News

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, endorsed a proposal to introduce a tax on non-recyclable plastics in mid-February to allocate new financial resources to the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework beyond 2020. Over 90 organizations representing the packaging industry, including FoodDrinkEurope, published last week a common position rejecting the proposal to introduce this tax. According to the organizations, the proposal should be either withdrawn or reviewed. According to the European Commission, the tax could generate EUR 6.6 billion per year, but organizations representing the packaging industry argue that the implementation of the tax would make it necessary to additionally strengthen funding from industry, which is already trying to adapt to the recent wave of legislative changes. Organizations could also see increased fees associated with the providing of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), while potential tax revenue would not help to address packaging waste problems as it would be directed to the general EU budget - not to address specific relevant challenges. According to the European Commission proposal, France (EUR 1.37 billion), Germany (EUR 1.32 billion), Italy (EUR 0.84 billion) and Spain (EUR 0.53 billion) would pay the biggest tax (calculations available here).
More information is available here.

The European Commission is still working on the Farm to Fork Strategy, which should be published later this month. Last week there were further unconfirmed information on measures that the Commission could include in the Strategy, including a study to assess the economic, environmental and societal impacts of the production and consumption of the most consumed foods on the market. According to the latest information, the Commission is not yet considering supporting the reduction of the production or consumption of certain foods but could mention the promotion of the production of plant-based meat alternatives. Furthermore, the Commission should focus on reducing dependence on synthetic chemical pesticides and preventing soil over-fertilization, while continuing to focus on extending the area of organic farming.

On 19/02/2020, the first Vice-President of the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Francisco Guerreiro (PT, Greens) sent a written question to the European Commission on the plant-based meat alternatives and their support under the Farm to Fork Strategy. Guerreiro noted that, according to the United Nations (UN), agriculture on a global scale threatens to achieve the goal of limiting the planet's warming to 1.5 ° C, according to the UN, plant food and sustainable livestock production should also be promoted. In this context, Guerreiro raised three questions to the Commission: whether the European Commission will address the promotion of plant-based diets in the Farm to Fork Strategy (according to Guerreira, the Commission should avoid using vague terms such as 'diets that are more sustainable' or 'alternative sources of protein', which only lead to confusion for consumers, the difficult enforcement of crop production, and further support for highly polluting livestock businesses); whether the Commission will follow the scientific communities’ conclusions that plant-based foods are significantly more environmentally friendly and climate-friendly compared to animal-derived and that meat consumption should be reduced; and finally whether, within the framework of the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Commission will introduce incentives for farmers’ transition to plant protein production and measures for the marketing of plant-based foods in the European Union. The European Commission has not yet answered the question. Guerreiro is the first MEP in the history of the European Parliament elected for the People Animals Nature party.
More information is available here.

On 25/02/2020, twenty environmental NGOs sent a letter to the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, and Commissioners for Agriculture and Rural Development (Wojciechowski), for Health and Food Safety (Kyriakides), and for the Environment (Sinkevichius) to support the reduction of production and consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs under the Farm to Fork Strategy. Organizations (such as WWF, BirldLife, the European Environmental Bureau, or Greenpeace) said in a letter that the European Commission has not yet included steps to limit the production and consumption of these foods in the upcoming Farm to Fork Strategy, which should be published at the end of March 2020. According to the authors of the letter, there is excessive consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs in Europe, but the production of these foods is a heavy burden on the environment and the climate. Organizations supported extensive agriculture, the principles of circular economy, the production of alternative and plant-based protein sources, and the shift away from industrial farming. More information is available here.
US company Cargill last week confirmed the entry into the market for plant-based meat alternatives (here).

On 17/02/2020, the European Commission launched a public consultation on an initial document on the direction of the Farm to Fork Strategy, which will be open until 16/03/2020. A total of 33 responses have been sent (as of 01/03/2020), most responses have been sent in the last two days of the past week. Recent contributions support the clarification of forthcoming Farm to Fork plans in more detail, with the link between Farm to Fork and Common Agricultural Policy instruments based on scientific foundations (German Agricultural Research Alliance, here); from the Malta Business Bureau, support for food waste reduction and food waste prevention (here). The most extensive contribution last week was sent by the European Vegetarian Union, which calls for reducing of livestock production and the consumption of animal-based products while, at the same time, boosting the production of plant-based products for human consumption to reduce climate and environmental impacts, prevent negative health impacts of animal-based products consumption (obesity, cancer), and support improvements in animal welfare (here).
The consultation is available here.