News

On 03/02/2021, the European Commission published a Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, which is one of the main priorities of Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. The Commission notes that the Beating Cancer Plan, which is based on new technologies, research, and innovation, outlines a new EU approach to cancer prevention, treatment, and care. The plan also affects the agri-food sector. The European Commission will aim to achieve a "tobacco-free future", reduce alcohol consumption, including the possibility of raising taxes on alcohol, and strengthen support for a healthy and balanced diet, including red and processed meat consumption.
More information is available here.

The European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry Committee of inquiry on animal transport (ANIT) presented its conclusions and recommendations after 18 months of work. The committee was set up in June 2020 to investigate alleged breaches of EU rules. According to the ANIT, EU rules in this area are not always respected in the Member States and do not fully consider the different needs of animals during transport. Committee members gathered information from citizens and NGOs on animal welfare violations during transport. These violations included lack of space, insufficient water or food supply, transport of unfit animals, overcrowding, use of unsuitable vehicles, transport at extreme temperatures and extended transport times.

On 02/12/2021, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the new CAP rules for the period 2023-2027. The only country that voted against the new rules was Bulgaria, due to the exclusion of potatoes from the list of sensitive commodities for which coupled direct payments can be granted (the Czechia, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia also disagreed with the exclusion of potatoes from the list, according to these countries the decision to remove potatoes from the list will have a negative impact on small farmers and the environment). The regulation will be submitted in the Official Journal on 06/12/2021, secondary legislation (delegated and implemented acts) on Strategic Plans and Horizontal Issues should be submitted within a few days after the publication of the Regulation in the Official Journal, secondary legislation on the Common Market Organization should be submitted in February or March 2022. Member States must submit draft national CAP strategic plans by 31/12/2021 (no later than 01/01/2022), after which the Commission will have three months to assess them. The new rules should enter into force on 01/01/2023. However, some Member States, such as Poland, have already stated that they will not be able to meet the deadline of 31/12/2021 for submitting a draft national CAP strategic plan.
More information is available here and here.

On 29/11/2021, the Commission launched feedback on the evaluation of the Environmental Liability Directive. The evaluation aims to identify the shortcomings of the Directive and to assess whether the Directive fulfils its purpose. The consultation is open until 27/12/2021, available here.

On 30/11/2021, the Commission launched feedback on measures to reduce the environmental impact of microplastic pollution. The initiative aims to label, standardize, certify, and regulate the main sources of microplastics that have inadvertently entered the environment. The consultation is open until 28/12/2021, available here.

The European Commission does not rule out the introduction of a regulatory framework for plants derived using new genomic techniques (NGT). A webinar entitled "New genomic techniques - the way forward for safe and sustainable innovation in the agri-food sector", organized by the European Commission on 29/11/2021, also discussed whether and, if so, how the EU could create a regulatory framework for plants obtained through NGT, which will combine ensuring a high level of security while taking advantage of modern innovations. European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, supported the NGT, saying that plants grown with NGT had the potential to contribute to more sustainable and sustainable agri-food production goals. Proponents of NGT include French Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie, who calls for the rapid adoption of sustainability criteria for NGT to help meet climate goals.
More information is available here.