Introductory remarks from the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan, was followed by key actors such as Director-General for Environment, Daniel Calleja Crespo; NGOs, and farmers’ organisations,  who debated the needed reform of the CAP. NGOs expressed their concerns with its current practices and pushed for a radical change of the agri-food system. A recurring theme was the need for all sectors and actors to engage in the reform as it is felt that the agri-silo approach is ineffective.  

IUCN strongly encourages all actors – including those in other parts of government such as Health, Energy and Finance departments – to engage in this debate, and collect and use evidence from the implementation of the current CAP to feed the discussion as much as possible with facts. The upcoming months and years will be crucial for the future of agricultural practices and thus for nature in Europe. The discussions and exchanges at all levels must be based on trust, credibility, transparency and knowledge. IUCN aims to provide its government and NGO Members, and also external actors, with a balanced platform for a well-informed debate away from the spotlight.

Visit the event page here and download the draft programme summary here.