TODAY WE END ON A HAPPY ENDING

In the Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Commission the discussion seemed to be reaching the same two conclusions: food security is our priority and olive oil makes for the best example of a non-essential product. One could argue. Nevertheless, a vast alliance of countries, with Greece taking the floor, proposed the following amendment to Article 2: to aid the economy through imposing a slightly heavier tax on non-essential products.

Consequently, encouraging countries to prioritize vital essential products. Croatia swiftly formulated a counter-point: countries such as Greece whose agricultural sector relies on exports of non-essential products (yes, olive-oil) would be, in a sense, penalized. Furthermore, the prices of all the non-essential products would sky-rocket, resulting in another crisis to face. A silent agreement between countries was arising gradually. The alliance, despite its motivation, failed to fend off the points that were made. The vote presented to us the truth: even some allies voted against their amendment, it got rejected.

The 2nd article proposed by the commissaires sparked a wave of general disagreement, they didn’t have to think twice before deleting the entire paragraph. However, Articles 3 and 4 were subject to an array of modifications, propositions and amendments. Article 3 proposed stronger limits to imported products following the EU’s standards in matters like health and ethics. As an informal debate went on, it was clear that this article would create a relevant discussion: the delegates rolled up their sleeves and raised their hands, they spoke with confidence and some proposals were made. Greece and Sweden each failed to insert their modifications to the article, whereas an alliance between Belgium and Romania was easily accepted.

 Minutes later, another alliance surprised all: the former disagreeing countries of Croatia, Hungary and Greece all joined their points of view in a common rewriting of the law. This amendment caused an overwhelming majority of votes in favor: all voted yes. This room full of hands up in the air and cheering from the delegates proved the true spirit of European councils.

Laura and Elena