Parallel break-out session: Sustainable food and farming and biodiversity

Three parallel breakout sessions will provide the opportunity to explore in greater depth three topics that are critical to the EU’s ability to achieve its global commitments and which will play a prominent role in the debate on the future of the EU27 as well as in its new relationship with the UK.

As the main driver of biodiversity loss and increasingly a major contributor to climate change, the agricultural sector is in need of transformational change. At EU level, the looming debate on the new EU budget post-2020 and the inevitable cuts linked to Brexit has made another CAP reform inevitable. In the UK and Scotland, efforts are being made to reset the legislative framework under a post-Brexit scenario.

This break-out session will address the following questions:

• How should the CAP be further reformed to achieve the 2030 SDGs?

• Is there a case for a continuation of the CAP post-2020 and if so, what should it look like?

• How can the EU27 and the UK support a transition in farming post-Brexit?

Moderator:
•    Faustine Bas Defossez, EEB Policy Manager for Agriculture and Bioenergy
Rapporteur:
•    Nikolai Pushkarev, Policy Coordinator for Food, Drink and Agriculture, European Public Health Alliance (EPHA)
Speakers:
•    Martin Scheele, Head of Unit at the Directorate General for Agricultural and Rural Development, European Commission
•    Helen Browning, Chief Executive Soil Association UK and organic farmer
•    Konstantin Kreiser, Head of International and EU conservation at NABU, Germany
•    Olga Kikou, European Affairs Manager, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF)