The traffic light leaders agreed on the promised relief package for agriculture just in time before the self-imposed deadline at the end of June. As a reminder: At the height of the farmers’ protests in January, the traffic light coalition promised to present concrete points before the summer break. What has come out of this is as powerless as the traffic light coalition as a whole at the moment: it is a minimal package.
The details of the motions to the Bundestag will not be formally decided by the three parliamentary groups until later this week. But it is already interesting to see what will not be included in the agreement – in other words, the points that will not be implemented.
These are revealed by a comparison with an audit order from the traffic light coalition from January, which the coalition had pushed through the Bundestag at the time as a hastily prepared tranquilizer for the angry farmers.
The rough ideas mentioned at the time will be implemented primarily in what Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (FDP) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) have already publicly indicated several times in recent months: the offsetting of good and bad harvest years in order to smooth out farmers’ income tax.
There is also an intention to strengthen farmers’ position in relation to retailers through legislation. This could include details of billing procedures and pricing. To this end, the federal and state governments should identify and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy – for example in funding applications. Of course, this helps many farmers in practice with a number of annoying details.
However, it does not include major points where it was hoped that the farmers’ protests could break through political blockades. There is still no solution to the long-term financing of animal-friendly stables – which has been discussed for many years. The protests could have been a lever to push through the idea of a higher VAT on meat or an animal welfare cent on meat, which had been worked out in detail by a commission – and thus initiate a turnaround in the death rate of animal farmers. This opportunity has evaporated.
The tax exemption for biodiesel for agricultural machinery proposed by Özdemir also did not make it from the audit mandate into the current declaration. Such a regulation could have accelerated the climate-neutral transformation of agriculture and at the same time relieved farmers’ financial burdens.
And the examination of how land can be used primarily for farmers in the face of rising land prices has apparently not produced any results. A new system of practical checks to combat excessive bureaucracy is also not firmly established.
The package is therefore the smallest possible face-saving solution. The traffic light coalition has – also under the impression of waning protests – only managed to get through the points that had already been largely ticked off. There will certainly be some relief in the details. However, the package is not a major breakthrough – and certainly not a strong commitment by the traffic light coalition to agriculture. At best, it will only alleviate the farmers’ frustration to a minimal extent.
