The EPP is and will continue to be the voice and defender of European farmers and our rural communities. We see agriculture as a strategic sector, delivering food security in Europe and beyond as much as it plays a crucial role for the vitality of rural communities and economic viability of rural areas. The COVID-19 pandemic and the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia reminded EU citizens that we cannot take food for granted. We stand for multifunctional agriculture, supported by our Common Agricultural Policy and centred primarily on family farms across Europe that enables activefarmers to do what they do best: produce the excellent products that we are famous for. Our party stands for a sustainable, future-orientated, innovative and competitive sector that produces safe, high-quality food in sufficient quantities, and sustainable energy like biomass as ensured by the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), while responding to challenges and societal concerns about the environment, climate change and animal welfare.
The EPP Manifesto, also adopted at the 2012 EPP Congress in Bucharest, outlines the basic principles of the Party summarising who we are, what our values are, what challenges are we facing and what vision we have for the future. The Manifesto was developed in parallel to the EPP Platform document within the EPP Working Group 1 for “European Policy”.
The Party Platform was developed in EPP Working Group 1 for “European Policy” chaired by EPP President Wilfried MARTENS ?and EPP Vice President Peter HINTZE. The Working Group consists of delegates of EPP member parties who prepared and worked?on this document for more than two years and received input?from the drafting committee as well as senior and young experts. The document was adopted at the 2012 EPP Congress in Bucharest, thus replacing the Basic Programme of Athens from 1992.