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On 03/10/2023, during its plenary session, the European Parliament supported an increase of €10 billion in the EU budget for the period 2024-2027 to respond to the ongoing crisis, i.e., above the €65.8 billion proposed by the European Commission. The opinion was supported by 393 votes in favour, 136 against and 92 MEPs abstained. MEPs argued for the need to adequately fund the European Union and to make the bloc more resilient to crises such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine or migration. A total of €3 billion should be allocated to the new EU Platform for Strategic Technologies, while €5 billion should be set aside to deal with unforeseen crises. The European Parliament's opinion was adopted on the European Commission's proposal for the review of the Multiannual Financial Framework. According to MEPs' statements, the European Parliament had already warned in 2019 that the EU budget was insufficient, which is why the European Parliament said the Commission had not been able to respond adequately to the crises the bloc has had to face since the budget was approved - in addition to war, migration or the energy crisis, there was also the coronavirus pandemic. According to Parliament, it is not possible to continue to adopt ad hoc measures that are targeted at resolving crises, while fundamentally damaging European policies or programmes funded by EU funds.
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European Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, the new leader of the European Green Deal, indirectly hinted during his speeches in the European Parliament last week that the European Commission could split the package of proposals on the revision of animal welfare rules. According to the Commission's original plan, the package was to be published in autumn 2023, and consisted of four separate regulations focusing on farm animal welfare (including cage farming issues), welfare during slaughter, welfare during transport and welfare labelling on food. According to Šefčovič, the revision of the rules on animal welfare during transport is the most advanced part of the package, and this part will be presented while the current European Commission is still in office, towards the end of 2023 (the Commission's mandate ends at the end of 2024), probably in December. A full revision of the animal welfare rules, i.e., the entire package as originally planned by the Commission, is not yet on the table, according to Šefčovič. The last time the rules on animal welfare during transport were revised was in 2024, and according to European media reports, those were very tough and long negotiations. Negotiations on the future shape of the rules are now expected to be even tougher. In addition to the revision of the rules on animal welfare during transport, the European Commission could also present a proposal for a framework for monitoring the resilience of European forests (November 2023), a Communication on carbon storage technologies (first quarter 2024), Climate Targets for 2040 (first quarter 2024 - could include elements on food and in particular food of plant origin). Preparations for a targeted revision of the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Regulation (REACH) and work on a legal framework for a sustainable food system should continue. For these two initiatives, however, Šefčovič gave no indication of an expected timeframe for their submission.
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On 20/09/2023, the European Commission proposed to the Member States to extend the licence for the use of glyphosate in the European Union for ten years, until the end of 2033. The licence was extended to five years in 2017 after lengthy negotiations, and the Commission proposed a ten-year extension then too, but the Member States did not agree on this. At the end of 2022, the licence was extended for an extra year, because the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) had not completed its risk assessment on glyphosate. The assessment was submitted by EFSA in July 2023 and EFSA concluded that glyphosate is safe for use in agriculture. The Commission therefore proposed last week a ten-year extension (it had initially even considered a fifteen-year extension, but this was eventually judged politically untenable), the Commission proposal was first discussed by Member States on 22/09/2023 and should be voted on in mid-October 2023. However, according to recent information, the European Commission has reconsidered its original proposal from the end of September to gain support for the proposal from Member States, some of which have announced plans to reject the Commission's original proposal during the October vote. For the proposal to pass, it would have to be backed by a qualified majority of member states - meaning a combination of 55% of member states voting in favour (15 out of 27), representing at least 65% of the total EU population. According to initial information, the Commission modified the September proposal by proposing stricter rules for groundwater protection; adding a proposal for a maximum agricultural use of 1.44 kg per hectare per year (standard) and a maximum agricultural use of 1.8 kg per hectare (only if necessary to control invasive species); added that use for desiccation to control the timing of harvesting or to optimise threshing would not be allowed; and proposed to allow more room for Member States to decide whether they want to introduce specific national rules restricting the use of plant protection products containing glyphosate. The vote is expected to take place on 13/10/2023. According to initial information, the Commission is not yet inclined to change the proposal on the length of the licence extension.

Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania reached an agreement on 03/10/2023 to accelerate Ukrainian grain exports destined for markets in Africa and the Middle East. Since last week, Ukrainian grain has been exported through Polish transit corridors to Lithuania, with veterinary, sanitary, and phytosanitary checks on Ukrainian grain now carried out at the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda, rather than at the Ukrainian-Polish border. Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea continue even after Russia unilaterally withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July. On 01/10/2023, three cargo ships left the port of Odessa, Ukraine, through the Black Sea temporary corridor for civilian shipping, with five more to follow. Ukraine's grain exports for the July 2023-June 2024 season have so far declined by 25.8% to 6.68 million tonnes compared to 8.99 million tonnes for the same period of the 2022/23 season. Ukraine expects to harvest 79 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds in 2023, bringing total exports of these commodities for the 2023/24 season to an estimated 50 million tonnes. Romania has restricted grain imports from Ukraine and Moldova. Imports of Ukrainian and Moldovan grain will only be allowed to Romanian farmers and processors based on licences.

The European Commission is investing €90 million in 17 new research projects under the "Soil Deal for Europe", aimed at restoring and protecting soil for sustainable food production, protecting biodiversity and building resilience to climate change. The projects will involve universities, research institutions, SMEs, NGOs and public authorities from 32 countries with the aim of contributing to the objectives of the European Green Deal.
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