financial inflows.
According to her, the EU is working around the clock to remove Ghana from the list of money laundering and terrorist financing states.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition, Mrs Acconcia indicated that Ghana has up measures to deal with the issues raised by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
She added that the Union is now waiting for the FATF report or review to take further action on the issue.
“It’s just a matter of time as that the Financial Action Task Force officials should be in town soon for its final review, physically or a possible virtual review.
“They are ready to remove Ghana from the list and I hope they can come and do that very soon because the country has made a lot of progress,” she explained.
Background on EU’s action
The EU Commission said on 7th May 2020 that Ghana is among 12 countries that pose “significant threats” to the EU’s financial system, due to deficiencies in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing strategy.
According to the EU, these weaknesses identified in these countries possess a serious risk to their financial system hence the action, based on recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force, the Union went ahead to put Ghana on the list.
Ghana’s Finance Ministry, later in the statement, described the action as surprising and unfortunate, especially when government claimed that they had already steps to address all the issues, identified by the financial action task force. The action came with some scrutiny for Banks in Ghana dealing with their counterparts in Europe.
Polish Ambassador to Qatar H E Janusz Janke (left) and Vice-President of Qatar-Poland Business Council, Pawel Kulaga
Poland will soon expand its agricultural exports to Qatar to include Polish agritech solutions which are also aimed at bringing information technology (IT) to Qatari farms, officials have said.
In an interview with The Peninsula, Polish Ambassador to Qatar H E Janusz Janke said that discussions are currently underway through Qatar-Poland Business Council to provide data management and other agritech solutions that will help further develop Qatari farms as well as accelerate their digitalisation.
To date, Poland is the largest agri-food industry producer in Central and Eastern Europe. The country is also a leading global producer of several agricultural food products. Janke said technological development have had a huge impact on the country’s agri-food sector. He said Polish exports to Qatar reached $199.2m in 2020, while Qatari exports to Poland reached $527.1m during the same period. In 2019, Poland’s agricultural exports to Qatar reached $18.2m. This included fruits, sweets, confectionery, frozen fruit and vegetables, non-alcoholic drinks, frozen meat, and others.
He added: “Poland is very well known as an agricultural hub as well as for its high standards for the food processing industry. About 80 percent of our exports go towards the EU market. And one of the interesting destinations for us is Qatar. Polish exports to Qatar are growing.
“Recently, together with Qatar-Poland Business Council, we have also visited Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). Together with the Qatari partners, we would like to develop some technologies for data management, which is also very important for farming. Because to improve the agricultural sector, you need to have access to a big number of data from the farms,” added Janke.
He said discussions have also been made to conduct scientific studies on Qatar’s horse farms, which are expected to materialise within this year.
“This new approach requires specialised information technology, biobanks, and data collection systems. And generally, the biotech sector related to farming is also a very promising field. In Europe, new technologies are being developed for market control and food security. And these technologies should be based on recent data from the market,” Janke added.
Also speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the Qatar International Agricultural Exhibition (AgriteQ) which concluded in Doha yesterday, Vice-President of the Qatar-Poland Business Council, Pawel Kulaga, said the Council is currently in the process of finishing contracts with Agrico, Qatar’s largest producer of organic vegetables and fruits, as well as with the Qatar Meat.
“Contracts will be for the supply of chicken, as well as the supply of some technologies for the farms. We can also supply technological solutions, and not only food products for the Qatari agricultural market,” said Kulaga.
He added: “Many Polish companies specialise in hydroponics, LED lighting and irrigation systems which are very much in demand in Qatar. We also develop green house technologies and new tech solutions concerning biobase materials, food e-commerce, and waste tech. Poland is very good in managing waste and creating value from waste. We even produce gas from the waste. These are Polish companies which are very strong in the European market. And we are connecting them to the Qatari market.
“Also, there’s a strong sector of venture capital in Poland investing into the agricultural sector. This is also an opportunity for Qatari investors to invest and create technology or produce food that could be supplied to Qatar. We also invite partners from Qatar to take a look at the Polish market,” added Kulaga.
