News

On 22/01/2021, the European Commission approved the use of eight genetically modified useful plants in food and feed. Specifically, there are three types of maize, two types of soya and the renewal of the authorization of the other three types of maize. All plants have been subjected to a professional authorization process (including assessment by the European Food Safety Authority), which is valid for 10 years.
More information is available here.

On 22/12/2020, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture presented a national protein strategy aimed at strengthening the cultivation of protein-rich crops over the next five to ten years. The aim is to obtain proteins from new sources, including kitchen scraps, beet leaves, and brewers, and to identify how proteins can be extracted from seaweed. The Dutch strategy is guided by the EU's ambition to reduce its dependence on protein imports and increase plant protein production in the EU. The Netherlands imports about 80% of vegetable protein and is the largest importer of soybeans in the EU.
More information is available here.

Last week, German MEP Martin Häusling (Greens) criticized the European Commission for providing financial support of €3.6 million for an initiative to promote beef consumption through EU promotion programs. Häusling calls for an immediate end to campaign funding and recommends supporting only the promotion of quality, organic farming, and regional products. By contrast, the European fruit and vegetable sector described the level of financial support for the promotion of organic farming as too ambitious (almost 30% of the total €200 million package for the promotion of agricultural products), as organic production accounts for only 6-7% of European fruit and vegetable production.
More information is available here and here.

On 20/01/2021, chair of the EP Committee on Agriculture Norbert Lins called on Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to halt the implementation of EU-US retaliatory tariffs, which will have a negative impact on European agriculture. Shortly before President Donald Trump's resignation, the United States imposed additional tariffs on several sensitive EU products, including French wines, with effect from 12/01/2021, as part of an Airbus x Boeing grant dispute. Lins called on the Commission to negotiate a moratorium on sanctions with the administration of the newly elected US president. France will also negotiate a trade dispute with the United States.
More information is available here.

On 14/01/2021, the European Commission published a list of eco-schemes that could be included in the CAP national strategic plans. This is not an exhaustive list, but examples of acceptable regimes. According to the Commission, eco-schemes will have to cover initiatives in the fields of climate, the environment, animal welfare, and antimicrobial resistance; they should be defined based on needs and priorities identified at national or regional level. The ambition of eco-schemes must go beyond the mandatory requirements of the CAP, including enhanced conditionality, and must help meet the objectives of the European Green Deal. The main objectives of the Green Deal are repeated in the document - reducing 50% of pesticides, 20% of fertilizers, 50% of antibiotics, strengthening organic farming to 25% of total agricultural area, and expanding the area for high biodiversity areas to 10% of agricultural area. The new eco-schemes will have to contribute to the specific objectives of the CAP, in particular Objectives 4 (climate change mitigation and adaptation), 5 (natural resource management), 6 (protection of biodiversity and strengthening of ecosystem services), and No 9 (animal welfare).
Member States should submit their national strategic plans to the European Commission for approval by 01/01/2022, and the European Commission should either approve the plans or work with the Member States to adjust them within a maximum of 6 months.
More information is available here and here.