Survey: Subsidies only for green agriculture
According to a survey by the environmental organization WWF, the vast majority of Germans would like the funds from Brussels for agriculture to be distributed differently: 96 percent of the approximately 1000 respondents across all age groups and educational backgrounds stated that only such farmers Should receive EU subsidies that grow in an environmentally friendly way and keep their animals in a species-appropriate manner.
According to the WWF, only two percent of the annual subsidies of forty billion euros paid out by taxpayers go to environmentally friendly farmers. The money for all European farmers costs a family of four an average of 950 euros a year, and the equivalent of less than 20 euros goes to environmental programs in rural areas, according to WWF agricultural expert Tanja Dräger de Teran. In addition, there would be other benefits such as customs protection, so that the total would increase to more than 100 billion euros in subsidy for agriculture.
To make matters worse, the European Union wants to cut funding for rural areas in Europe and thus for small farms by up to 40 percent. But that would also mean 350 million euros less for species-appropriate animal husbandry, regional market development, organic farming and clean energy from biomass, as Tanja Dräger de Teran criticizes. The same will apply in future to farmers who are committed to preserving the landscape or maintaining nature reserves. In contrast, 89 percent of citizens voted in the survey to reward such achievements.
Ninety-four percent of citizens would like to know which company receives EU subsidies for what. But Germany, as one of the few EU countries, refuses to disclose this information.