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The International Institute for Religious Freedom has reported that 28 institutions as well as scholars, religious leaders and human rights advocates sign an open letter to the President of Algeria, which has been collected by the FoRB Roundtable Brussels-EU.
To: Mr Abdelmadjid Tebboune President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Copies to:
Kishan Manocha, Head, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
Eamon Gilmore, EU Special Representative for Human Rights
RE: FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF IN ALGERIA
Dear Mr President,
We write as an informal group of organizations and individuals who are scholars, religious leaders and human rights advocates. We are from many faiths or acting in a secular capacity, representing a high degree of diversity. While there is very little we agree on theologically, or politically, we all agree on the importance of religious freedom for all faiths and none.
We write to you concerning what we perceive as violations of freedom of religion and belief of Christians in Algeria, including the closure of numerous churches and a failure to renew the registration of the association of Protestant Churches in Algeria (Église Protestante d’Algérie, EPA).
Since January 2018, 13 churches have been sealed and 7 more churches have been ordered to close (see list copied below). These churches are closed because they lack the required permit to hold non-Muslim religious worship services. However, the National Commission for Non-Muslim Religious Groups, which is responsible for issuing these permits, has so far failed to issue a single permit to EPA-affiliated churches.
This clearly shows that the Algerian authorities up to now have not taken genuine steps to improve freedom of religion and belief in Algeria. This despite many requests from the international community to do so.
We welcome the recent passing of the new constitution following the referendum of 1 November 2020. The new constitution clearly seeks to further strengthen human rights in Algeria, including the freedom of worship (Arts. 34 and 51 of the constitution).
We hope that this development will lead to an improvement of human rights and freedom of religion and belief in law and in practice.
We respectfully request your intervention to ensure that:
all the closed church buildings will be re-opened and Christians be allowed to have places of worship.
the Algerian authorities process the EPA’s registration application without delay, accept this application and provide official documentation to confirm the EPA’s registration as the representative association of all Protestant churches in Algeria
All warnings, closure orders and court cases against churches are withdrawn, and permission is granted to all churches to continue to use rented premises as places of worship.
the Commission for Non-Muslim Worship will function efficiently and fairly, that pending applications from churches are considered urgently, and that responses to future applications are made within the designated 60-day period.
We would welcome a response from you on these matters, and assurance that the Algerian Government respects the rights of its citizens to freedom of religion and belief.
Naseer Ahmed (Missionary) French Ahmadiyya Association
Eileen Barker OBE (Professor Emeritus) London School of Economics
Rev. Brian Britton, Harvest Family Network
J. Todd Chasteen (Vice President of Public Policy and General Counsel) Samaritan’s Purse
The Most Reverend Joseph K. Grieboski (Secretary for Ecumenical, Interfaith, and Global Engagement, Vicar Apostolic, Holy Land and Appointed Territories)
Auxiliary Bishop, Diocese of the Eastern USA, Independent Old Catholic Church
Gail Hambleton (Senior Program Specialist) Values-based Peacebuilding Global Peace Foundation, International
Dr. Muhammad Ilyas (Chairman IDRAC)International Dialogue Research & Awareness Centre
Jonathan Imbody (Director) Freedom2Care
Paul Marshall Wilson (Professor) Baylor University
Faith J. H. McDonnell (Co-Leader) GAFCON Suffering Church Network & Anglican Persecuted Church Network
Scott Morgan (President) Red Eagle Enterprises
William J. Murray (President) Religious Freedom Coalition
Bachittar Singh Ughrha (Founder and President) Center for defence of human rights, (Founder and Vice President) Gurdwara (Sikh temple) Geneva, Switzerland
Martin Weightman (Director) All Faiths Network
Frans de Wolff (Secretary) Dutch Network for Interfaith Dialogue
Welcome to EURACTIV’s AgriFood Brief, your weekly update on all things Agriculture & Food in the EU. You can subscribe here if you haven’t done so yet.
