The Soil Directive, for which I am shadow rapporteur for my Greens/EFA group, will be voted on in plenary this week. The law is crucial for determining the state of our soils and improving them in the long term. Although it should have been stricter on land use and land sealing, this is an important step towards the first EU soil law.

 

At the same time, the EU Parliament will vote this week on the adoption of the fast-track procedure for amending the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). There is no question that excessive bureaucracy for farms must be reduced. But this must not be done at the expense of the environment and species protection! The EU Commission is proposing to water down the minimum ecological requirements that have been in place for over 20 years. But how are we supposed to achieve the EU's climate and environmental goals with this step backwards?

 

Farms have nothing to gain from further destruction of nature! And a fast-track procedure without an impact assessment for such an important change to the CAP legislation is simply irresponsible and undemocratic. We spent five years negotiating the last CAP reform, and now our nature and agriculture are to be put at risk in a few weeks in a fast-track procedure? That is unacceptable! Instead, the CAP laws should ensure that farmers are strengthened so that they can make a good living from their products by finally being able to enforce profitable producer prices when trading. Ultimately, these measures only lead to short-term increases in production, from which only the agricultural industry and the food sector benefit.