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The European Commission has underestimated the costs needed to make the transition to a sustainable food system as envisaged in the Farm to Fork strategy. This was stated by Claire Bury, Deputy Director General of the European Commission's Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE). Following the departure of Frans Timmermans and the transfer of the European Green Deal to the portfolio of European Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission has started to evaluate what the Green Deal has and has not achieved, Bury said. Bury said the Commission should have thought more about the funding of the whole project, with public funding under the Common Agricultural Policy proving insufficient to deliver the Commission's ambitious plans. Private funding and allocation of resources from outside the CAP will also need to be encouraged to implement the plan.

The European Commission will present a proposal to revise the animal welfare rules during transport on 06/12/2023, the proposal is expected to be presented by European Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič. The draft revision has already been finalised and is currently undergoing an inter-service consultation between the various European Commission services involved, so there may still be changes to the draft under discussion. It is expected that the European Commission will propose a reduction in the maximum transport time for slaughter animals to nine hours, as well as an increase in the minimum space requirements for transported animals, in line with the recommendations of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) of September 2022. According to the EFSA recommendations of 2022, the space in which animals are transported should be increased (the minimum area proposed is 1.16 m2 for an animal weighing 200 kg), and lower temperatures during transport should be ensured (for cattle, the temperature limit should be 25 °C). According to EFSA, the transport distance should also be reduced - for animals transported in containers, including rabbits and poultry, the entire time the animals are kept in the containers should be counted (maximum 12 hours for poultry, 9 hours for cattle). According to EFSA, this will enhance the protection of animals during transport, reduce stress during handling or due to prolonged hunger and thirst.

The European Parliament and the Member States continue to negotiate their position on new genomic techniques at the EU Council. The European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (COMENVI), which has the main mandate to prepare the opinion in the Parliament, is expected to vote on its proposal in January 2024, and the EP Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) in December 2023. COMENVI presented its draft opinion in the second half of October (see news report of 22/10/2023), COMAGRI will not present its own proposal yet, but has started receiving amendments to the Commission proposal with a deadline of 09/11/2023. COMAGRI has so far expressed concerns about patenting of new genomic techniques as well as support for allowing the use of new genomic techniques in organic farming. While the EPP or ECR political groups are more in favour of new genomic techniques, the Green and Left political groups are against loosening the rules, which will be reflected in the amendments MEPs will be tabling to the Commission proposal. Within the EU Council, the majority of Member States are rather positive towards the new genomic techniques, but some states criticize the Commission's proposal. Austria and Hungary, for example, have nationally approved regulations to prevent the cultivation of all genetically modified crops on their territory. Both countries therefore have a negative attitude towards new genetic techniques.

The European Commission is preparing changes in the set-up of promotion programmes for the promotion of European agricultural commodities and foodstuffs on the markets not only in the EU but also in third countries. The Commission is now planning to take health aspects into account in the selection of supported products when granting financial support, and in view of the EU Cancer Action Plan presented by the Commission in February 2021, certain foods including red meat, processed meat or alcoholic products are at risk of being excluded from promotion programmes. According to the Commission's provisional position, these foods could be excluded from promotion aid on the European market, but not on the world market. Italy opposed the Commission's proposal, arguing that it is essential to stress that promotion policy can play a key role in increasing the sustainability of the EU food system, while at the same time maintaining support for the competitiveness of agriculture in the European Union. According to Italy, support for all food sectors that contribute to ensuring that European food achieves the required quality, safety and sustainability of production is absolutely essential. The exclusion of certain products from promotion programmes would constitute unjustified discrimination, a diversion from progress in development and innovation and a threat to the development of rural areas.
More information is available here.

On 25/10/2023, the European Commission published a catalogue of interventions under the CAP national strategic plans, which aims to provide a clear overview of what Member States are planning in their CAP strategic plans to support the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices, how they are supporting young farmers, or what financial instruments they have chosen to support their measures. Users can search the catalogue by Member State, result indicator, output indicator and specific objective. All the interventions presented are described and are always accompanied by a budget. As CAP funding can contribute to several specific objectives at the same time - for example, climate change and landscape, or generational renewal and rural areas - the overall financial allocation of all interventions is overlaid on the total CAP budget. The results of any search can be displayed in the form of tables or graphs, all of which can be exported and downloaded.
More information is available here.