The European agricultural lobby, Copa-Cogeca, opposes reforms on pesticides, intensive farming and animal welfare

… The same method was used to defend public funding for the promotion of red and processed meat. When the Commission considered excluding these products from programmes in line with the European plan against cancer, Copa-Cogeca engaged with certain Commissioners, the wine and spirits organisations, and national associations. The restrictions were first watered down and then dropped altogether. The comment in the internal documents is succinct: “The lobbying has paid off.”

Oil and wheat: from one below-cost price to the next, amidst widespread indifference

The contradictions within the Ministry of Agriculture and the lack of substance in the positions adopted by trade union organisations (Coldiretti, Confagricoltura, etc.) on an issue that should concern us all: the failure to tackle unfair practices creates numerous market distortions that skew costs, prices and margins. And these developments run directly counter to the protection of sovereignty that this government would appear to advocate.

Quick Take — Extra virgin olive oil: the new labelling contradicts the European standards

The Ministry of Agriculture has banned the labelling of extra virgin and virgin olive oils as ‘EVO’, describing it as “misleading”. Unaprol and Coldiretti are pleased: a stop has been put to fraudulent blending, but this cannot be a permanent solution. In fact , the ‘Wild West’ of food labellingcontinues .

Il Sole 24 Ore, 18 July 2026

And Zefferino Monini’s idea of ‘high-quality’ extra virgin olive oil seems unlikely to be realised.

Quick Take — Water and the PNRR

€4.38 billion has been earmarked for water and land protection, and for the management of water resources. This framework covers the many aspects of the system that remain critical: infrastructure, reducing network leaks, and investment in the agricultural irrigation system to safeguard crops through the Reservoir Plan.

This Plan was proposed by Coldiretti toconserve water and combat hydrogeological instability in the face of climate change, which over the last ten years has caused €14 billion worth of damage to agricultural production and infrastructure . Rinnovabili.it

Five years on, absolutely nothing more is known about this Plan.

Drafted on 3 July 2021, updated on 23 June 2026

Quick Take — The Court of Auditors investigates funds allocated to the Mattei Plan

The Court of Auditors is investigating the Italian Climate Fund, the EUR 4.4 billion vehicle to be used for climate change projects in countries with emerging economies..

According to IrpiMedia‘s reconstruction, the Court is investigating the government’s decision to shift a large part of the Fund’s resources (70%, i.e. around 3 billion) to the Mattei Plan, the initiative that according to the government will change relations between Italy and Africa, transforming the continent from a beneficiary of humanitarian aid to a new trading partner…

Among the projects that have benefited from the new criteria approved in March 2024 is one by Eni in Kenya that aims to create a supply chain for the production of biofuels..

In its reply to the Court of Auditors, the Presidency of the Council has in fact included an annex showing that the eligibility criteria for Fund interventions have been modified..

Below : a post by Coldiretti on the participation of Bonifiche Ferraresi in the Mattei Plan