News

On 02/12/2020, EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly called on the European Commission to tighten up the EU's pesticide approval system. According to the Ombudsman, the Commission should only approve substances that have a positive assessment and recommendation by the AFSA. The European Commission should also inform the public more transparently about its decisions. The Ombudsman's recommendation is a response to a request from environmental organizations for stricter EU rules but is not legally binding on the Commission.
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On 01/12/2020, the French Minister for Agriculture and Food, Julie Denormandie, presented a plan to increase by 40% the area of land intended for growing protein-rich plants, the plan being included in a new national protein strategy for the next 3 years. The aim is to increase domestic production of plant proteins for feed, and to strengthen agri-food independence. FR imports 4.8 million tonnes of soybeans for feed each year, mainly from South America. The new strategy has earmarked € 100 million from the France Relance Fund for coronavirus recovery until 2030, of which € 1.2 billion is for agriculture.
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The French, Italian, and Spanish wine cooperatives, together with Farm Europe, organized a public debate on the future of the wine sector on 02/12/2020. Organizations have asked the Commission to extend pandemic emergency measures until 2021. Spanish MEP Clara Aguilera (S&D) has called for stronger support for the sector from the Commission, while Italian MEP Paolo De Castro (S&D) has called for more flexibility in the use of EU funds. A larger budget should also be allocated to the programs. For the time being, the Commission envisages extending the existing emergency measures until mid-October 2021.
More information is available here.

The government of the Belgian region of Wallonia is currently discussing the possible authorization of neonicotinoids for sugar beet growers, following the authorization of the use of neonicotinoids by France. Although farmers' crops have suffered due to aphids that transmit beet jaundice, Environment Minister Céline Tellier has refused to grant an emergency permit for the use of neonicotinoids due to their negative impact on pollinators. Tellier said that in the future it aims to reach a share of 30% of the area of organic farming, a group of independent advisers for farmers on the sustainable use of pesticides should also be established.

On 20/11/2020, the European Commission launched a public consultation on a delegated act on sustainable finance - the EU classification scheme for green investments. The European Commission states that the new initiative creates a classification system for sustainable economic activities ("taxonomy") and focuses on the EU's environmental goals of climate change mitigation and adaptation. According to the Commission, this taxonomy will be a common language that investors around the world can use to invest in projects and economic activities that have a significant positive impact on the climate and the environment. The taxonomy falls under the European Green Deal, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. More than 430 contributions have already been sent to the public consultation on taxonomy in the first half of this year. On 20/11/2020, the Commission launched a follow-up public consultation on a draft delegated regulation (delegated act). In its proposal for a regulation, the Commission states that the agricultural sector emits high levels of greenhouse gases and is also particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change. The agricultural sector can therefore play a central role in mitigating climate change while bringing benefits to adapt to climate change, reversing biodiversity loss, ensuring food security, and promoting other sustainable development goals. In addition to the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the agricultural sector also has an impact on the soil's ability to sequester carbon. The technical criteria for verifying investments in the agricultural sector should therefore reflect this dual role of the agricultural sector. According to the Commission, the impact of a criterion requiring the coverage of at least 10% of agricultural land with highly diverse landscape features on farm and rural incomes should also be assessed and monitored. The European Commission has presented a proposal for Technical Screening Criteria to determine the conditions under which an economic activity qualifies as a significant contributor to climate change mitigation and to determine whether that economic activity is causing significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives. In the chapter "Agriculture and forestry", the European Commission included:

Cultivation of non-permanent crops: The Commission will focus on protecting high-carbon non-agricultural land from land use change (non-permanent crops will not be grown on high-carbon land - peatlands, wetlands, etc.). The Farm Sustainability Plan should be submitted. The new Plan should describe the biophysical environment and cultivation systems of the holding, including information on land use change; measure the basic level of the company's "climate", i.e. its average performance in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration over the five years prior to the start of the project; identify management practices with the highest potential to make a significant contribution to climate change mitigation; and identify management procedures that ensure compliance with the "do no harm" criteria. Criteria for assessing whether agricultural practices are "seriously harmful" will be set around the topics of climate change and adaptation; sustainable use and protection of water resources; transition to a circular economy; pollution control and prevention; and the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems. The synergy of agricultural practices with basic farming practices will also be assessed, including the Commission, for example, crop production practices (at least 75% of the holding's area should be covered by live crops), land management (exclusion of practices that damage histosol and organic soils; to artificially reduce the groundwater level on histosol and organic soils; elimination of mechanical weeding with inverted soil, as well as incineration of crop residues; on the contrary, support for practices leading to reduced plowing with priority to minimum or non-inverse plowing); nutrient management (systematic and regular testing of soil to determine, maintain and restore the optimal pH range and appropriate nutrient levels in the soil; application techniques to reduce ammonia emissions from the application of manure, solid manure and chemical fertilizers to agricultural land, which may include manure injection under soil surface, and others); and strengthening the area of agricultural land with high diversity landscape features (at least 10%).

Growing of perennial crops: again focusing on the protection of high-carbon non-agricultural land from land use change (permanent crops will not be grown on high-carbon land - peatlands, wetlands, etc.), and the Sustainability Plan for agricultural holdings.

Livestock production: again focusing on the protection of high-carbon non-agricultural land from land use change (livestock production will not take place on high-carbon land - wetlands, peatlands, continuously forested areas, etc.), and the Farm Sustainability Plan. The plan describes practices that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in livestock production through more efficient herd management, nutrient management or feeding. Good herd management practices should include the selection of breeds to suit local conditions; animal health care procedures in order to maintain animal health, reduce the need for veterinary treatment and minimize morbidity and mortality in populations; and procedures to optimize herd management to reduce methane emissions from enteric fermentation and optimize resource efficiency by increasing productivity, including optimizing age at slaughter, extending animal life by improving animal health, optimizing fertility rates, where high fertility rates contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, good livestock feeding practices should be pursued - practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the treatment of compound feed; dietary practices that reduce methane emissions from enteric fermentation of ruminants; and sustainable feed procurement. The Commission will continue to develop good manure management practices - anaerobic digestion; manure and manure treatment on agricultural holdings; suitable manure processing and storage systems for slurry or digestate; appropriate handling and storage of solid manure to reduce emissions and leakages; application techniques to reduce ammonia emissions from the application of manure and solid manure to agricultural land; and nutrient management practices that significantly reduce nutrient losses and fertilizer use.

The public consultation will only be open until 18/12/2020.
Public consultation is available here, more information here.