News

On 10/11/2020, the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council reached an agreement on the MFF and the Recovery Plan, which also includes exceptional support for the agricultural sector of EUR 7.5 billion for the second pillar of the CAP. Of the EUR 7.5 billion earmarked for agricultural policy, 37% of the funds must be used for climate- and environment-friendly initiatives, and 55% for support for young farmers and for investment in rural areas, digitalisation, and sustainability. The funds will be disbursed during 2021 (30%) and 2022 (70%). The European Union should finance up to 100% of eligible actions, Member States will not have to allocate any additional funds from national budgets for these investments. Support for start-ups under rural development programs should also be increased from EUR 70,000 to EUR 100,000. The agreement must now be formally approved by the Council and Parliament, probably during the December part-sessions.
More information is available here and here.

On 12/11/2020, the European Commission published an evaluation of the mandatory country of origin labelling system for meat and meat products. According to the European Commission's conclusions, labelling is an important tool for providing information to consumers, while not having a negative impact on the European Union's internal market. The evaluation of mandatory country of origin labelling of meat and meat products is part of a comprehensive evaluation of the Country of Origin Regulation for fresh, chilled and frozen pig meat, sheep meat, goatmeat and poultry meat, which should be available in early 2021. The resulting evaluation is likely to have an impact on forthcoming adjustments to the related Farm to Fork labelling regulations.
More information is available here.

The pig price is falling rapidly throughout almost the European Union under the pressure of a weakening market, the closure of the HORECA industry following Covid-19 measures, increased pork production and the spread of African swine fever in the EU. The pork market is significantly affected by, among other things, insufficient capacity in slaughterhouses (in Germany alone, more than a million pigs are waiting to be slaughtered) and restrictions on exports to China. However, the price of meat in Germany remains stable at 1.27 EUR/kg, which worries other Member States, including Denmark, France, and Austria. The Austrian Association of Agricultural Processing Producers (VLV) drew attention to suspected disproportionate dumping offers from Germany.
More information is available here.

Seventy environmental NGOs have sent a letter to the European Commission calling for immediate action on double standards for pesticide exports. A recent publication by the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) showed that pesticides, the use of which is banned in the EU, continue to be produced in the Union and subsequently exported to third countries. They can thus return to the European Union in the form of residues in imported food.
Letter from environmental organizations is available here.

Last week, EU member states approved the imposition of retaliatory duties on production imported from the US, retaliatory tariffs could reach up to EUR 4 billion. According to preliminary information, duties should apply to aircraft (duties of 50%), industrial goods (duties of 25%), and agri-food production (duties of 25%). Most agri-food duties, up to 80%, should cover processed production, in particular tobacco products, spirits, sauces, nuts, vegetable oils, wheat, sweet potatoes, coffee, and food preparations.
More information is available here and here.