News

On 28/01/2021, the European Commission published the results of an inspection action aimed at infringing EU consumer protection law. This is an annual initiative of the European Commission, this year the inspection focused on the so-called ‘greenwashing', which, according to the Commission, is the practice by which companies claim they are doing more for the environment than they actually are. The Commission has therefore focused on the environmental claims (Green Claims) that companies publish on the packaging of their products. The results of the inspection showed that in more than half of the cases, the trader did not provide consumers with sufficient information to assess the accuracy of the claims. The European Commission already states in its 2020 Farm to Fork strategy that it will focus on the use of green claims in food packaging in the coming years. Legislative proposals should be presented as early as the second quarter of 2021, and a discussion on the proposals and their adoption should take place in 2023-2024.
More information is available here.

On 28/01/2020, the Commission published a call for proposals for the promotion of agricultural products inside and outside the EU. The Commission has earmarked €182.9 million to support the promotion of agri-food products in 2021 (€200.9 million has been earmarked for 2020). Almost half of the total budget - €86 million - will be earmarked for the co-financing of promotion programs aimed at meeting the objectives of the EU Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategy. Of this €86 million, €49 million will be earmarked to support organic farming, a further €18 million to support sustainable agriculture, and €19.1 million to promote fruit and vegetables in the context of a healthy and balanced diet.
More information is available here and here.

As part of the forthcoming Cancer Plan, the European Commission is considering banning the use of marketing promotion programs for red and processed meat. The draft version of the December 2020 Roadmap states that "the EU promotion policy for agricultural products will be reviewed with a view to the possible phasing out of the promotion of cancer-related foods, including red and processed meat". The draft document also envisages limited support for alcoholic beverages. Legislation on the taxation of alcoholic beverages should also be revised, and the Commission should also focus on limiting online advertising for alcohol. The European Commission should publish the Cancer Plan on 03/02/2021; a proposal for mandatory listing of ingredients and calorie content, together with the inclusion of health risks on alcoholic beverage packaging, will be presented by the end of 2023.
More information is available here.

On 28/01/2021, the European Commission adopted the extension of exceptional measures to support the wine sector by one year, making the measures applicable until 15 October 2021 and retroactive from 16 October 2020. The Commission has decided to extend the rules in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, the wine sector suffered from the closure of HORECA sector (hotels, restaurants, cafés). Measures enabling crisis distillation, storage, as well as enhanced flexibility in European market support programs have been extended.
More information is available here.

The European Commission will consider promoting private storage of pork to help producers who currently face very low pig meat prices and the additional costs associated with the outbreak of African swine fever and the Covid-19 crisis. Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, announced at a press conference during the Council of Agriculture Ministers on 25/01/2021 that the use of market-based instruments needs to be carefully considered given current storage capacity and limited export opportunities to third countries. Slovenia, supported by thirteen other EU countries (AT, HR, CY, CZ, EE, FR, EL, HU, LV, LT, PL, RO, SK), called for the introduction of support instruments for the pig meat sector during the Council of Ministers.
More information is available here.