A peek behind the curtains of EU agricultural policy (News)
Students visit European Commission and European Parliament in Brussels
Thirty-four undergraduates from the Agribusiness B.A. and Sustainable Agriculture B.Sc. programmes of the Faculty of Life Sciences visited the European Commission and the European Parliament in Brussels together with Dr Dietrich Darr, Professor of Agribusiness, and Maren Weller (research associate). There they met with experts from the commission, members of the European Parliament (MEP) and the representative of large advocacy group for an open exchange of ideas. The two-day excursion was part of the module “International Markets, Trade and Agricultural Policy” and aimed, in particular, to explore in depth the common EU agricultural policy discussed in lectures.
There they met with experts from the commission, members of the European Parliament (MEP) and the representative of large advocacy group for an open exchange of ideas. The two-day excursion was part of the module “International Markets, Trade and Agricultural Policy” and aimed, in particular, to explore in depth the common EU agricultural policy discussed in lectures.
The excursion kicked off with a face-to-face meeting with two experts from the European Commission, Benjamin Vallin and Benjamin Van Doorslaer. Through two specialist presentations, “Trade Agenda” and “Environmental Challenges of the New Common Agricultural Policy – CAP”, the students learned more about ecological aspects and challenges of the EU’s agricultural policies. In the European Parliament the students then met with the MEPs Maria Heubuch (The Greens/European Free Alliance) and Sven Schulze (CDU), who provided valuable insight into their current functions, tasks and areas of responsibility. Afterwards students engaged in a Q&A session with the MEPs on current EU developments, the legislative process and anticipated political challenges of the coming years.
In the Parliamentarium, the students roleplayed various scenarios based on the EU’s legislative process. As part of the virtual simulation, they engaged with various groups involved with the process, including lobbyists, stakeholders and EU delegates. The excursion concluded with a forum discussion with Amelie de Grahl, who leads the Brussels office of the Milchindustrieverband (MIV), an advocacy group that represents some 80 companies in the German dairy industry.