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On 28/09/2023, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a report on the occurrence and spread of avian influenza in the Union. EFSA recommended to strengthen measures to protect poultry holdings from avian influenza transmitted by wild birds. According to EFSA, the situation in the EU is improving, but the virus continues to spread among seabirds, which causes a persistent higher risk of spreading the disease to industrial poultry farms. Between 24/06/2023 and 01/09/2023, outbreaks of avian influenza have been reported in 25 cases in domestic/commercial breeding and 482 cases in wild birds, in a total of 21 EU countries. According to EFSA, most outbreaks are concentrated along the coastline, with only a few cases confirmed inland; protection of poultry from wild birds should be targeted, according to the report authors. In the coming period, the Authority believes it would be prudent to keep poultry indoors, especially in areas where the avian influenza virus is more regularly found in wild bird populations.
More information is available here.

EU Member States are expected to vote on the European Commission's proposal to extend the licence for glyphosate use in the European Union for ten years in mid-October, on 13/10/2023. According to provisional information, Germany, Malta, Austria and Croatia could vote against the Commission's proposal to extend the licence, while the Netherlands is also inclined to reject it. On the other hand, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, Portugal and Greece could support the Commission's proposal, according to unofficial information. Approval of the proposal can only be blocked by a qualified majority of Member States voting against the Commission's proposal (at least 55% of Member States representing at least 65% of the EU population). France could play a key role, but it is not yet known which option it will opt for. However, the French Ministry of Agriculture has indicated that it is not entirely satisfied with the Commission's proposal - it plans to ask the Commission to consider implementing the French national approach on glyphosate at European level. France currently applies a partial ban on glyphosate where alternatives exist, and leaves open the possibility of extending the glyphosate ban if new alternatives emerge. France also plans to ask the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority to accelerate the development of methods to assess risks to biodiversity. Given the number of questions France plans to raise with the Commission, European media expect that it may abstain on 13/10/2023. However, Germany is simultaneously negotiating with France in an attempt to secure majority support for rejecting the Commission's proposal.

On 15/09/2023, the European Commission terminated the measures restricting imports of wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine to PL, BG, RO, SK and HU, although these countries had hoped for an extension of the safeguard measures. Ukraine agreed to introduce new legal measures within 30 days, including for example an export licensing system, to prevent a surge in grain exports to neighbouring countries. Under the proposed export licensing system for Ukrainian grain, only goods that receive permission from the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy would be exported to the EU. Last week, Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski branded the proposed system unworkable and criticised Ukraine's approach to the ongoing grain crisis. CZ, SK, HU and PL are calling for additional legal measures to be introduced for Ukrainian grain exports in the form of an export deposit system. The deposit would be paid by Ukrainian traders upon entry into the EU and returned once the goods have left Europe and headed to their final destinations. The Lithuanian Minister of Agriculture, Kęstutis Navickas, said on 28/09/2023 that an agreement could be reached early this week to move sanitary controls from the Polish-Ukrainian border and to transport grain to Baltic ports. Foreign ministers of the member states CZ, SK, AT, SI and HU called for keeping lines of communication open with Russia through the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) following a meeting in Vienna last week, describing the OSCE as the only pan-European platform for dialogue that can play a key role in the future. Due to the Russian veto, the OSCE chairmanship for 2024 is unclear for now.
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The European Union and Japan have extended the list of protected geographical indications (GIs) under the Economic Partnership Agreement by 42 products, including 14 Japanese GIs for agricultural products and alcoholic beverages and 28 European products from HR, FR, GR, IT, ES, AT, BG, HU, RO and SI.
More information is available here.

On 21/09/2023, the European Commission published a report assessing the impact of the CAP strategic plans on the long-term vision for rural development. According to the conclusions of the European Commission's report, the CAP offers a range of opportunities to support rural areas beyond agricultural activities - strategic plans allow for example investment in non-agricultural activities and infrastructure, cooperation (through LEADER), and the establishment of new non-agricultural businesses in rural areas. For example, Member States have used these opportunities to promote social services, nature parks, renewable energy production or rural mobility schemes. Nineteen Member States have also adopted the new concept of smart villages in their CAP strategic plans, which should be a key tool to promote innovation and user-centred digitisation in rural areas. According to the Commission's conclusions, the CAP will contribute almost €25 billion to the development of rural areas and communities, equivalent to 8% of the total CAP funding for the period 2023-2027. However, the Commission states that some needs, such as social services, infrastructure, broadband internet or the promotion of knowledge, innovation and business development, need to be supported even more strongly.
More information is available here.