The attempts to denounce the protesters as far-Right rabble rousers have so far failed, forcing the European Commission to begin a process of giving in to the farmers’ demands. However, this proposal faced criticism from both environmentalists, who deemed it insufficient to reach sustainability targets, and agriculture groups, who argued it would be unworkable and detrimental to farmers’ livelihoods. For now, the farmers have won this battle, as the EU Commission has this week decided to abandon the pesticide goal. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, for one, has realised that the previous approach of running roughshod over both farmers and the electorate with ambitious environmental goals is no longer working. She emphasised the importance of providing farmers with a worthwhile business case for nature-enhancing measures, admitting that previous proposals had been made without sufficient consideration for their views.
