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Slovenia will take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU from 01/07/2021 after Portugal. Given the delays in the CAP negotiations, it is not yet ruled out that, in the case of disagreement on CAP reform in the forthcoming super-trilogue on 24-25/06/2021, Slovenia could take over the CAP reform negotiations after Portugal. In addition to negotiations on CAP reform and work on follow-up delegated acts, Slovenia included in its list of priorities strengthening the resilience and preparedness of the emergency sector, green and digital transition of the agricultural sector, strengthening the sustainability of the food sector, long-term vision for rural areas, biodiversity restoration, country of origin labelling of food, the forthcoming EU forestry strategy (Commission plans to publish on 20/07/2021), strengthening animal welfare, or cage farming (Commission plans to publish on 30/06/2021).

The European Commission is expected to present a long-term vision for rural areas later this month. According to the working proposal of the long-term vision, the Pact for Rural Areas should be created within this initiative, which should mobilize public authorities and stakeholders to strengthen activities related to addressing the challenges posed by life in rural areas. An action plan for Europe's rural areas should also be presented, presenting key projects to create new opportunities, innovative business models and kick-start the local economy. A long-term vision for rural areas should stimulate debate on the shape of future rural areas over the next twenty years, lead to the revitalization of rural areas, and mitigate the effects of negative demographic trends. To achieve these objectives, the European Commission should present in the document several non-legally binding measures. According to the provisional wording of the text, the Commission could link the long-term vision to the CAP, especially to the budget allocated to the second pillar of the CAP, which should significantly help with the implementation of the vision. Rural areas should also help meet the objectives of the Europe Green Deal, in particular the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. In this context, the European Commission adds that developing more sustainable and healthier food production, including organic food, can also help generate new opportunities for European farmers and rural areas (shortening supply chains, strengthening local production, innovation). The long-term vision should be presented on 30/06/2021.

On 16/06/2021, the European Commission presented a new work plan for Horizon Europe for the next two years, 2021-2022, totalling €14.7 billion. Up to 40% of the total budget for Horizon Europe will be dedicated to projects aimed at achieving climate neutrality in the EU. The European Commission will also allocate up to €32 million over the next two years to support research into plant-based and meat alternatives, as well as research into laboratory-grown meat and fermentation. This is historically the first European support allocated to research into alternatives to animal proteins. According to representatives of the Good Food Institute Europe (GFIE), this is a clear signal that the EU will focus on the production of sustainable proteins in the future to mitigate the impact of food systems on the environment, climate, and biodiversity. According to the GFIE, national governments should also invest funds from national budgets in the development and infrastructure of alternative protein production.
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Rapporteurs for the proposal for a European Parliament recommendation to the Council and the Commission on compliance with animal welfare during transport Daniel Buda (RO, EPP, COMAGRI) and Isabel Carvalhais (PT, S&D, COMAGRI), both members of the EP Committee of Inquiry into Animal Protection during Transport (ANIT), presented a draft EP recommendation last week. The draft recommendation does not currently propose a ban on the transport of live animals, but the rapporteurs state that conditions need to be created to allow the transition from the need to transport live animals to carcasses over time. The rapporteurs also state that the only way to address some animal welfare issues during transport in a harmonized way across the EU and to incorporate the latest scientific knowledge is through a revision of the Animal Transport Regulation. The rapporteurs propose to call on the Commission to put in place a harmonized and effective EU sanctions system, setting out common minimum criteria for sanctions for infringements, to lay the foundations for an effective, proportionate, and dissuasive system across the EU. Amendments can be tabled until 01/07/2021, voting in the ANIT Committee is scheduled for the second half of the year, and the plenary should vote on the recommendations in December 2021.
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In June 2021, the European Parliament's Research Service (EPRS) published a new study entitled Animal welfare on the farm - ex-post evaluation of the EU legislation: Prospects for animal welfare labelling at EU level. This document presents the main conclusions of the assessment of the implementation of legislation at European level published by the EPRS, which is intended to serve as a supporting document for the ongoing work of the EP Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) to assess the implementation of European legislation on animal welfare. The EP Environment Committee (COMENVI) will prepare its opinion to assess the implementation of the legislation, but the lead committee is COMAGRI. The study was carried out by Arcadia International and the Austrian Institute for Regional Studies and Spatial Planning (ÖIR) in the period from December 2020 to May 2021 and included a total of 11 EU countries. The main conclusions of the study include: most European animal welfare legislation is outdated and needs to be revised, the wording of the legislation is in many cases too vague, and provides too many exceptions; general European animal welfare legislation and pig welfare legislation have not achieved some of their objectives, for example in many member states pigs are still kept in unenriched cages; of all the animal welfare directives considered, the general European directive has the least impact on the scope; moreover, due to the vague nature of the requirements and the great flexibility in the interpretation of the directive, it has not been possible to characterize the links between improvements in practice and the directive itself. Regarding animal welfare labelling at EU level, the EPRS assessed the currently used voluntary animal welfare labelling schemes in the EU. The findings show that labelling in most cases includes, in addition to welfare, other product-related aspects, including traceability, sustainability and health. Labelling of animal welfare is most used for pigs, dairy cows, and broilers, most often fresh, frozen, and processed meat. The study states that, despite support from agriculture ministers for the introduction of animal welfare labelling at EU level, the prospect of introducing mandatory welfare rules at EU level does not currently meet with support for EU businesses, including agricultural organizations, especially given concerns about the economic impact of introducing such labelling on food business operators and farmers. On the contrary, the introduction of welfare labelling at EU level is supported by NGOs working on animal welfare.
More information is available here.