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According to the statement of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) of 16/01/2020, in December 2019 total food prices increase by 2.5% compared to the previous month, this is the third increase in food prices in a row, and food prices have reached the highest level since December 2014. According to the FAO, the increase in prices was caused by greater demand for commodities, mainly from the biofuels sector, and by concerns about tightening supply. In particular, prices of vegetable oil (+ 9.4% last month), sugar and dairy products increased. According to the Press Secretary of the Fern, a company dedicated to protecting forests and human rights, to stop rising food prices, the EU needs to stop incentives to use agricultural crops to produce energy.
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On 09/01/2020, the European Commission published a report according to which EU exports of agri-food products reached record levels. The report states that total exports rose by a record 12% since October 2018 to € 14.7 billion in October. Since October 2018, imports increased by 3.6% to € 10.7 billion (€ 4 billion surplus). The largest increase in exports was recorded in China; the largest importer of food goods from the EU is still the US. The increase in EU exports was mainly due to increased demand for pork to China as a result of African swine fever, with the total export value increasing by 82% in October 2019 compared to the last year.
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European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans met with representatives of the European Investment Bank (EIB) on 06/01/2020 to discuss European financing needs in view of the ambitious European Green Agreement. The European Commission said in mid-December that it would spend EUR 260 billion annually to finance the European Green Agreement - there were significant investment needs to achieve the objectives set by the European Green Agreement, and the EU could only meet these needs if the public and private sectors were mobilized. In this respect, according to the Commission, the EIB will be the main partner to act as a public investment pool and as an additional guarantee for private investment. The EIB has set ambitious targets, including doubling its climate investment target from 25% to 50% by 2025, and has committed itself to stop financing fossil fuel energy projects by 2021. This should make the EIB a European climate change bank. The European Commission also hopes that the EIB could help with the financing of the Fair Transformation Mechanism (below) of EUR 100 billion. Funding for the European Green Agreement could come from a total of three different sources - cohesion policy, the InvestEU program, and the EIB.
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On 14/01/2020, the European Commission should present a proposal for a Just Transition Fund, which should provide a means of financing for the transition to the rules of the European Green Agreement. The Just Transition Fund should help European citizens and industry affected by the transition to a climate-neutral economy and provide EUR 100 billion from EU resources combined with national and private financial resources. According to the European Commission, the Fund should ensure state aid rules to promote green investments; financing a fair transformation from the InvestEU program and from EIB Group resources or technical assistance. A new Just Transition Fund should be set up under the cohesion policy, and resources from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund + should be mobilized. Member States should participate in the funding as well.

In March 2020, the European Commission should also present a legislative proposal aimed at embedding the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 in European legislation - unanimity will not be required to pass legislation (Poland, which now refuses to meet the target by 2050, will not capable of blocking legislation itself). By the summer of 2020, the European Commission should put forward a proposal to increase the EU emission reduction target to 50% by 2030.

The Presidents of the European Parliament's political groups agreed to suspend the budget-related parts of the EP negotiations following the failure of the European Council to reach an agreement on the European Union budget after 2020. European Parliament President David Sassoli said Member States are constantly submitting to the European Union new challenges and responsibilities, the European Commission also presented a new set of requirements in the new European Green Agreement (deal) last month. According to Sassoli, the European Parliament is unable to properly negotiate new policies and challenges until a sufficient European budget is secured. According to Sassoli, the Member States do not reflect the urgency of the problem and therefore hopes to start "real" negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework as soon as possible during the Croatian Presidency.