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A proposal by some MEPs to introduce new trade measures in the CAP reform package was discussed in a Common Market Organization trialogue last week. France has supported measures to prevent imports of goods that do not meet EU health and environmental standards, but some other EU Member States consider the proposal to be extreme and contrary to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. However, MEP Eric Andrieu (S&D, FR), European Parliament rapporteur for the report on the Common Market Organization, said that Parliament's proposal was compatible with WTO rules on sanitary and phytosanitary issues because European standards were set in line with scientific studies, which justified EU to adjust trade conditions for imported goods.

On 04/02/2021, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) presented its own set of measures that could help strengthen agroecology in the EU. According to the CoR, agroecology helps to reduce the carbon footprint of agriculture, strengthen biodiversity, restore soil fertility, and protect against air and water pollution. According to the CoR, agroecology could therefore help to fulfil the goal of the European Green Deal, i.e., to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The CoR proposes that the new legislation for sustainable food systems (proposal to be presented in 2023) also introduce binding targets for the transition to agroecological practices in agriculture. To achieve this, the ERDF must phase out payments per hectare, provide basic payments per number of active persons on the holding, giving priority to supporting small and medium-sized agroecological holdings. The European Commission should present a new legislative proposal to halt the decline in soil organic matter content, give more support to short supply chains and small producers, but also ensure that European markets do not receive production from third countries that do not meet European environmental production standards. According to the CoR, at least 30% of the first pillar’s funds should be allocated to climate and environmental regimes (eco-schemes). VAT on organic, local, and seasonal products should also be reduced.
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Representatives of the Dutch banking giant RaboBank said last week that RaboBank was complicit in the development and promotion of unsustainable agricultural practices, including intensive agriculture. Sustainability Director Bas Rüter said this in response to a report by the environmental organization Greenpeace, which accused RaboBank of supporting intensive livestock production. Roughly 85% of Dutch farmers have an account with RaboBank, but of the total investment of around €30 billion, only 3% was earmarked to support organic farming. According to Dutch farmers, RaboBank will now be involved in so-called sustainable agriculture initiatives - taxonomy, so Dutch farmers warn that by 2027, access to loans for farmers could be significantly reduced.

MEP Sylvia Spurek (PL, Greens) accused MEPs from Renew Europe and the European People's Party (EPP) of defending the agricultural business interests of large agribusinesses by blocking proposals to limit support for industrial agriculture, which Spurek sought to put on the agenda of the January plenary session. The motion for a resolution, supported by only a minority of political factions (especially the Greens and the GUE/NGL), included a proposal to end the payment of subsidies for intensive livestock under the Common Agricultural Policy, to switch to a plant protein-based diet and to end animal slaughter practices which lead to unnecessary suffering for animals.

The Irish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Maritime State said last week that farmers had been pushing for almost thirty years to intensify agriculture, mainly as food prices fell in shops. Therefore, according to the ministry, a change in the approach of the entire sector will now be needed to produce greener and more sustainable food that will meet the strengthened expectations of current and future consumers in the field of environmental protection, climate, or welfare.
More information is available here.