Jana Toom, a member of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, told ERR on Monday that she had applied to join the Agriculture Committee (AGRI), which was one of the committees she desired. According to Toom, membership in this committee is crucial due to the upcoming revision of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that accompanies the drafting of the new EU budget. Toom believes that the current policy, which favors farmers in Western member states, should be adjusted to benefit farmers from member states that joined the EU later. At present, farmers in Eastern Europe receive significantly smaller subsidies from the CAP compared to their Western counterparts.

While representatives from the so-called new member states make up 29 percent of the European Parliament, Toom calculated that only 26 percent of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee's members are from Central and Eastern European countries, many of whom belong to far-right factions that the rest of the Parliament refuses to collaborate with.

"If you exclude the representatives from Eastern Europe who are effectively sidelined, our share drops to just 19 percent," Toom noted. "This doesn't look good. The influence of Eastern Europe in this committee has been significantly reduced, and I don't think it's by accident," she added.

Toom explained that without being a member of the committee, MEPs cannot propose amendments to legislation in the European Parliament.

Riho Terras, a member of the European People's Party (EPP), also admitted that he missed out on his desired position in the AGRI committee. "There was fierce competition for spots on this committee, and since seats are allocated based on the d'Hondt method, which favors larger countries, I didn't make it," he said.

Terras highlighted that since he aimed to secure a position in the Foreign Affairs Committee and its Subcommittee on Security and Defense, it was not possible for him to also become a member of AGRI. However, if the Parliament decides to elevate the defense committee to a standalone committee, he might still have a chance to join the Agriculture Committee.

Terras expressed his desire to join AGRI because he had been a member during the previous European Parliament term. He is familiar with agricultural issues, has established contacts in the field and wishes to continue working in this area.

Terras stated that he aims to work within AGRI to ensure that environmental policies do not overly restrict farmers' opportunities. He also emphasized the importance of the new Agriculture Commissioner, noting that the previous commissioner had been relatively weak.

In mid-July, when the composition of the European Parliament's committees was decided, Toom, a member of the Center Party, was appointed to the Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL), the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and the Petitions Committee (PETI), and as a substitute member of the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI). Isamaa politician Terras became a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) and the Subcommittee on Security and Defense (SEDE).

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