News

The new US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (in office since 24/02/2021, former Secretary of Agriculture under Barack Obama) last week confirmed the release of additional support for the agricultural sector in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. This time, the United States will provide support to its farmers of at least € 5.1 billion ($ 6 billion). The support will be targeted primarily at small and socially disadvantaged producers, organic farmers, producers of sensitive commodities, support for logging, the food supply chain, and producers of renewable fuels.
More information is available here.

The meeting of the Council of Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries will take place on 22-23 / 03/2021 in Brussels. Ministers aim to reach an agreement on the Council regulation on fishing opportunities for 2021 and, for deep-sea stocks, for 2021 and 2022, for stocks shared with the United Kingdom. The Council will hold an exchange of views on the preparedness of phytosanitary measures to protect against plant pests which are threatening agriculture. The Council will also debate the reform package of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Under any other business, ministers will be informed by the Austrian delegation on behalf of a number of member states about challenges and priorities in the preparation of the EU forest strategy post-2020 and the Spanish delegation will inform ministers on extraordinary measures to alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the wine sector. A ministerial luncheon will discuss the social dimension of the CAP. The Council of Agriculture Ministers will be followed by a supertrialogue on the CAP, which will take place on 26/03/2021 from 09:00 to 18:45.

On 12/03/2021, the European Commission published results of the online public consultation on the Long-term vision for rural areas. The public consultation took place from 07/09/2020 to 30/11/2020. More than 50% of respondents identified the improvement of infrastructure and services as the most urgent need for rural areas. The findings of the public consultation will be presented at Rural Development Week, organized by the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) on 22/3 - 26/3/2021.
More information is available here.

On 16/03/2021, the Commission launched feedback on the EU chemical analysis database to protect the identity of origin and quality of wines. The initiative aims to improve the legal framework for the database to reduce fraud in the wine sector. The consultation is open until 13/04/2021, available here.

On 17/03/2021, the Commission launched feedback on funding clean technologies. The aim of the initiative is to propose a change in the procedure for submitting applications for funding from the EU’s Innovation Fund for the financing of so-called clean technologies. The consultation is open until 14/04/2021, available here.

On 19/03/2021, the Commission initiated feedback on designation of official laboratories to analyse samples taken during checks on animals, plants, food, and feedstuffs. The consultation is open until 16/04/2021, available here.

On 17/03/2021, the Commission launched feedback on sustainable products initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to revise the Ecodesign Directive and subsequently propose new legislative measures to ensure greater sustainability of products. The consultation is open until 09/06/2021, available here.

Last week, the EP's Committee on International Trade adopted its opinion on Farm to Fork – on parts related to international trade. The opinion will complement the opinions of the COMAGRI (Agriculture and Rural Development) and COMENVI (environment) committees, focusing only on trade-related issues. It can now only be rejected by the plenary of the European Parliament. The Committee on International Trade proposes a sanction-based dispute settlement mechanism to halt global deforestation and strengthen labour standards in third countries. Access to innovation in new breeding techniques should also be ensured. Finally, in its opinion, the Committee calls on the European Commission to carry out a cumulative assessment of the impact of Farm to Fork on the EU's agri-food sector. The COMAGRI and COMENVI committees are expected to vote on their common position in June 2021 (03/06/2021).