This week: EURACTIV gives a recap on what to expect from the so-called “super-trilogue” on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform, discussing what is on the menu for the meeting and the main remaining sticking points in negotiations
The EU’s agrifood sector is following the outcomes of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) super trilogue with bated breath, although the road ahead is still uphill.
In this highly unusual Agrifood brief, we’re called to carry out an extremely arduous task: talking about something that it is happening as we write.
Many expectations rest on this ‘super trilogue’, the brainchild of the Portuguese presidency, which is gathering all three of the main Parliament’s rapporteurs on the CAP dossier and the Portuguese presidency around the same table.
The hope is to settle some of the remaining sticking points with a view of reaching the sorely sought-after agreement by May.
This timeline is crucial and the clock is ticking, as Portuguese agricultural minister Maria do Ceu Antunes reminded journalists at a press conference after the EU Agrifish Council on Tuesday (23 March).
The super meeting will close approximately at 7 pm on Friday (26 March) and a press conference has been convened at 7.30, shortly after the publication of these lines.
During the week, the EU’s agricultural Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski offered an optimistic look at the state of negotiations, reiterating that the working atmosphere between negotiators seemed “very good”.
“And I am confident that we will be able to present a final deal in May with a very good outcome for the CAP,” he said.
But despite the optimism shown by some quarters on the eve of the super trilogue, a number of sticking points remain, putting into question whether negotiators will be able to wrap up the CAP.
Negotiators are still wide apart on a number of cornerstone issues as crunch time on CAP talks rapidly approaches. Which ones? It is enough to look at the menu of the meeting to have a handle on this.
As a starter, one of the main bones of contention has been put on the agenda: the new delivery model.
As is no secret, the Commission’s proposal to shifting the CAP to make payments correlated with performance. This is based on nine objectives that need to be pursued by member states together with a set of common output and result indicators.
The assessment of farmers’ performance proposed by the Commission is considered cumbersome by the Parliament as it could lead to unnecessary burdens on national administration.
During the negotiations, MEPs tried to keep performance and compliance as two different, but complementary, key goals in a bid to ease the red tape on performance monitoring.
The Portuguese presidency has proposed a 2-year performance framework to meet the requests of MEPs, with the suspension of payments that can only be done every second year following the performance review, although performance is monitored every year.
The main course to be sampled by the negotiators is a mixed bag, featuring discussions on horizontal regulation and strategic plans.
The tricky definition of active/genuine farmer was the house speciality, a crucial step towards better and fairer distribution of direct payments.
This definition is one of the most controversial pending issues for promoting efficient spending in the next CAP, as it defines access to funding.
The problem arose since in the past money often did not go to those who actually farm the land, but rather to (usually wealthy) land-owners.
The same goes with other definitions, such as what makes a young farmer, a small farmer or a new farmer.
For dessert, negotiators were treated to the exception crisis measure and other outstanding points in the Common Market Organisation (CMO) file, washed down with all the wine issues, including digital labelling, the authorisation of American grapes and the duration of the authorisation scheme for vine plantings until 2045.
Time will tell to see how well this heavy meal went down with negotiators. It seems unlikely, however, they have managed to eat up the feast that was on the table.
(G.F and N.F)
Stories of the week
EU official: Imposing animal welfare standards on imports would be WTO compliant It would be wise to impose the equivalent standards of animal welfare on meat imports coming into the EU, according to a top EU official, who said this would be compliant with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, provided it was based on “ethical grounds”. Natasha Foote has the story.
Organic food ‘healthier’ says agri Commissioner as EU launches new organic plan Organic food is “healthier” than its chemically produced counterparts, EU Agricultural Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski told journalists at an event to mark the launch of the EU’s long-awaited organic action plan on Thursday (25 March). Natasha Foote has more.
