A Farewell to Farms (Policy)

I am writing this last entry from an office which is practically in boxes.

I must admit that it’s not without a certain amount of melancholy that I now leave Brussels. But at the same time, I also feel immensely proud of all the things we have achieved together.

When I turned up in Brussels in November 2004, I really had to put my foot flat down on the gas straight away. The EU was right in the middle of discussing the future of its sugar sector – the sector which, as many said, could never be reformed. But after further long months of furious debate, reform it we did! And this baptism of fire was a good preparation for the other sectoral reforms which were badly needed – for fruit and vegetables, and for wine.

Sometimes I still laugh when I remember all the cartoons about the CAP Health Check, which showed me in a nurse’s uniform, leaning rather threateningly over the CAP, a terrified patient in striped pyjamas. The patient survived the operation – and has left the pyjamas behind, having left the hospital ward in robust health.

Life isn’t all about big ideas and grand plans: you also have to keep your workbench clean and tidy. We’ve done that. We’ve been making the CAP simpler year after year. And finally getting a green light from the Court of Auditors for spending under all parts of the CAP combined – agriculture and rural development – was like finding the Holy Grail.

I've had five wonderful years in Brussels and they have without a doubt been the best of my political life! What really made the difference for me was all the great people with whom I have had the privilege to work: my staff and colleagues in the Commission, the Parliament, the Court of Auditors, the ministers in the Council, the journalists and last but not least the many different groups and organisation that represent a complete spectrum of interests.

If you want to keep in touch with me, I invite you to join me on Facebook, where I will be posting personal news and views as I take up new responsibilities.

This isn’t really a Farewell to Farms. Yes, I’m moving onto new pastures, but this will certainly not be the same thing as being “put out to grass”! I have a farmer’s heart, and my heart will always be with the farmers – in Europe, but also further afield.

To everyone with whom in the last five years I’ve worked, laughed, cried, crossed swords in a debating chamber, or chatted about the CAP over a coffee or a beer – I wish you well!

 

                    
                        Mariann Fischer Boel