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According to the representative of the European Commission Mark Williams from the Directorate-General for Food Safety and Health (DG SANTE), the authorization system for plant protection products is inoperative, leading farmers to apply for authorization to use banned pesticides. The product approval system is inefficient, and the authorization of new more environmentally friendly pesticides takes too long. According to Williams, the prolongation of the active substance approval process is due to insufficient resources at national level, complex requirements for pesticide producers to register a new product, and the inefficiency of the system.

On 04/03/2021, Austria sent a letter to the Portuguese Prime Minister, the current President of the EU Council, António Costa, in which it refused to ratify the trade agreement with Mercosur. Austria will also not support a possible protocol annexed to the Agreement, which should focus on preventing deforestation in Mercosur. In the letter, Austria warns against a possible intensification of agri-food production in the Mercosur countries and a consequent worsening of global warming, which would be contrary to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement.
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The European Union and the United States have concluded negotiations on an adjustment of the EU's agricultural quotas within the World Trade Organization (WTO). In connection with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the EU, the two-year negotiations on the allocation of EU quotas within the WTO were concluded. The original volume of quotas, covering, inter alia, beef and poultry, rice, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, and wine, is maintained but is divided between the EU - 27 and the UK. The agreement will enter into force after its adoption by the Commission and subsequent ratification by the Council and the European Parliament.
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Portugal is preparing a so-called "super trialogue" on the CAP under its presidency, a trialogue during which all three parts of the CAP package should be discussed at the same time - Strategic Plans, Horizontal Issues, and the Common Market Organization. According to current information, the super trialogue could take place at the end of March, probably 26/03/2021, i.e., a few days after the meeting of the Council of Agriculture Ministers (22-23/03/2021). Portugal still hopes to reach an agreement on CAP reform during the second / third week of May, so according to Portuguese Agriculture Minister Marie do Céu Antunes, March will be a key month for the CAP negotiations. However, representatives of the European Parliament consider it unlikely that an agreement on the CAP will be reached during May 2021. Preparations for the super trialogue should take place on 08/03/2021 during a meeting of the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA).
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On 01/03/2021, German Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner presented a draft of the German CAP Strategic Plan for the setting of agricultural policy after 2023. The draft envisages further strengthening of redistributive payments, the budget for them should increase from the current 7% to 10% of the envelope for direct payments. Under the current CAP, companies received redistributive payments for the first 30 hectares (€50 / hectare) and for the next 16 hectares (€30 / hectare). From 2023, after a transitional period, redistributive payments should be made for the first 40 hectares (approximately €62 / hectare) and for the next 20 hectares (approximately €37 / hectare). Enterprises over 300 hectares should be excluded from redistributive payments. The total amount allocated to redistributive payments should increase by €122 million to a total of €452 million per year. Germany no longer considers the introduction of mandatory capping of direct payments but proposes the introduction of degressivity for amounts between €60,000 and €100,000 (by 5%) and for amounts above €100,000 (by 10%). Related companies should be considered as one beneficiary, staff costs should not be deducted from degressivity due to high administrative complexity. Funds obtained from degressivity should be transferred to the second CAP pillar. Germany proposes not to introduce a definition of real or active farmer, the calculation of direct payments should be based on the registered eligible area. Around €900 million per year should be allocated to measures to protect the climate, conserve biodiversity, conserve natural resources, and improve animal welfare, and 20% of the envelope for direct payments should be allocated to eco-schemes. At least 3% of the arable land of each agricultural holding should be set aside for non-productive and landscape features, and the cultivation of catch crops should not be allowed in these areas. According to the German proposal, young farmers could receive additional higher payments per first hectare, according to the proposal for the first 120 hectares (90 hectares in the current CAP) up to €70 / hectare. The proposal must now be approved by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and will then be submitted to the European Commission for approval. Germany plans to approve the proposal at national level by the end of the first half of 2021.
More information is available here.