New report reiterates there is no East-West divide in food quality A new study on food quality has found detectable differences between European products but said they were not correlated with geography, lending weight to the idea that there is no East-West divide in food quality discrimination in Europe. Read more.
RED II: EU Commission can’t see the wood for the trees, analysts warn The revision of the Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II) as part of the new Green Deal should recalibrate the legislative initiatives which have so far failed to decarbonise Europe’s transport sector, stakeholders have said. Sarantis Michalopoulos has the story.
French mosques fear slaughter policy change is ban on halal chicken Several major French mosques have expressed concern that a proposed ban on the slaughter of poultry without first stunning the animals would effectively lead to a ban on halal chicken, while the agriculture ministry says this concern is unfounded. EURACTIV France reports.
French dairy farmers sour after milk origin labelling scrapped A decision by France’s top court to annul the obligation to label the origin of milk has provoked outrage in France. Dairy farmers and politicians are particularly sour about the move, calling it an “unacceptable step backwards.” EURACTIV France reports.
CAP corner: Protestors from WeMoveEurope, Extinction Rebellion and BirdLife Europe occupied the roundabout in front of the European Berlaymont building on Wednesday (24 March) demanding Commission President von der Leyen to withdraw the CAP because it is not in line with the European Green Deal. “About 80% of subsidies is transferred to 20% of the biggest producers. Is this a fair and just system? The current CAP conserves a system, where subsidies funded by all of us, European taxpayers, land in the pockets of big producers for whom the financial profit is the only important factor”,” Dominik Kulczynski from Extinction Rebellion pointed out in a speech at the protest. So far, more than 157,000 people have signed a petition demanding President von der Leyen to withdraw this deal and propose a new agriculture policy.
Geographical indications: The European Commission has approved the application for registration of “Vasi vadkörte pálinka” from Hungary and “Pistacchio di Raffadali” in the Register of Protected Geographical Indications (PGI). “Vasi vadkörte pálinka” is a brandy produced from wild pears in western Hungary, while the latter is a pistachio variety grown in Italy.
New transparency rules: The 2019 regulation on transparency and sustainability of the EU risk assessment in the food chain will eneter into force from 27 March, bolstering EU’s food safety agency (EFSA) ability to carry out its risk assessment in accordance with the highest transparency standard. More information here.
Agrifood news from the Capitals
CROATIA Bolstered by its own commercial production of seeds, Croatia has become one of the top EU countries for organic agricultural production. But organic farmers now fear that the introduction of a new Seed Act may jeopardise this. EURACTIV Croatia reports. BULGARIA Family farming is no easy task, but one young Bulgarian couple has shown that sustainable farming can be a successful business venture, while also helping to revive one of the EU’s poorest regions. EURACTIV Bulgaria reports.
UK UK food and drink exports to the European Union dropped by 75% in January, the first month of life outside the EU’s single market, according to data published by the UK’s Food and Drink Federation. Read more. (Benjamin Fox| EURACTIV.com)
SPAIN The European Green Deal offers opportunities and challenges to Spanish farmers, stakeholders have warned, highlighting that Spain needs more support in the transition towards a more sustainable model of agriculture. EURACTIV’s partner EFE Agro reports.
