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In May 2020, European Commissioner for Food Safety Stella Kyriakides sent a letter to EU agriculture ministers reaffirming the EC's determination to take legal action against countries that systematically violate EU legislation on the welfare of laying hens, livestock and the use of pesticides. FR is the only country that is explicitly warned about breaching the welfare of laying hens, as it continues to violate the 1999 EU directive. A Europe-wide ban on conventional cages came into force in 2012. The new minimum standard for hens is so-called enriched cages, but about half of the French cages do not meet this specification. The FR must also stop docking pig tails and tighten conditions for the export of live animals on board ships.
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On 25/11/2020, the European Commission issued an Action Plan on Intellectual Property to promote the resilience and recovery of the Union's economy. According to the Commission, the action plan proposes to modernize a number of existing intellectual property protection instruments and adapt them to the digital age, including the improvement of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) for patented and plant protection products and the modernization of EU design protection. It seeks to strengthen the protection of agricultural geographical indications, while considering the feasibility of a system for the protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products at EU level. The Action Plan calls on Member States to swiftly introduce a unitary patent system to create a single point of contact for patent protection and enforcement across the EU. According to the Commission, the action plan aims to protect intangible assets, but also seeks to improve access to key intangible assets, and therefore proposes measures to facilitate the sharing of key intellectual property in times of crisis while ensuring return on investment. The Commission will also work to improve the copyright infrastructure and take steps to better mobilize intellectual property data. It will also propose ways to increase transparency and predictability in the licensing of patents necessary to comply with technical standards (SEPs), as these patents are a key element in the digital transformation of European industry.
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The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued an opinion on 24/11/2020 that gene modification techniques do not pose a higher risk compared to conventional breeding or GMO techniques. The opinion concerned a technique called site-directed nuclease-1 (SDN-1), site-directed nuclease-2 (SDN-2) and oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis (ODM). Unlike site-directed nucleases-3 (SDN-3), evaluated by EFSA in 2012, they modify a specific region of the genome without introducing new DNA. According to the EFSA Panel, existing guidelines for GM plant risk assessment can be used for three new techniques and less data will be needed for risk assessment due to the absence of new DNA. The EFSA opinion will be used in the EC report, which should be published in April 2021, according to the 2018 ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU that genome modifications should be regulated under GMO legislation.
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Last week, Poland and Hungary rejected the adoption of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the EU's budget for the period 2021-2027 totalling over € 1.8 trillion. Both states refuse to make the disbursement of MFF funds conditional on respect for the rule of law. However, the new budget must be adopted unanimously in the Council; if this does not happen by the end of this year, a provisional budget will have to be introduced. In that case, the European Union would be guided by the expenditure ceilings set according to last year's budget, in particular by being able to 'spend' each month only an amount corresponding to a maximum of one twelfth of the expenditure for the whole of 2020. The MFF is linked to an additional budget for the EU's € 750 billion recovery plan, which would also have to be postponed. The Council has now intensified negotiations with EU Member States with a view to finding a compromise solution to the problem and avoiding the introduction of a provisional budget. The multiannual financial framework will therefore be the main topic of discussion for the Prime Ministers and Presidents of the Member States during the European Council on 10-11 / 12/2020.
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Agriculture ministers met on 16/11/2020 at the informal Council of Agriculture ministers to discuss Farm to Fork Strategy, food waste, the situation on European agricultural commodity markets, and the African swine fever. With regard to the Farm to Fork Strategy, Ministers supported the efforts to move towards more sustainable food systems, but called for an impact assessment of the implementation of the objectives of the new strategies (Farm to Fork and the EU Biodiversity Strategy). Ministers also generally supported strengthening efforts to reduce food waste and strengthening cooperation between Member States to make food waste reduction more effective. As part of the Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Commission should present binding targets for the reduction of food waste in 2022. The Czech delegation briefed the Council on a joint declaration by the Czech Republic and Poland on African swine fever. The joint declaration includes several instruments, including strengthening cross-border cooperation, strengthening the protection of pig farmers, reducing trade in the affected areas, and reducing administrative burdens. The declaration was supported by DE, EE, BG, ES, LV, GR, SI, DK, HR, and FR. According to Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, the European Commission is currently reviewing legislation related to the occurrence of African swine fever in the EU and is preparing to introduce control tools. The Commission will continue to provide the maximum possible financial support to prevent the spread and support the eradication of African swine fever in the EU. The Commission should also publish an analysis of the impact of African swine fever on the EU market. African swine fever threatens the stability of the EU market, another threat is caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. According to the ministers, therefore, the European Commission should present measures to help the affected sectors, in addition to the pork sector, it should also include beef, poultry, wine, and dairy products. Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the European Commission was monitoring European agricultural markets and that the second wave of coronavirus had not yet had a significant impact on these markets. However, following pressure from AT, HR, BE, CZ, GR, ES, HU, LT, RO and FR, the Commission will consider launching private storage schemes for pig meat.
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