News

The European Commission and the EIP-AGRI Service Centre are organizing a workshop on moving to carbon-neutral agriculture, which should take place in Estonia on 17-18/06/2020. Farmers and other interested parties who have or wish to gain experience in designing or implementing agricultural systems or practices contributing to the reduction of the carbon footprint of European agriculture can apply by 30/03/2020. The theme of the seminar is closely linked to the European Commission's priorities, especially European Green Deal aimed at achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
More information is available here.

On 04/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on a proposal for the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive aiming at aligning the taxation of energy products and electricity and updating the scope and structure of tax rates. The consultation is open until 01/04/2020, available here.

On 04/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on the roadmap of the proposal for a carbon border adjustment mechanism directive to avoid the risk of shifting production to countries with less stringent emissions regulations. The consultation is open until 01/04/2020, available here.

On 04/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on a proposal for a legal act on the Food Safety Regulation to revise the list of substances that are banned or authorized under food control only (hydroxyanthracene derivatives). The consultation is open until 01/04/2020, available here.

On 06/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on a proposal for a Regulation on European climate law in an effort to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the purpose of which is to enact the objective set in Europe for achieving zero emissions in Green Deal. The consultation is open until 01/05/2020, available here.

On 02/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on evaluation of the EU legal framework on food irradiation to see if current legislation is still relevant to the current situation in the food supply chain. The consultation is open until 25/05/2020, available here.

On 04/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on the European Climate Pact in the framework of the Green Deal. The consultation is open until 27/05/2020, available here.

In a statement on 09/03/2020, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirmed that there is currently no evidence that food is a likely source or route of transmission of COVID-19. The claim is supported by experience from previous outbreaks of related coronaviruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), for whom transmission through food has also not been reported. For this reason, EFSA is not currently actively involved in the study of the spread of coronavirus COVID-19. However, the Office continues to monitor the situation from sources from other scientific workplaces.
More information is available here.

Last week, German ministries and food industry representatives signed a basic agreement to reduce food waste. This agreement should form the basis for the implementation of the national strategy against food wastage, including the review and amendment of existing regulations and agreements. However, the signatories to the agreement agreed that food safety should be a priority in any case. The German Ministry of Agriculture also stated on 10/03/2020 that it had informed the European Commission about Germany's intention to introduce a NutriScore nutrition labelling scheme. Meanwhile, Germany is in favour of the voluntary use of NutriScore. The European Commission should comment on Germany's intention within the next six months, and legislation should enter into force at the end of this year.
More information is available here and here.

Catalonia (ES) has passed a new food law aimed at reducing food waste by 50% by 2030. Restaurants will be obliged to dispose of recyclable or reusable containers to be used when visitors ask for packaging of uneaten food. Non-compliant catering establishments could be fined up to EUR 150,000. Companies should also ensure that food residues that can no longer be consumed are available for industrial use (for example for biogas production). Furthermore, under the new law, grocery stores will have to support and motivate customers to buy food just before the expiration date.
More information is available here.