News

On 18/02/2021, the European Commission published a review of EU trade policy and a new trade strategy for the coming years. According to the Commission, the new strategy is based on "the EU's openness to contribute to the economic recovery through support for the green and digital transformations, as well as a renewed focus on strengthening multilateralism and reforming global trade rules to ensure that they are fair and sustainable". Sustainability and a climate-neutral economy should be at the heart of the EU's new trade policy. The reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is therefore a priority, "including global commitments on trade and climate, new rules for digital trade, reinforced rules to tackle competitive distortions, and restoring its system for binding dispute settlement". In published documents, the Commission states that it will continue to support the EU agriculture and food sector, composed mainly of small and medium-sized enterprises, with a view to promoting the sustainability and quality of their products, enabling them to become sustainable food production system standards in the EU.
More information is available here.

The European Parliament adopted its opinion on the circular economy on 10/02/2021, adopting its opinion by 574 votes to 22, with 95 abstentions. In its opinion, Parliament called on the Commission to propose scientifically based binding medium- and long-term EU targets for reducing the use of primary raw materials and the impact on the environment; calls on the Commission to propose binding EU targets for 2030 in order to significantly reduce the EU's material and consumption footprint and align them with the planet's limits by 2050; and urges the Commission to introduce harmonized, comparable and uniform circulation indicators by 2021, consisting of material and consumption footprint indicators. Parliament also calls on the Commission to establish a regulatory framework for the certification of all natural and technological carbon sequestration solutions, including carbon capture and storage. In the food section, Parliament calls on the Commission to submit a legislative proposal to implement the goal of halving food waste by 2030; to integrate the prevention of food loss and wastage across the food value chain into relevant EU policies; and to take measures to close the agricultural nutrient cycle, reduce Europe's dependence on imports of plant proteins for livestock feed and increase the use of recycled animal fertilizers and other natural nutrients.
More information is available here and here.

The rapporteurs of the European Parliament's Committees on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) and the Environment (COMENVI) presented Parliament's draft opinion on Farm to Fork in January 2021, and members of both committees could then table amendments to the draft opinion by 02/02/2021. The amendments have not yet been published, but according to information from European NGOs, MEPs have submitted 2,297 proposals. The rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs are now working on compromise proposals, with the two committees expected to vote on the final form of the opinion in April 2021 and the plenary of the European Parliament in June 2021.

The European Commission is preparing a new EU strategy for adaptation to climate change, the presentation of a new strategy under the European Green Deal is expected on 24/02/2021. The unofficial draft of the document emphasizes the high costs of solving problems arising in connection with extreme weather conditions, problems with the spread of the disease, and the negatives associated with trade. More EU funding should be allocated to international climate adaptation, but so should private and public investment. The Commission positively assesses the impact of water resources, forests, and crop production on key functions, including the provision of clean drinking water, carbon sequestration, food and timber production, and habitats. This is not the final text.

On 11/02/2021, the European Commission published a report on the implementation of promotion programs for agricultural and food products. According to the Commission's findings, promotion programs help the competitiveness of the sector as well as raise awareness of the high quality of European production. Between 2016 and 2019, the most supported categories were the fruit (19% of the annual envelope for promotional programs) and vegetables (30%) sectors. The European Commission will review the current rules in 2021 to align promotion programs with the objectives of the European Green Deal, so as early as 2021, half of the budget for promotion programs will be dedicated to meeting the objectives of the European Green Deal. The Commission also states that the forthcoming revision of the promotion programs will be carried out in line with the Europe’s beating cancer plan, which aims to reduce the consumption of tobacco, alcoholic beverages, and red and processed meat.
More information is available here.