The EU farming body COPA has elected Christiane Lambert to lead the organisation for the next two years.
Lambert takes office at a critical time for farming, as key decisions will be taken in the coming months, starting with the next budget of the union and the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Together with a team of six newly elected vice-presidents, Christiane Lambert replaces Joachim Rukwied that led the organisation for the last three years.
Lambert commented on the position, saying: “I am honoured by the trust of my European colleagues, but I am also aware of the responsibilities incumbent to this presidency.
Farmers all over Europe are worried and uncertainties are many. Should it be on the CAP, the Farm to Fork, the Green Deal, the Brexit process or the recovery plan, we must find collective answers at EU level in the near future.
“I firmly believe that farming is a strategic sector for Europe— the Covid-19 crisis has shown this. Europe needs to reconnect with its agricultural ambitions.”
Lambert who is a pig farmer from Main-et-Loire in France, said that she will build on the work done by her predecessor Joachim Rukwied, in defending the interests of all European farmers.
She listed some of the top priorities for her term starting with a decent livelihood for farmers considered as a precondition if we want them to achieve the “EU’s extremely high ambitions, which sometimes seem unattainable”.
Speaking about the Green Deal, Lambert said:
“At COPA we are convinced that European agriculture is able to be at the same time productive, competitive and sustainable.
The CAP and the Green Deal must set a production objective for the EU to guarantee food for everyone, for all markets, all budgets by being faultless in terms of traceability and health requirements.
“Europe must protect the act of producing and not commit the agricultural sector to pursuing a path of reduction,” she concluded.