POLAND The Supreme Audit Office (NIK) evaluated the activities of institutions responsible for counteracting drought in agriculture, publishing a report on Monday (22 March) to coincide with world water day. The problem of drought, which used to occur every few years, now occurs almost every year. Experts agree – in order to counteract water shortages, it is necessary to invest in the so-called small retention. (Mateusz Kucharczyk | EURACTIV.pl)
ROMANIA Farmers that grow certain crops, including peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes, are eligible for aid of up to €2,000 per 1,000 square meters of protected crops in a new programme, which has a total budget of 150 million lei (about €30 million), according to agriculture minister Adrian Oros. The aid will replace a support program aimed at tomato growers that ran for four years, but is considered a failure by the current minister. On the other hand, a three-year program to support garlic farming is set to continue in 2021, the last year of the program, with a maximum budget of 15 million lei. The program has proved a success, with the number of beneficiaries growing three-times in 2020 compared with the previous year, while the areas included in the program reached 1,325 hectares, from 360 ha in 2019. The amount granted to farmers will be a maximum of €3,000 per hectare, but it needs to be lower than €20,000 per beneficiary over the three-year period. (Bogdan Neagu | EURACTIV.ro)
GERMANY Germany is considering ways to fund an increased ambition in animal welfare standards, including a new levy on animal welfare, but the idea has raised eyebrows among German farmers, who are concerned they will be exposed to unfair competition. EURACTIV Germany reports. (EURACTIV.de)
FRANCE Farmers’ suicides are no longer a taboo subject in France, but the French government should do more to tackle the issue, according to a report published last week by the Economic Affairs Committee of the French Senate. The last statistics from 2015 suggest that on average, two French farmers take their life every day. The senatorial report identifies low revenues and agribashing as major difficulties faced by farmers. The latter often felt “abandoned by society”, the senators report. In order to improve the situation, the report names 63 recommendations on how the government should take action. Proposed measures include a decent revenue for farmers, a lightening of administrative burdens, quicker and easier access to state aid and better measures to accompany farmers in difficulty as well as close relatives of victims. (Magdalena Pistorius | EURACTIV.fr)
IRELAND The ‘All-Ireland Pollinator Plan’ 2021-2025 was unveiled this week by Green Party Ministers Malcolm Noonan and Pippa Hackett. Billed as a “stronger, more ambitious roadmap”, the plan aims to help biodiversity by engaging communities, local authorities, farmers, schools and businesses to take action for nature, reports Agriland (Natasha Foote | EURACTIV.com)
… on the programme by the European Parliament on 9 March. It … recovery by making the EU population healthier, supporting the … future strong European Health Union, EU Commission notes.
Stella Kyriakides, … and NGOs, according to EU Commission.
EU4Health aims to: …
The French government and the European Union’s executive are close to an agreement on the terms of a bailout for Air France, which like other carriers has been hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, Le Monde reported. The expected deal would see Air France give up fewer airport flight slots at its Paris base than initially sought by the European Commission, notably at Orly airport, the newspaper said in a report published late on Friday.
The Air France-KLM group recorded a 7.1 billion euro ($8.38 billion) net loss for last year, said Reuters.
It received 10.4 billion euros in loans and guarantees from France and the Netherlands and has been negotiating a state-backed recapitalisation, with EU regulators seeking airport slot concessions at Paris-Orly and Amsterdam-Schiphol.
Under a plan submitted to Brussels, France would swap a 4 billion euro shareholder loan granted to Air France-KLM last year for hybrid debt or perpetuities, sources have said.
Air France and its unions had baulked at the EU’s demands for slot concessions at Orly. Slot concessions for KLM had yet to be agreed by the Commission and the Dutch government, Le Monde and fellow French daily Les Echos said.
NICOSIA, March 27 (Xinhua) — Cyprus’ “national cheese” halloumi has been recognized by the European Commission as a product of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) after an examination process that lasted more than 15 years, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Costas Kadis said Saturday.
Kadis told CyBC state radio that a formal announcement is expected to be made on Monday by the European Commission, the European Union (EU)’s executive arm.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades hailed the decision, saying that it was the result of “a long and difficult effort, a difficult battle that was marked by political expediency.”
Halloumi is a semi-hard cheese made for centuries in Cypriot villages from either goat or sheep milk or a mixture of both. In its modern form, a quantity of cow milk is added.
Its success lies in the fact that it not only can be eaten as is, but also can be fried or grilled without melting because of its high melting point, a property that makes it a popular meat substitute.
Its recognition as a PDO product means that the name of halloumi cannot be used for similar products prepared outside Cyprus. It also means that halloumi has to be made using fixed ratios of goat or sheep milk and cow milk, in the way the product has been prepared in Cyprus for centuries.
