New documents revealed from inside one of the most powerful agricultural lobbying organizations in Europe show how it managed to delay, weaken and ultimately defeat some of the biggest agricultural reforms in the history of the European Union, including a plan to halve pesticide use.
Copa Cogeca, which describes itself as the voice of 22 million farmers across the continent, enjoys extraordinary access to European decision-makers and has also been described as a “partner in policy-making”.
When the EU unveiled plans for sweeping reforms to agriculture in 2020 as part of efforts to tackle the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, Copa Cogeca launched a wide-ranging lobbying campaign. Internal documents obtained by the investigative project Grilled and The Guardian newspaper offer a rare glimpse into how the organisation operated behind closed doors.
One of the EU’s main objectives was to reduce pesticide use by 50% to protect nature. According to the documents, Copa Cogeca’s strategy was to combine procedural delays with increased political pressure.
In a 2022 document, the organization suggested that the 2024 European elections could be used to delay the process.
“The European Parliament elections are in 2024. Maybe it’s worth delaying until then. We need to force the European Commission to abandon its objectives.”
Following lobby pressure, the European Commission requested a new impact assessment for the pesticide law, slowing down the process by several months. Later, Copa Cogeca opposed the European Parliament reports and presented privately commissioned studies to highlight the economic impacts of the reform.
The documents also show the organization’s efforts to defend the use of pesticides that harm bees and glyphosate, an herbicide classified by the World Health Organization’s cancer agency as “probably carcinogenic.”
In internal documents, the Copa Cogeca secretariat urged its members to press for the renewal of the glyphosate license.
“Put pressure on permanent representations to support the renewal of the glyphosate license. Copa Cogeca will send a letter to permanent representations.”
MEP Thomas Waitz stated that Copa Cogeca was focused on blocking the reform.
“Copa Cogeca focused on sabotaging, delaying and ultimately killing regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides. They are acting in the interests of large multinational agrochemical companies and against the well-being of small and medium-sized farmers.”
The pesticide law was withdrawn in February 2024, just a few months before the European elections, which according to the documents were used as a delaying strategy.
The documents also reveal lobbying against restrictions on the promotion of red meat and processed meat products. When the European Commission proposed limiting public funds for the promotion of these products as part of its anti-cancer plan, Copa Cogeca considered it a serious threat.
The organization coordinated pressure on several European commissioners and asked its members to exert influence on national governments. A year later, the measures were weakened and then some health criteria were removed.
The agricultural lobby also played a role in weakening the rules for industrial farms. According to the documents, after its interventions, the threshold for defining an industrial farm was increased by 50%, exempting many entities from the stricter rules.
In the area of animal welfare, the documents show a discrepancy between private statements and public positions by Copa Cogeca. While some officials admitted that cage farming could be phased out immediately if there was financial support, the organization called for a transition period of up to 15 years.
Another long-running battle was over the protected status of wolves in European nature laws. After years of lobbying, Copa Cogeca called the rule change “a major lobbying victory.”
Despite requests for comment, Copa Cogeca declined to respond. The European Commission stated that its decisions are made in the interest of European citizens.
“Our decisions are made in the European interest, according to European rules and in the interests of Europe.”
German MEP Delara Burkhardt criticized the influence of big agricultural industry, saying that the interest of big agribusiness is not to simplify the Green Deal, but to dismantle it.
Article adapted from The Guardian