Happiness is in the field

A couple of weeks ago, 24 members of the National Farmers Union travelled to Brussels to visit the European Parliament and meet officials from the European Commission. Although it was not the first time for all of them, they enjoyed the trip and most of all, the contact with MEPs.

Members of the National Farmers Union meet Nicole Sinclaire MEP for West Midlands

For a farmer, holidays are rare. There is always work to be done. If they want to go away, farmers have to find someone to take care of their farm while they are gone. "That's why they are generally reluctant to leave, even for a very short period of time", explains David Collier, regional director of NFU West Midlands. "When I organised the visit to Brussels on January 10th, they were interested, but I couldn't persuade them to travel more than two days".

Adam Quinney, a 46-year old stock and sheep breeder, was one of them. He wanted to come for two reasons: "First, it is obvious the European Union is extremely important as a market and a body for regulation. Second, I went to see people from DG-AGRI (European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development). The meetings were very informative".
For him, the trip was definitely worth it, although it would have been "more beneficial if we had gone when there was a plenary session of the Parliament".

"a good vibe"

This is a regret experienced by quite a few visitors to the European Parliament in Brussels... but unavoidable because most plenary sessions take place once a month in Strasbourg. While the building in itself is widely described as "impressive", the feelings it arouses are mixed.
For example Anthony Snow, horticulturist in Ross-on-Wye, found the Parliament "very big and very empty", whereas Mr Quinney, who felt the mood was "very tense" when he came eight years ago to discuss beef exports, thinks that "the new member states bring a new atmosphere": "I felt a good vibe this time". Slightly less impressed was Christopher James Meadows, 58-year old arable farmer, who considers that it looks "like any other government building, but with lots of flags inside and outside".

From CAP to pesticides

From a professional point of view, such a visit has two practical purposes: learning and lobbying. "It was useful" observes Mr Snow: "Now, we understand much better the workings of the European Parliament". "It gave me more confidence in the European process" tells Mr Quinney. "I think we left the MEPs better informed about the issues we are facing" concludes Mr Collier.
As a matter of fact, the coming years are decisive for the future of British farmers. Should they produce more or better? What kind of help can they expect from the European Union? What new regulations will they have to comply with? David Collier speaks on behalf of West Midlands farmers: "Apart from sheep tagging, we were actually keenest to talk about the CAP reform, what it would be like in 2013, and the implementation of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive, which reduces the number of pesticides we are allowed to buy".

Musical chairs

These issues were discussed on Monday evening, during a dinner with three members of the European Parliament: Nicole Sinclaire, MEP for West Midlands, who sponsored their group, Stuart Agnew, Ukip MEP for East England and Richard Ashworth, Conservative MEP for South East England. According to David Collier, it went very well: "Every ten or fifteen minutes, the MEPs moved around the restaurant's table. Each NFU member was thus able to talk with every MEP. We stayed very late..."

Virginie Malicier