European Coordination Via Campesina

European Coordination Via Campesina
Name	European Coordination Via Campesina
Formation	1993
Type	Network of peasant and family farmer organisations
Headquarters	Brussels, Belgium
Region	Europe
Membership	National and regional peasant organisations
Website	(omitted)

European Coordination Via Campesina European Coordination Via Campesina is a transnational network linking peasant, family farmer, pastoralist, fisher, and rural labour organisations across Europe. It emerged from interactions among activists and organisations involved with agrarian movements such as La Via Campesina, International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations, European Trade Union Confederation, Friends of the Earth, and Greenpeace. The network coordinates campaigns, policy interventions, and grassroots mobilizations that intersect with institutions including the European Commission, European Parliament, Council of the European Union, World Trade Organization, and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

History

The network traces roots to early 1990s mobilizations around agricultural restructuring in the European Union and parallel global organising by La Via Campesina and national groups like Confédération Paysanne, Federación de Asociaciones de Mujeres Rurales, and GRAIN. Formal consolidation occurred alongside meetings in cities such as Brussels, Madrid, Paris, and Rome and during transnational events tied to the World Social Forum and protests against the WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle. Influences included campaigns by José Bové, actions by La Via Campesina delegates, and alliances with organisations like Slow Food and Oxfam. Over decades the network adapted to policy shifts from the Common Agricultural Policy reform rounds, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade legacies, and regulatory changes from the European Court of Justice.

Structure and Membership

The network is organised as a coordination body linking national organisations such as La Via Campesina France, COAG, Sindicato Labrego Galego, DKA, and regional platforms including Balkan Farmers Association and Scandinavian Peasant League. Governance combines a European coordination committee, thematic working groups, and rotating secretariats hosted in cities tied to partners like Friends of the Earth Europe and ARC2020. Membership spans peasant organisations, pastoralist unions, fisher collectives, and allied civil society groups such as IPES-Food, Slow Food International, and European Coordination of Via Campesina Norway (examples). Coordination interfaces with actors including the European Commission Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (EP AGRI), and national ministries of agriculture.

Campaigns and Advocacy

Campaigns have targeted market liberalisation policies from the European Single Market, corporate consolidation exemplified by conglomerates like Bayer, Syngenta, and Monsanto (now part of Bayer AG), and trade agreements negotiated by the European External Action Service. Advocacy themes include defending peasant seed systems against regulatory measures influenced by the International Plant Protection Convention, opposing patenting backed by decisions from the European Patent Office, and resisting agroecological displacement linked to directives from the European Commission. Campaigns often align with mobilisations such as protests at COP climate conferences, vigils during World Trade Organization meetings, and solidarity actions with movements like Zapatista Army of National Liberation sympathisers and Movimiento Sin Tierra allies.

Policy Positions

The network advances policy positions promoting agroecology, food sovereignty, peasant rights, and protection of common seed heritage anchored in frameworks like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas. It critiques subsidy models under successive Common Agricultural Policy reforms and calls for redistributive measures similar to proposals debated in the European Parliament and by the Food and Agriculture Organization. The network endorses bans or restrictions on specific agrochemicals influenced by rulings from the European Chemicals Agency and advocates for alternatives to genetically modified organism approvals processed by the European Food Safety Authority.

Regional and International Relations

Regionally, the network collaborates with national platforms across the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Western Balkans, and states bordering the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Internationally, formal links to La Via Campesina enable coordination with peasant movements in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and joint interventions at United Nations fora. Relations extend to trade union federations such as the International Trade Union Confederation, academic networks like Transnational Institute, and advocacy coalitions including Friends of the Earth and Oxfam International.

Activities and Events

Activities include European assemblies, policy workshops, seed fairs, and direct actions staged at policy sites such as the European Commission headquarters and during high-profile events like COP summits and G7 or G20 meetings. The network organises capacity-building programmes with partners like Rural Coalition and hosts thematic seminars on topics connected to the Common Fisheries Policy, land access disputes referencing cases in Spain, France, and Poland, and campaigns against corporate consolidation driven by firms like ADM and Cargill.

Criticism and Controversies

Critics from agricultural industry associations such as COPA-COGECA and agribusiness lobby groups argue the network resists innovation promoted by multinational firms including Bayer and Syngenta and opposes regulatory frameworks designed by institutions like the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority. Controversies have arisen over tactics during protests that drew responses from municipal authorities in Brussels and Paris and debates with policy-makers in the European Parliament about representation, legitimacy, and claims regarding economic impacts on supply chains involving companies such as Nestlé and Danone.

Category:Peasant movements in Europe