There is more to say, but for now let me tell you how proud I am of our Columbia Journalism students, whom I've watched report non-stop for days, sleep on floors, support one another & give their all to bearing witness under dire conditions: pulitzer.org/news/statement… The Pulitzer Prizes

Hello X community: tomorrow is my last day at Euractiv and my company email will be suppressed. If you want to keep sending me press releases, tips, stories, and info on what you ate for lunch, DM me! I will give you my new working email.

As part of my deep dive into the great gene editing debate for FoodUnfolded, I visited Rothamsted Research's Professor Nigel Halford, who runs the first gene-edited field trial of wheat in Europe. Check out this little video I put together to learn more👇

Asked if farmers' protests eroded the Green Deal, von der Leyen focused on the European Climate Law. “This is the law. It's a must”

Which is funny bc legal group ClientEarth Europe say her CAP simplification proposal is in breach of this law

Background: arc2020.eu/green-light-no…

So I have been on the waiting list for a bike parking spot in Etterbeek since OCTOBER with no luck. Of course my neighbours got a car parking spot within the first two weeks of moving in. My landlord won't let me put the bike in the corridor... anyone have an idea? Vincent De Wolf

So far, lots of agriculture in the #MaastrichtDebate but usual clichés from all the alleged spitzenkandidaten such as 'farmers are the solution', 'we should support farmers' + some big inaccuracies from von der Leyen on the policies she's put forward (and the one she withdrew)

If only the pro-EU side had played it as well as this during the Brexit debate...

Hats off to the European Parliament for making me cry in a cafe

youtube.com/watch?v=LoiAAD…

'The speed with which the policy has been dismantled has thrown up questions of legitimacy & legality among campaigners'

As a reminder, the CAP nearly 4 years to negotiate but has been dismantled in a little over 4 weeks - with no debate among MEPs

More on ARC 2020 👇

The most interesting point on today’s meeting of EU Agri ministers is a proposal to raise the amount of state aid countries can give to farmers without needing the Commission’s permission

Something that our very own fortuna-teller Gerardo Fortuna predicted back in 2022 🔮

Using 'food security' when the appropriate term should be affordability sounds close to the electoral narrative of a certain party
(by the way, not even that party would go as far as saying that the CAP temporary derogations could 'cushion possible El Niño effects in the EU'...)

Green Light Now, Green Fight Later – CAP Fast Track Risks Legal Wrangle. Natasha Foote outlines what happened this week with the final, all important, plenary vote on CAP, and what might be coming next.
arc2020.eu/green-light-no…

The European Parliament pulled the lesser-known 'pass jail, and go straight to Go' card

But civil society is not ready to let the decision go down without a fight, with ClientEarth Europe gearing up to challenge the move

More in my ARC 2020 arCticle 👇
arc2020.eu/green-light-no…

Local communities leading the way in food system transformation! 🌱 At Feeding Ourselves 2024, we discussed Bottom-up Approaches to #SustainableFoodSystems with actors from Ireland, Germany and France. Here are some key lessons that emerged: arc2020.eu/sustainable-fo…

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen found the request for farmers to receive prices to be above production costs 'fair' according to small farmers' association European Coordination Via Campesina and organics association IFOAM Organics Europe who met with the President to urge this to be enshrined in EU law

It's always pleasant to see how young talented journalists bloom - and I experienced Eleonora's 'rise' quite closely.
She has something quite rare in an environment sometimes too focused on policies: a natural understanding of how politics work.
I'm sure we will hear about her!

'But while many question marks remain over the potential of this technology, one thing is clear – the great gene editing debate will continue to rear its (good, bad and) ugly head in the near future'

My first feature piece for FoodUnfolded🌱

foodunfolded.com/article/the-gr…

Gerardo has been diplomatic here, but seriously POLITICOEurope this is extremely poor form. If you’re going to copy, at least don’t do it so blatantly

For those wondering about this NGT vote in the Parliament - basically its a vote to say, yes we vote for what we already voted last time, but we could still vote differently if we felt like it in a couple of months

And people say the EU policy making process is complicated 🤷‍♀️

Three votes to 👀 today in the Parliament plenary:

📎 CAP simplification package - intended to lighten the admin load on farmers but scraps mandatory environmental requirements

🧬Position on new genomic techniques

🌱 Overhaul of EU seed law

Woah, the majority on the fast-track CAP reform is not that solid as it still seemed last week.
MEPs who voted against a debate (who basically represent those who want the reform to be approved) won by 11 votes only today...
We may have a little fun here