News

During a meeting of the EP Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) on 06/07/2020, representatives of the European Commission threatened to withdraw the proposal on transitional rules unless the Council and Parliament supported reducing the transitional period to one year. Both the Council and Parliament reached an agreement on the length of the transitional period on 30/06/2020, but the Commission continues to support a transitional period of one year. According to the Commission, a transitional period of two years could limit the contribution of the CAP to meeting the objectives of the European Green Deal. Following the Commission's speech, COMAGRI members expressed their surprise and concern at the EC's position, Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, IT) said that the pressure from Commission representatives was the result of pressure from Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who seeks to reform the CAP according to his own ideas. Paolo de Castro (S&D, IT) rejected the possibility of Parliament joining the one-year transitional period. Parliament, the Council and the Commission are now waiting to reach an agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework, with the final EP, EC and Council trialogue meeting on the transitional period only scheduled after an agreement has been reached on the budget.
More information is available here.

European Commission is preparing an action plan for organic farming, its submission is expected by the end of this year (so far tentatively planned for November). Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said last week that the Commission plans to support the demand for organic farming as part of an action plan, in particular by promoting organic food, by promoting green public procurement, by strengthening the share of organic food in public catering establishments and by strengthening canteens offering organic food. The action plan will also be based on the Farm to Fork Strategy's goal of strengthening organic farming to 25% of total EU agricultural land. A public consultation on the organic farming action plan should be launched during the summer months.

Last week, the EP's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) voted on an opinion on the "Sustainable Europe Investment Plan - how to finance the Green Deal". According to COMAGRI, the budget for the CAP should be maintained at the current level under the forthcoming Multiannual Financial Framework, all other measures related to ecological transformation should be financed from new resources and additional EU own resources. The opinion was adopted by 37 votes to 8, with 3 abstentions. The EP Committee on Budgets and the EP Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs will also vote on their positions in September 2020.
The COMAGRI opinion is available here.

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (COMENVI) called on the Commission last week to take measures to ensure sustainable supply chains without deforestation, especially for imports of soybeans, palm oil, maize, beef, and cocoa to the EU markets. COMENVI calls on the Commission to reassess the impact of imported soybeans on deforestation and calls for an end to imports of biofuels produced from raw materials certified as high ILUC-risk (the indirect land use change). The opinion was adopted by 66 votes to 2, with 9 abstentions. The opinion must now be approved by the plenary of the European Parliament, probably 14/09/2020.
More information is available here.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on 07/07/2020 that the Commission is preparing a new strategy for rural development in the EU. A public consultation on the topic will take place before the new strategy is published, and a public consultation is expected to start in the second half of 2020, probably during the autumn months. A new strategy for rural development should be presented in the first half of 2021.
More information is available here.