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The European Commission published on 22/11/2023 a proposal for a legal framework for monitoring forests, which aims to close the information gaps on European forests and create a comprehensive database of forestry knowledge that should enable Member States, forest owners and managers to take more adequate measures to strengthen resistance of forests to increasing pressures (climate change, unsustainable human activities). According to the Commission, better monitoring should enable measures to be taken to increase the resilience of forests to transboundary threats from pests, drought and forest fires, which continue to worsen as a result of climate change. It will also enable the introduction of new business models, such as carbon farming, and support compliance with agreed EU legislation. The new framework should also help to strengthen the ability of forests to fulfil their environmental and socio-economic functions, including as a natural carbon sink. The new monitoring framework should enable the collection and sharing of timely and comparable forest data, provide better data and knowledge for policy making and implementation, and help unify and complement available information on forest status. According to the Commission, the framework will help create integrated forest management by ensuring cooperation between Member States and motivating them to create long-term forestry plans considering all relevant policy aspects and the multifunctionality of forests. The proposal does not introduce new direct administrative requirements for businesses or forest owners and managers. But it should encourage forest managers to market ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, in line with the EU carbon sequestration certification framework. Thanks to this, forest managers and owners should be able to develop new business opportunities from which they will have sufficient income. The proposal will now be reviewed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in accordance with the legislative procedure, but the question is whether the European Parliament will be able to adopt a position on the proposal by the end of April 2024, when the current parliament ends. European elections will take place in June 2024, the new parliament will meet for the first time in mid-July 2024.
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The European Commission will present a communication or strategy regarding European protein production at the end of the first quarter of 2024. This was confirmed last week by the Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI), Pierre Bascou. The Commission originally planned to present a European protein strategy, but in view of the delay in the Commission's plans, Bascou did not mention whether it would be a strategy according to the original plan or just a communication. The document will follow up on the European Protein Strategy from 2018, in which it should try to include the current market reality as well as the reflection of the goals of the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork, the European Plan to Fight Cancer, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the EU Soil Strategy and the Action Plan for organic farming. The original strategy was focused only on soy production, according to Pierre Bascou, the new document should have a more comprehensive scope, it will deal with the supply and demand for protein, new innovations and the impact on sustainability. Possibilities for the further development of value chains of vegetable proteins in the EU will be investigated, the demand for proteins in the animal production sector will be analysed, and possibilities for increasing the share of vegetable proteins in the human diet will be considered. The document will also focus on alternative protein sources, including insects and algae, as well as technologies including fermentation or laboratory cultivation of proteins. Regarding the strategic plans of the SZP, Bascou said that thanks to the enhanced support for the production of protein crops, the area sown is expected to increase from 4.2 million hectares in 2022 to 6.4 million hectares in 2023 and to 7.1 million hectares in 2027. which would represent an increase in cultivated areas of almost 70% in the coming five years.

Sales of veterinary antibiotics fell by 53% between 2018 and 2022, reaching the lowest level ever recorded, according to the latest report from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy presented the goal of reducing sales of antibiotics by 50% and at the same time reducing antimicrobial resistance, so according to the report, the EU is on a very good path. But according to animal welfare NGOs, even better results and greater reductions could be achieved if animal welfare conditions were further strengthened in European farms.
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The European Parliament approved the free trade agreement between the European Union and New Zealand on 22/11/2023 during the plenary session in Strasbourg. The position was adopted by a vote ratio of 524 for, 85 against, 21 MEPs abstained. According to the European Parliament, the trade agreement sets out unique climate and labour standards commitments, non-compliance with which can be sanctioned, ensures the protection of protected EU geographical indications and creates opportunities for EU companies to enter the New Zealand public procurement market on the same terms as local ones businesses. The free trade agreement will remove 100% of New Zealand's tariffs on EU exports when it enters into force, and after seven years will remove 98.5% of EU tariffs on trade with New Zealand. According to the Parliament, the agreement also protects European producers of sensitive agricultural products, which include, for example, beef or some dairy products. The European Commission expects that the conclusion of a trade agreement between the EU and New Zealand will lead to an increase in trade between the two parties by 30%, investment flows from the EU to New Zealand could even increase by more than 80%. EU member states should give formal consent to the free trade agreement on 27/11/2023, after which New Zealand must ratify the agreement. The new rules could enter into force from mid-2024.
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Last week, Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski supported the introduction of the third pillar of the CAP. He said it should be a "crisis" pillar to help farmers in the event of climate-related disasters. These cannot be prevented, the Commissioner said, but the system of support for farmers needs to be strengthened. Although the European Commission does not plan to present a Communication or a proposal for a new CAP after 2027 before the end of its mandate (a proposal for a new CAP is still tentatively expected at the end of 2025), Wojciechowski said that he would include the proposal to include a third pillar on risk management in the Common Agricultural Policy in the discussions on the European Commission's strategic dialogue with the agri-food sector. He also said that he would push for an increase in the CAP budget as part of the strategic dialogue.