46. Strategic Dialogue: Towards a common vision of tomorrow’s agriculture in the EU
The Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture has spent the past several months in detailed discussions about the long-term development of food and farming in the EU. The European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen launched the Strategic Dialogue in January 2024 under an independent chair, Professor Peter Strohschneider. Its brief was to bring a diverse and sometimes discordant group of stakeholders together to protect and promote farming’s long-term future – while also driving economic, environmental and social sustainability for a sector central to Europe’s identity. In September 2024, Prof Strohschneider handed the report of the Strategic Dialogue’s consensus-based discussions to President Von der Leyen. The Commission is expected to use the report as a base for the subsequent development of the Common Agricultural Policy in the years ahead. This 46th episode of Food for Europe includes an interview with Prof Strohschneider, who provides some reflections on a lengthy, intense and detailed process. We also speak to Marco Contiero of Greenpeace, Lennart Nilsson of Cogeca and Dirk Jacobs of Food Drink Europe – all of whom provide insight from their own participation in this unprecedented exercise to make Europe’s food and farming sector fit for a prosperous, competitive and sustainable future.