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Animal welfare organizations - namely Vier Pfoten, World Farming EU and World Animal Protection - have sent a request to the European Council, Parliament, and the Commission to stop the long-distance transport of live animals and to stop the wildlife markets. At the same time, organizations are demanding support for shorter supply chains, tackling the problem of antimicrobial resistance, and restoring the environment and biodiversity under the European Green Deal. More information is available here.

On 09/04/2020, EU finance ministers agreed a € 540 billion package to support member states to address the current coronavirus crisis and its effects. The Eurogroup welcomed the Commission's proposal to strengthen the flexibility of the European funds, supported the establishment of an exceptional instrument to ensure the financing of exceptional support through grants, welcomed the strengthening of the activities and initiatives of the European Investment Bank, which released a € 25 billion pan-European guarantee fund. The Eurogroup supported the introduction of crisis support during the current pandemic to provide a safety net in the euro area. This support will be available to euro area members who would undertake to use this loan support to support domestic financing of direct and indirect costs of health care, treatment and prevention of COVID-19. The support could amount to 2% of the GDP of the Member State (by the end of 2019). The Eurogroup supported the existence of the SURE crisis instrument to support employment, the amount of aid (through loans) could reach a total of € 100 billion, and committed itself to work on preparing the Recovery Fund to provide financial support for the recovery of the EU economy. According to the Eurogroup, the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will play a major role in the EU's economic recovery, reflecting on the current crisis and upcoming challenges through well-set priorities that will allow Member States to effectively address the effects of the crisis on the local economy. The aid package should total almost € 540 billion. The Eurogroup will now work with the Croatian Presidency on concrete proposals. On 07/04/2020, the European Commission confirmed the plan to present a new revised MFF draft by the end of April.
More information is available here, here, here, here and here.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Janusz Wojciechowski sent a letter to EU agriculture ministers last week calling for the most flexible use of resources from the envelope for rural development programs (RDPs). Wojciechowski said that some states have unfortunately almost exhausted funds from the second pillar, others according to him are already actively looking for the possibility of using the remaining resources. According to Wojciechowski, some € 6 billion are available across Member States, which have not yet been spent under the RDP. The Commissioner said that RDP resources could support investment on farms in processing, marketing or food packaging, but could also be used to finance initiatives outside agriculture - for example, to invest in local infrastructure or to support mobile health facilities in rural areas. However, the Commission has not yet planned to activate market measures in accordance with the CMO Regulation, but last week, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that farmers need further support to continue their activities - for example, she mentioned reducing administrative burdens.
More information is available here and here.

Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said on 07/04/2020 that the presentation of the Farm to Fork Strategy and other parts of the European Green Deal is likely to be postponed again due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Commissioner further said that he considers it to be premature to limit the import of products into the EU to support European farmers. The Commission should consider import quota limits in the future, especially for beef from America and Australia.
More information is available here.

The Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) discussed the transitional period of the CAP on 06/04/2020. The SCA has approved a negotiating mandate for a transitional period, which allows the Council to negotiate in the European Commission, Parliament and Council trialogues. The European Parliament's opinion is now pending - the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development should approve the draft opinion 27-28 / 04/2020, and the European Parliament's plenary should then adopt it on 14/05/2020; it will also be necessary to know the outcome of the negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2021-2027 before negotiations in trialogues. The resulting agreement could thus be reached under the Croatian Presidency. Within the SCA, most Member States agreed to support a one-year transitional period, but experts expect that one year will not be enough. The actual length of the transitional period will be discussed in the trialogue.

The Special Committee on Agriculture on 06/04/2020 also discussed the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on agri-food markets, with a focus on dairy products, beef and veal, fruit and vegetables, and wine. SCA members supported the introduction of market measures for the sectors concerned, which will face a sharp price slump in the coming weeks. The representatives of NL BE, and DE stressed the need to provide support for the fresh flower sector, while FR, ES, IT, HU, SI, and AT stressed the need to provide support for wine. Most experts agreed on the need to allow a private storage scheme for dairy products. Representatives of the European Commission stated that the Commission closely monitors the market situation but has not yet prepared any specific sectoral measures. According to Commission representatives, the agri-food sector is not one of the sectors most affected by the crisis, and the allocation of additional funding is unlikely.
More information is available here.