Re: Fears come to fruition
Like it or not, this is one of the first moves into control of farm lands .
Sales of farmland: Commission issues guidelines to Member States :
https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-3901_en.htm
Key features of Commission's guidance
The Communication clarifies that Member State are competent to decide on measures to control sales of farmland. As clarified by the Court of Justice of the European Union, some restrictions may be acceptable under certain conditions:
prior authorisations from national authorities for the acquisition of land;
limits on the size of the land to be acquired;
pre-emption rights allowing certain categories of buyers to purchase farmland before it is sold to others. Buyers benefitting from these rights may include tenant farmers, neighbours, co-owners, and the State;
State price intervention.
However, EU law does not allow discriminatory restrictions such as general residence requirements as preconditions for the acquisition of land.
Disproportionate restrictions on cross-border investment are also unlawful. Based on case law, it is in particular disproportionate to:
Impose self-farming obligations;
Prohibit companies from buying land;
Require qualifications in farming as pre-conditions for buying land.
Today's Communication responds to a call in March by the European Parliament, which asked the Commission to set a clear and comprehensive set of criteria for land market regulations to ensure a level playing field in compliance with EU law.