Exposing the far-reaching influence of Europe's most powerful farming lobby, Copa Cogeca, newly released documents reveal the organisation's extensive efforts to scupper significant agricultural reforms aimed at addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. At the heart of this controversy lies a pivotal plan to halve pesticide use across the continent – a move that would have had far-reaching implications for British farmers reliant on EU markets.
Copa Cogeca, which claims to represent 22 million European farmers, has long been accused of wielding disproportionate influence over EU policymakers. The leaked records, obtained by Grilled and The Guardian, expose the organisation's strategic campaign to counter environmental protections, including a brazen declaration to defend contentious animal products like foie gras and fur with equal vigour as tobacco.
A key target of the EU's reform agenda was to reduce pesticide use by 50% in order to safeguard biodiversity. Copa Cogeca responded with a multifaceted approach, employing deliberate delay tactics and an intensified lobbying campaign. Internal notes reveal that the organisation aimed to force the European Commission to abandon its environmental objectives by delaying action until the 2024 European Parliament elections, effectively slowing the legislative process by six months.
The lobby group also sought to protect the use of bee-harming pesticides and glyphosate, classified as a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization's cancer research arm. Despite these efforts, Copa Cogeca's influence ultimately led to the withdrawal of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides regulation in February 2024 – just months before the elections they had been trying to outlast.
Thomas Waitz, a Green MEP from Austria and member of the agriculture committee, condemned Copa Cogeca for prioritising the interests of large agrochemical companies over those of small and medium-sized farmers. The documents also reveal that Copa Cogeca successfully lobbied to weaken restrictions on red and processed meat promotion, as well as softening rules pertaining to factory farms – changes that will have significant implications for UK producers trading with Europe.
As the EU continues to debate a new proposal that could remove periodic safety reassessments for pesticides already on the market, British farmers are left wondering what this means for their long-term sustainability and competitiveness in the EU market.