News

At the Council of Ministers on 28/06/2021, the Ministers of Agriculture confirmed the agreement reached by the European institutions on 25/06/2021 on the future shape of the Common Agricultural Policy. The agreement was supported by 26 Member States, with only Bulgaria abstaining due to the exclusion of support for ware potatoes from coupled support (VCS). Portugal has therefore succeeded in reaching a major political agreement in the trilogue during its presidency and in securing support for this agreement from the Member States. The CAP reform package includes, inter alia, measures aimed at reallocating funds to small and medium-sized agricultural holdings. Based on the agreement reached, Member States will have to redirect 10% of direct payments to such agricultural holdings (in principle through redistributive payments, unless they can demonstrate that they can achieve the same result through other comparable instruments). During the discussion in the Council, the agreement on the degressivity of direct payments was slightly modified. Under the original agreement of 25/06/2021, Member States were allowed to voluntarily - in addition to capping - introduce a degressivity of direct payments of 85% (neither more nor less) for amounts between € 60,000 and € 100,000. Ministers have newly supported the change in wording, degressivity has now been ‘freed’ from the dependence on capping, and can be introduced separately for amounts from € 60,000, without an upper ceiling (so it should be technically possible to introduce degressivity for amounts above € 300,000, for example, without the introduction of capping over € 100,000), up to 85% (it is now possible to reduce payments by less than 85%, so it should be technically possible to introduce degressivity for amounts above, for example, € 300,000 by only 5%). The rules of the new CAP will apply from the end of the transitional period to the end of the programming period, i.e., from the beginning of 2023 to the end of 2027.
More information is available here, non-consolidated version of the agreement here.

Slovenia took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union after Portugal on 01/07/2021, the Slovenian Presidency will end at the end of 2021, then France (in the first half of 2022) and the Czech Republic (in the second half of 2022) will take over. One of Slovenia's main agricultural priorities will be the completion of technical negotiations on CAP reform (the agreement reached in the trilogue, and the Council is a political agreement so far, all legislative wording of the proposals is missing). Slovenia also plans to assist Member States as much as possible in drawing up national strategic plans, which must be submitted to the European Commission by 31/12/2021. Other priorities include Farm to Fork, the European Green Deal, transposition of the EU Directive on unfair commercial practices into national legislation (Slovenia will also focus on honey labelling), combating African swine fever, strengthening support for small farmers and family farms, modernizing rural areas, support for young farmers, or strengthening the position of farmers in the supply chain.

On 05/07/2021, the European Commission officially unveiled a new Code of Conduct for Responsible Business and Marketing Practice, which is part of the Farm to Fork strategy, which brings together voluntary commitments from the agri-food sector to support the shift to sustainable food systems. According to the Commission, the signing of the Code commits the food industry to speeding up its contribution to sustainable transformation. The Code includes two levels of commitment, for European organizations (a total of 7 objectives with roadmaps and indicative actions related to measures to support the transition to healthy and sustainable consumption patterns in order to improve the sustainability impact of the food processing, food retail and catering sectors and to improve the sustainability of food value chains in relation to primary producers and other actors in the chain), and for larger food businesses that want to become leaders in sustainability (ambitious commitments with measurable results for a wide range of areas - from animal welfare to reducing sugar in food to reducing greenhouse gas emissions - across a range of their products). As of the day the Code was introduced, 65 companies, including food giants Nestlé, Mondeléz, PepsiCo, Coca - Cola, Danone, Ferrero, and Kellogg´s, have committed to support the Code; trading companies including Tesco, Carrefour, or Ahold Delhaize; or representatives of European farmers and food producers, including Copa and Cogeca and FoodDrinkEurope.
More information is available here.

