News

Representatives of non-governmental agricultural organizations from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in a joint letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, and President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, called for external convergence of direct payments by 2027. A total of nine organizations stated in the letter that the current situation as regards the level of direct payments per hectare in each Member State is the result of a misinterpretation of the provisions of the Treaty of Accession to the European Union. Since LV, LT and EE joined the EU in 2004, these countries have received the lowest direct payments per hectare, currently around 54-60% of the EU average. According to representatives of LV, LT and EE, fairness in the payment of direct payments is not ensured and it is therefore essential that the European institutions address this problem. A common argument of opponents of external convergence is that in some EU Member States production costs are lower than in others, and therefore a different level of direct payments is justified. According to LV, LT and EE organizations, however, production costs in the EE are 129% of the EU average, in LV 113%, and in the LT 112% of the EU average.

On 05/12/2019, the European Court of Auditors issued a press release & audit aimed at assessing the system of measures to stabilize farmers' incomes. According to the European Court of Auditors (ECA), these instruments 'have only partially achieved their objectives, they are under-used and uneven. In addition, some exceptional measures are not properly targeted and may lead to disproportionate compensation payments.' The ECA's auditors focused in particular on EU support for insurance and exceptional measures for the fruit and vegetables sector introduced after the 2014 Russian sanctions. According to the audit results, 'most of the EUR 2.6 billion that the EU has allocated in its budget to help farmers hedge against price volatility and production losses has had limited impact. Funds reach only a very small proportion of farmers, with only 10% of those insured doing so with EU support. Most farmers do not even consider risk mitigation as they expect to receive considerable public support in the event of a crisis. EU support for insurance is not directed to those who really need it.' According to the ECA, most support for insurance goes to Italy and France, particularly to the wine sector. Due to the lack of interest among other Member States and the much targeted granting of aid for wine production, the insured capital in these two Member States can reach up to € 115,000 per hectare.
More information is available here and here.

The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission (DG SANTE) has published the steps and aspects needed to put in place sustainable food systems in the European Union through the new Farm-to-Fork strategy. According to DG SANTE, this should be an integrated approach to strategy management; inclusion (involving all actors), partnerships, and broad social consensus in favour of sustainable food systems; the fair transition process must allow all stakeholders a level playing field - no one should be left behind; in the transition process, the emphasis must be on research and innovation; financial support must be provided to accelerate investment and support actions; and cities and rural communities must also be involved in the process. The European Commission should present the first official information on the European Green Deal, which includes the Farm-to-Fork strategy, on 11/12/2019. According to preliminary information, in the framework of the European Green Deal, the Commission should submit legislation aiming at achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 by March 2020, and by October 2020 the Commission should present how the strengthening of greenhouse gas reduction targets should be achieved by 2030 by at least 50-55%. A new plan to support the circular economy should also be presented in March 2020. The Farm-to-Fork strategy should then set a target of 50% reduction in the use of chemical pesticides by 2030 and an extension of the area under organic farming. The Commission is also planning to revise all relevant EU legislation that should be affected by the European Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork strategy, which should be completed by June 2021.
More information is available here.

A total of five MEPs from different political factions set up the European Food Forum (EPF) in the European Parliament last month; it will be launched on 10/12/2019. According to the founders of the Forum - Clara Aguilera (S&D, ES), Brando Benifei (S&D, IT), Róża Thun (EPP, PL), Asim Ademov (EPP, BG) and Irène Tolleret (Renew Europe, FR), the Forum should facilitate policy dialogue on sustainable food systems; actors in the food supply chain; and organizations representing the public and research. The Food Forum will not itself adopt its own positions, but will monitor and discuss current developments in the area of food policy at EU level, with the aim of developing the EU Common Food Policy.
More information is available here.

The Netherlands have joined France or Belgium in recent weeks and announced plans to introduce colour-coded nutrition labelling for food using the NutriScore system. However, according to NL, this will happen at the earliest in mid-2021, after the Scientific Committee has adapted the NutriScore system to the Dutch conditions. Developed by the French national health agency Santé Publique France, the Nutri-Score system is set more to nutritional standards, food availability and culinary culture in France. An example could be the evaluation of, for example, cheeses and fish, which according to the Dutch dietary guidelines are considered healthy food, while NutriScore marks both with a red label = a negative indicator. Santé Publique France states that the NutriScore system should be reviewed every three years, but only in order to update it according to scientific knowledge and developments in the field of public health information. However, representatives of FoodDrinkEurope, representing European food and beverage producers, said that NutriScore may not coincide with nutritional guidelines across EU Member States. NutriScore, therefore, according to FoodDrinkEurope should be assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), this idea was supported by Italian MEP Paolo de Castro (S&D). According to de Castro, NutriScore is inappropriate because, in addition to informing consumers, it also 'guides' them and determines which foods are 'bad' and which 'good'. However, EFSA does not have a mandate to assess NutriScore – it would have to be decided by the European Commission.

Last week, the Italian Prime Minister described NutriScore as 'nonsense', an unfair instrument that penalizes Mediterranean production, including olive oil and traditional cheeses, while encouraging the consumption of products such as Coca-Cola Zero.
More information is available here.