News

Belgium's slaughterhouse, cutting and red meat wholesale sector, represented by FEBEV, has introduced a new programme in the past week to strengthen the sustainability of the meat industry in Belgium. In the programme, stakeholders focus on environmentally friendly production practices as well as favourable working conditions for employees, animal welfare and biosecurity issues. Businesses are audited based on checklists that businesses complete, which are then analysed and audited by a third party. The checklists and the results of the analysis also allow the results of individual companies to be compared with those of the system as a whole. Investments in renewable energy sources or improvements in production processes should be encouraged.
More information is available here.

Germany is considering asking the European Commission to partially exempt grassland farms from fertiliser rules, as such farms can use manure from their own livestock for fertiliser. However, the Commission does not support the request because of the only recently resolved problems with nitrate pollution of German groundwater, which has forced Germany to significantly reduce its use of fertiliser. Any negotiations would therefore only concern farms outside the nitrate polluted areas.
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Poland will extend the ban on the entry of Ukrainian goods into the country beyond 15/09/2023, regardless of the European Commission's decision on a possible extension of protective measures on imports, Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus said last week. He said the entry of Ukrainian grain into the country would lead to a further reduction in grain prices and an inability to sell stored goods, so Poland plans to protect its own farmers first and foremost, rather than looking to European legislation. Hungary is also considering extending the ban. Ukraine is threatening to take Member States to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if the ban on imports of Ukrainian goods into the Union is extended, as it believes that extending the ban would violate the EU-Ukraine free trade agreement. The European Commission has still not reached a decision on a possible extension of the safeguard measures, and a decision must be taken in the coming week.
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Mercosur countries submitted their counterproposal to the European Commission last week on the EU's new environmental requirements in the framework of the negotiations for a reciprocal trade agreement. In the proposal, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira asked for EU flexibility on environmental requirements. He stressed Brazil's commitment to ending deforestation and restoring the Amazon rainforest by 2030, which should be considered in the negotiations. Vieira expressed confidence that an agreement could be reached by the end of this year. The next meeting between EU and Mercosur representatives on the trade agreement will take place on 15/09/2023 in Brazil.
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In July 2022, following pressure from EU Member States and farming organisations, the European Commission proposed temporary short-term exemptions from the application of the rules on crop rotation and the conservation of non-productive elements on arable land. The exemptions are only applicable during 2023 and only apply to production that is necessary to address global food security concerns - so they cannot be used for planting crops that are commonly used for animal feed, such as maize and soya. During the Agriculture Council on 25/07/2023, Romania, Poland and Hungary called for an extension of the exemptions for the application of the rules for crop rotation and for the maintenance of non-productive elements on arable land for a further twelve months. The set of exemptions should also include more flexible rules for grazing permanent grassland and preparing land for cropping during the autumn and winter months. But Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said last week that the European Commission had no plans to allow farmers to opt out of environmental measures for another year. Wojciechowski said the market situation had improved compared to last year, with previous exemptions being exceptional situations. In view of the improvement in the current situation, Wojciechowski said the Commission does not have the right to take further implementing decisions on the matter. The Commission should take a formal decision within a few weeks.
More information is available here.