On 30/06/2021, the European Commission confirmed its interest in introducing a ban on cage farming after 2027. It thus supported the call of the end-of-cage civic initiative, in which over 1.3 million European citizens called for a ban on cage farming. The press conference on 30/06/2021 was attended by Commissioner for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová and Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides. Jourová confirmed the Commission's interest in introducing a ban on cage farming, also following the European Green Deal. Kyriakides presented the more concrete outlines of the future proposal and the next steps the Commission will take in this context. In the first quarter of 2022, a public consultation on the ban on cage farming will be launched. As part of its Farm to Fork strategy, the Commission has already committed itself to proposing a revision of animal welfare legislation, including transport and farming legislation, which is currently undergoing a fitness check. This inspection is to be completed by the summer of 2022, and in 2023 the revision of legislation itself will be presented. By the end of 2022, the European Commission will carry out an impact assessment to introduce a ban on cages, and a legislative proposal for a ban on cages should be presented in 2023. The proposal could introduce a ban on cage farming after 2027 for laying hens, sows, calves, rabbits, chickens, breeding poultry, broilers, quails, ducks, and geese. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is already working on animal-specific assessments to allow a smooth transition from cage systems. EFSA opinions are due to be finalized in the first quarter of 2023. Kyriakides emphasized that a transitional period would be introduced, based on the results of an impact assessment to be presented by the end of 2022. According to the Commissioner, support for the transition to cage-free systems could, for example, take the form of an eco-scheme in the first pillar of the CAP. Kyriakides called on Member States to allocate sufficient resources to animal welfare and a future without cages when setting up strategic plans. Sufficient support for farmers should be provided for the transition, and new EU rules should also be reflected in trade agreements with third countries. Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Janusz Wojciechowski was not present at the press conference.
More information is available here and here, the Commission' Communication is available for download here.

On 30/06/2021, the European Commission presented a Communication entitled A Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas. The long-term vision was prepared based on contributions sent as part of a public consultation held at the end of last year. The long-term vision covers all relevant sectors, rural areas account for 80% of the EU's total area, so all stakeholders need to be involved in their development. Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the Long-Term Vision gathers the challenges facing Europe's rural areas and promises a further range of initiatives that should be taken regarding landscape protection and rural development. Wojciechowski said that the agreement of the European institutions on the CAP, reached in the trilogue on 25/06/2021, was also crucial for the sustainable development of rural areas. Commissioner said that rural development needed to support the development of small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises, and again criticized industrial agriculture. Wojciechowski also stressed that one of the problems characteristics of rural areas is the lack of infrastructure and internet connection. The European Commission has drawn up the Rural Pact and the Rural Action Plan, which aim to strengthen Europe's rural areas, make them connected, resilient, and prosperous. In addition to the lack of interconnection, the European Commission aims in the Pact and the Action Plan for generational change, depopulation of rural areas, or investment and innovation to motivate citizens to live in rural areas. The Commission emphasized that focusing on agriculture, farming, forestry, and ecological and digital transformation will help strengthen sustainability as well as improve the environmental impact of rural areas. The new Rural Pact will involve actors at EU, national, regional, and local levels to support the common objectives of the Vision, to promote economic, social, and territorial cohesion and to respond to the common aspirations of rural communities. The Rural Action Plan aims to promote sustainable, coherent, and integrated rural development. Several EU policies already provide support to rural areas and contribute to their balanced, equitable, green, and innovative development. Of these, the CAP and cohesion policy, which will be complemented by other policies, will be crucial for the support and implementation of this action plan. The Commission has also identified agriculture as one of the four main areas in which the Commission will implement new initiatives. The Commission will support the development of organic farming, strengthening education, diversifying economic activities, and strengthening the added value of agricultural and agri-food activities and agritourism. A Rural Observatory will be set up within the Commission to further improve the collection and analysis of data on rural areas. This will provide input for rural development policymaking and support the implementation of the Rural Action Plan. By the end of 2021, the Commission will work with the Committee of the Regions to explore ways to achieve the vision's goals. By mid-2023, the Commission will evaluate what measures funded by the EU and Member States have been implemented and programmed for rural areas. The European Commission's report, to be published in early 2024, will then help identify areas where support and additional funding will need to be stepped up. This report will also serve as a basis for the preparation of proposals for rural development and the CAP for the 2028-2034 programming period.
More information is available here and here, the Commission’s Communication is available for download here.