News

On 17/03/2020, the European Commission published an implementing decision fixing € 220 million in support for the School Milk and School Fruit Schemes for 2021/2022 according to national budgets across the EU. The largest share of the entire budget will go to support programs in France and Poland.
More information is available here.

According to a representative of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health (DG SANTE), the European Commission is considering a review of the rules allowing controls on the use of antimicrobials in imported animals and animal products. A possible modification of these rules would be a complementary measure to the forthcoming Regulation on Veterinary Medicinal Products, which will enter into force in early 2022 and which will focus on combating antibacterial resistance.

The food companies Nestlé, Unilever and Mondelēz International, together with seven other multinationals, sent a letter to representatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament on 17/03/2021 expressing support for ending cage laying hens in the EU and the readiness and willingness to cooperate in the revision of animal welfare legislation. In their letter, they emphasized that more than 1 000 farms in the EU had already abolished caged hens or committed to do so by 2025.
More information is available here and here.

On 15/03/2021, a court of the French Council of State confirmed the validity of the temporary authorization of the use of neonicotinoids in the sugar beet sector, due to the threat to the crop by pests. The Supreme Administrative Court thus rejects the appeal of several NGOs and associations requesting the suspension of the decree, stating that the law of 14/12/2020 authorizing the temporary reintroduction of neonicotinoids has already been confirmed by the Constitutional Council, and that the decree only applies to the 2021 campaign for maximum 120 days. According to the findings of the Council of State, the temporary permit is not in conflict with national or European law. The Council of State emphasized that, given the significant drop in production in 2020, there are no other effective means to protect sugar beet from pests.
More information is available here.

European agricultural organizations warned last week that a new EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) could negatively affect fertilizer prices. As such, the CBAM is not intended to cover agricultural products and, according to European agricultural organizations, should not apply to fertilizers, which, however, are included in the CBAM as practically the only agricultural item. Fertilizer prices are already higher in Europe than in the rest of the world, and CBAM would raise prices even more, making European agricultural products more expensive.
More information is available here.