News

The European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) has commissioned a study on the link between the CAP and the Europe Green Deal. The study was published in November 2020, under the auspices of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union and was prepared by the French Government's National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment. According to the results of the study, it will be necessary to make major changes to the 2018 CAP reform proposals to bring the new CAP in line with the European Green Deal. According to the study, the 2018 CAP proposals do not cover the full range of initiatives that the European Commission intends to implement under the Europe Green Deal; According to the study, livestock production will be a problematic sector. Achieving the level of greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture required by the objectives of the Green Deal would require significant regulation of non-CO2 emissions through the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), or through the introduction of higher levels of taxation while seeking innovative technical solutions. According to the study, this poses significant adaptation challenges, especially for the livestock sector, which needs to be monitored and supported economically and technically. Although the CAP proposals contain some measures to strengthen the sustainability of livestock production, the real ambitions in setting up eco-schemes and agri-environmental measures will depend on the approach of the Member States. However, according to the study, they do not always give sufficient priority to climate measures in their national CAP plans. It will be necessary to change the eating habits of Europeans to improve health and reduce the impact of the food industry on the environment. According to the study, a change in eating habits must go hand in hand with the strengthening of technology, innovation, the reduction of food waste and losses, but also with the adjustment of production systems (these should be based mainly on agro-ecology). However, focusing on consumers and nutrition is one of the areas where current CAP proposals are lagging. Even after the presentation of the Farm to Fork strategy, the European institutions' opinions on the CAP did not link Farm to Fork's ambitions to the CAP; the same situation applies to other strategies, including the Circular Economy Action Plan. The objectives of the European Green Deal on nutrient leakage, chemical pollution and antimicrobial resistance include proposals to significantly reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and antibiotics. However, according to the study, the CAP proposals are not sufficient to meet this challenge. Part of the problem is that targets are set too vaguely, precise quantitative targets are lacking, and decentralization of measures is left to Member States with relatively few vague guidelines and missing milestones. Measures on enhanced cross-compliance and eco-schemes should therefore be strengthened, legally binding targets should be introduced and the emphasis on achieving them should be strengthened. Maintaining the current rules would, according to the study, be a temporary victory for states seeking to protect conservative agricultural practices, but in the long run this system would be indefensible to taxpayers due to insufficient contribution to the creation of public goods. While legally binding targets under the Europe Green Deal and the Farm to Fork enshrined in the CAP could, according to the study, have a significant impact on farmers' incomes and rising food prices, these negative effects could be mitigated by efficiency gains, productivity reforms and major changes in eating habits. The study will be discussed by the COMAGRI Committee on 30/11/2020.
The study is available here.

Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg met with European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans last week. Following the European Parliament's plenary vote on the CAP after 2020, Thunberg launched a petition to withdraw CAP reform proposals, with more than 70,000 EU citizens joining the petition. After talks with Timmermans, Thunberg said that now is not the time to make small amendments, but that big steps are now needed to achieve the EU's climate goals. According to Thunberg, therefore, the only possible step is to withdraw the CAP proposals.
More information is available here.

During a trialogue between the Commission, Parliament, and the Council on 27/11/2020, the European institutions reached an informal agreement on the rules for the transitional period. The transitional period should last until 2022, and farmers should also receive exceptional support of €8 billion of pandemic recovery plan. A total of 30% of this €8 billion will be released as early as 2021, and the remaining 70% in 2022. At least 37% of this exceptional support will have to be allocated to environmental and animal welfare measures. The crisis measures introduced in spring 2020 to help farmers during the coronavirus crisis will be extended for another six months. A final agreement will only be reached once the Multiannual Financial Framework has been agreed, which is now blocked by Poland and Hungary. These states refuse to make the payment of MFF funds conditional on respect for the rule of law. The agreement must be formally approved by Parliament and the Council.

On 26/11/2020, the European Commission launched feedback on the amendment of animal health rules concerning age-setting, disease control and import requirements. The initiative aims to abolish the possibility of determining the age of sheep and goats; to harmonize requirements for imports of ovine, caprine and bovine products; and at the end of the mandatory two-year monitoring period for herds affected by atypical scrapie.
The consultation is open until 24/12/2020, available here.

The European dairy industry has identified vegan dairy products as endangering the existence of the entire dairy sector. Peer Ederer, Program and Scientific Director of the Global Food and Agriculture Network, therefore encouraged dairy producers to join the meat industry to protect the animal industries from the spreading vegan trend. Eder's call for action was also supported by the European Dairy Producers' Association (EDA).
More information is available here.