European farmers’ organisation Copa (the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations) has elected its new president, who will lead the organisation for the next two years.
Massimiliano Giansanti, president of the General Confederation of Italian Agriculture (Confagricoltura), succeeds Christiane Lambert, who led Copa for the past four years.
Lambert said that during her tenure, Copa contributed to a shift in the European Commission’s approach to agricultural issues, “promoting a renewed focus on listening, bringing competitiveness back on the agenda and considering the realities faced by farmers”.
She added that, having worked closely with Giansanti, she is “confident that under his leadership, alongside the new team, Copa will continue to be a strong advocate for European farmers”.
Giansanti is producer of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and a supplier of milk in Rome, and has held the office of Confagricoltura president since 2017. In 2020 Giansanti became vice-president of Copa.
“My aim is to ensure that Copa’s voice is heard loud and clear,” he said, “and that European institutions recognise the strategic importance of agriculture for our shared future”.
He laid out five priorities for his presidency: “a strong Common Agricultural Policy with an adequate budget, a fairer food chain, a coherent trade policy, a new approach to the Green Deal, and a strong emphasis on innovation”, which Giansanti says will “strengthen the income, competitiveness and attractiveness of our agriculture”.
Copa merged with the General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives (Cogeca) in the early 1960s to form Copa-Cogeca, the combined voice of farmers and agri-co-operatives in the EU.
Copa and Cogeca have recently been involved in talks with the EU to oppose an EU-Mercosur trade deal, where Giansanti says Copa will be “keeping a close watch”.
Giansanti will be supported by six vice-presidents: Nikolaus Berlakovich, Austria, Søren Søndergard, Denmark, Franck Sander, France, Pedro Barato, Spain, Jan Doležal, Czech Republic, and Francie Gorman, Ireland.
