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According to last week's representatives, the European Commission will be willing to accede to the two-year transitional period of the CAP, but only on the condition that Member States commit to implementing truly ambitious climate and environmental protection measures. These ambitious plans must be included in the CAP already during the transitional period, but, according to the Commission, the ambitions of the Member States must be significantly strengthened. According to the European Commission, one way is to use the €7.5 billion of recovery plan to compensate for the current under-ambitious CAP. According to current EU legislation, an agreement on a transitional period should be reached by the end of this year.

The German Sugar Producers' Association has called for an end to payments linked to sugar beet production in the European Union. As Germany is not the only country to use voluntary coupled payments (VCS), German sugar producers are at a 30% financial disadvantage compared to other EU producers. The sugar industry and organizations representing sugar beet producers therefore called on German Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner to end VCS payments in the EU, which would also support the sustainability of the EU agricultural industry.
More information is available here.

The European Commission will hold the first official Farm to Fork conference at EU level on 15-16/10/2020. The two-day conference will take place at a distance, every day in the morning. Among the confirmed speakers are Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Pekka Pesonen, Secretary-General of Copa and Cogeca, Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, rapporteur for Farm to Fork in the EP Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development), or Dutch MEP Anja Hazekamp (GUE / NGL, rapporteur for Farm to Fork in the EP Environment Committee). Speakers also include representatives of WWF and Nestlé. Thematically, the conference will focus on the transition to sustainable food systems, both in the context of food producers and farmers and consumers.
Registration is possible until 09/10/2020, available here.

Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, confirmed last week that the European Commission is working on guidelines and recommendations that should make it easier for Member States to link the Common Agricultural Policy to the objectives of the European Green Deal. According to Wojciechowski, the guidelines will not be legally binding. This was stated by the Commissioner after several Member States' representatives refused to link the CAP to the European Green Deal during the Council of Ministers based on legally binding steps.

The European Commission has informed Member States in writing that is ready to take legal action against Member States if they continue to fail to comply or violate existing rules on the use of pesticides or animal welfare. Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Kyriakides called on Member States to fully and immediately implement all current EU rules and requirements related to the objectives of the Farm to Fork Strategy and the European Green Deal.