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On 11/12/2023, during the last Council of Ministers under the Spanish Presidency, the Ministers of Agriculture also discussed the European Commission's proposal of 07/12/2023 to revise the rules on animal welfare during transport. Ministers generally welcomed the Commission's proposal, with general approval for the welfare of dogs and cats, and for the welfare of farm animals, Ministers called on the Commission to ensure a sufficiently long transition period. Health and food safety commissioner Stella Kyriakides said that a number of problems related to the transport of livestock by road and sea needed to be addressed and stressed the need to harmonise the implementation and enforcement of common EU rules across EU member states. The European Commission's proposal to reduce transport times was supported by Denmark, which called for further strengthening of its ambitions in the area of animal welfare, and was also supported by Sweden, the Netherlands and Slovenia. Germany supported the ban on fur farms, while France welcomed the articles on mirror clauses to ensure that EU rules are also met in third countries. The Czech Minister of Agriculture stressed the need to maintain stable agricultural production and the competitiveness of European farmers and pointed to problematic administrative requirements in terms of temperature and space.

On 11/12/2023, the Spanish Presidency presented a progress report on the negotiations on the regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides, taking into account the decision not to adopt either the general approach of the Council, given the rejection of the proposal by the Parliament. The two most controversial areas remain the definition of sensitive areas and reduction targets for plant protection products. The Spanish Presidency has also proposed a compromise text in the framework of the negotiations so far, proposing to divide sensitive areas into several categories in which not only plant protection products used in organic farming but also low-risk substances or biological control substances could be allowed. Reduction targets for 2030 should be set at 50% at European level (mandatory) according to the compromise text, with the reference period set at the average of 2015-2017. At national level, Member States should develop national action plans, which should include provisions on their own quantitative targets, intentions, measures and timetables for pesticide reduction to contribute to the European reduction target. The proposal will be further discussed by the Belgian Presidency, starting in January 2024 and lasting until the end of June 2024, in view of the interest of Agriculture Ministers to continue the negotiations and find a workable compromise.
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The Council of Agriculture Ministers discussed on 11/12/2023 the document "Market situation, in particular after the invasion of Ukraine" summarising the contributions of Member States on the subject. A number of Member States indicated that the market situation remains challenging despite improvements compared to 2022. Input costs remain high, but farmers are not sufficiently reimbursed. Profits for farmers and agriculture in general are low due to the war in Ukraine, the economic situation, weather and other factors. During the negotiations, several Member States called for the removal of unilateral bans on imports of Ukrainian goods. Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development told the Council that EU agricultural markets were the most stable they had been in 2 years. The Commission is planning to adopt emergency market measures for GR and SI following the devastating floods that hit these member states.

Last week, the German government approved a new budget proposal for 2024 after exceeding the spending limit by €60 billion in the previous proposal. Following this, German farmers are protesting against the abolition of the EUR 900 million diesel subsidy and the abolition of the motor vehicle tax exemption for agricultural machinery. According to the farmers, the cuts in the German budget will mainly affect small and medium-sized enterprises and will lead to an increase in local food prices. As a compromise, some German farming organisations are proposing only a reduction in fuel subsidies and a cap on subsidies at 10,000 litres.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on 02/12/2023 at the United Nations COP28 climate summit in Dubai that the European Union and its Member States will spend over €175 million to reduce methane emissions. The money could be used, for example, to support data collection at the International Methane Emissions Observatory or to fund research to improve data collection for reducing emissions. She also highlighted the success of the Global Commitment on Methane, to which 150 countries have signed up to date.