Christophe Hansen’s hearing: beyond the strategic dialogue ?

November 4th will be a defining moment for the future of the European agricultural policy, during the European Parliament’s hearing of the designated Commissioner Christophe Hansen. Will he be able to chart his own political course or will he strictly follow in the footsteps of the strategic dialogue? This is the main question that MEPs will ask themselves at the end of the hearing to determine if a strong commissioner is taking the helm of European agriculture in this period of turmoil.

The commissioner candidate knows the intricacies of the European Parliament and its political dynamics perfectly. He has had the opportunity to work in Parliament as a parliamentary assistant at the beginning of his career, and then as a Member of the European Parliament. He has been heavily involved in trade issues – Brexit in particular – and deforestation, for which he was the rapporteur.

Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture will be tasked with assessing the candidate’s competence for the assigned portfolio, as well as his adherence to Union values and his communication skills. The Commissioner has already had the opportunity to provide initial policy orientations in his responses to the written questions sent to him by the MEPs.

The hearing will begin with a 15-minute opening statement, followed by questions from all political groups, with the candidate having twice as much time for his or her reply as the time given for the question.

During the hearing, undoubtedly, many topics will be addressed — the future of the CAP, and direct payments in particular ; the challenge of Ukraine’s accession for European agriculture ; the candidate’s approach to reforming the food value chain, combating unfair trading practices and improving farmers’ income ; as well as his stance on trade, particularly when it comes to the on going talks with Mercosur.

Beyond these important topics, it is clear that the question of the strategic dialogue and the follow-up to this exercise, in which Parliament was not involved, will capture the MEPs’ attention. The Commissioner-designate will have the difficult task of following in the footsteps of the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, who has placed the implementation of the strategic dialogue at the heart of her mission letter, while at the same time distancing himself from the specific recommendations of this report to assert his autonomy and his own political identity, essential for acquiring his stature as a European commissioner.

It is primarily in this exercise of balance and subtle dosage that his performance will be evaluated and will allow him to gather the political support he needs, not only to win the approval of the rapporteurs representing 2/3 of the committee’s votes, but also to begin his mandate and build his own strategic vision for the next five years in agriculture.

This political capacity will be all the more important and necessary as the majority that supported Ursula von der Leyen for a second term at the head of the European Commission will not be sufficient to obtain confirmation at the first hearing. If he intends to be confirmed without going through a second hearing and a majority vote, the Commissioner-designate will need to convince beyond the EPP, S&D, Renew, and Greens groups, as these only provide him with 31 votes out of the 33 necessary. He will therefore also need the support of the ECR group.

Christophe Hansen: Overcoming the Fragmentation of Agricultural Policy

Over the last five years, conflicting messages sent by regulators have been one of the main challenges for the agricultural community, and for the credibility of the policy path at European level. The assessment of the mission letters given by President Von der Leyen to Commissioner-designate for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen and to other members of the college, shows that ensuring consistency and coherence will remain one of the main challenge of the new Commissioner, who will need to cooperate closely with more than 12 of his colleagues to deliver on the agricultural priorities of the new college. 

An overview of the 12 Herculean tasks facing the new Commissioner-designate for Agriculture.

1- The most pressing file that the future commissioner will have to address during the first 100 days of his mandate is the elaboration of a Vision for Agriculture and Food, with the aim of ensuring the “long-term competitiveness and sustainability of [the] farming and food sector”, which will most likely occur under the close supervision of both Ursula Von der Leyen and Raffaele Fitto. 

2- A second challenge, closely associated with the previous one, relates to granting an effective and forward-looking implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy, under the guidance of EVP Fitto, with the objective of providing adequate support to farmers and making sure that they receive sufficient revenues. This mission is directly linked to the ambition of having “thriving rural areas” all over Europe.

3- Another measure to protect the farmers’ community will be to work closely with the commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič, in order to “promote trade reciprocity and an international level playing field as well as to reduce dependencies on foreign imports. Stéphane Séjourné, the French EVP for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, is expected to keep a close eye on the matter. 

4- On her side, EVP for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition will have to work with Mr  Hansen to protect farmers against unfair trading practices. 

5- Concerning one of the most sensitive aspects of the agricultural portfolio – investments – the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food will have to cooperate with the commissioner for Financial Services and Investments Unions to foster investment and innovation in the sector, especially by scaling up sustainable finance and “leveraging and de-risking private capital”. Indeed, the Commissioner in charge of agriculture will also have to work closely with his colleague in charge of the Budget, Piotr Serafin.

6- When it comes to resilience and sustainability, keywords in Christophe Hansen’s mission letter, he will work with the Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare to “support the organic farming sector, prevent food waste, improve safety & affordability of food production & consumption across the food chain”. 

7 & 8 – Together with commissioner Jessika Roswell and Wopke Hoekstra, and under the guidance of Ms Ribera, Hansen will pursue the objectives of the Green Deal, while realising an EU-wide sustainability benchmark of the agri-food sector, as suggested by the conclusions of the Strategic Dialogue. 

9 & 10 – Their collaboration will also concern the preparation of a Climate Adaptation Plan, implying an indirect contribution to RED and to the technological neutral approach to e-Fuels, as well as the EU’s just and social transition (including the Social Climate Fund and the Just Transition Fund). 

11- Finally, he will contribute to the European Water Resilience Strategy coordinated by the commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy.

12 – EU enlargement to Ukraine will be another central issue of the next Commission’s mandate, which also represents a high-stake challenge for the European agri-food sector. This will lead the agriculture commissioner to take part in pre-enlargement policy reviews together with future commissioner Marta Kos.

In sum, Christophe Hansen will have to draw on his political charisma, solid experience on agricultural issues and in-depth knowledge of European institutions in order to slaying the twelve-headed hydra which will be his upcoming mandate. However, the general character of several tasks listed in his mission letter leaves him a wide margin for manoeuvre to develop his own vision on the future of EU’s agriculture. In this light, the structure of the new European Commission represents a promising step forward to open a new chapter of European policy in the field of agriculture and food, under the condition that Mr Hansen is provided with the strong support from the Commission’s President and cooperative approach from his colleagues within the new college.