News

An environmental NGO dedicated to the production of sustainable food and the promotion of short food supply chains, Slow Food, called on the European Commission to approve national plans to ban the use of glyphosate before the EU license expires. The license for the use of glyphosate expires on 15/12/2022, but some Member States (DE, FR, AT) are planning to introduce a national ban on the use of glyphosate before that date. In Austria, in particular, the proposal has raised a critical response from farmers' representatives who are considering taking legal action if Austria actually imposes a ban before the license expires. The main argument of farmers is the fear of jeopardizing their own competitiveness in the EU market.

The European Parliament approved on 26/11/2019 the European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and Ukraine amending trade preferences for poultry meat and poultry meat preparations import quotas of 50 000 tonnes. The resolution was adopted by 444 votes to 128 with 74 abstentions. The modified regime will enter into force after Council’s approval and when Ukraine has ratified the agreement.
More information is available here.

The European Parliament approved on 28/11/2019 a non-legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on the allocation to the United States of a tariff quota of non-hormone-treated beef and on higher tariffs that the United States applies to certain European Union products. In September 2018, the European Commission proposed opening negotiations on new quotas for imports of American beef into the EU. The Commission proposal to reserve an exclusive US quota of 35,000 tonnes of non-hormone-treated beef from a total quota of 45,000 tonnes in the past has been rejected by Australia and Uruguay, which have used the largest share of the total quota of 45,000 tonnes (Australia to 17,000 tonnes per year). However, the European Parliament endorsed the Commission proposal in its Resolution of 28/11/2019, noting that the agreement does not affect the current scope of access to the EU beef market and that the total quota for access to the EU market for non-hormone-treated beef must not be increased.
More information is available here.

On 28/11/2019, the European Parliament adopted a resolution of the European Parliament on measures to address the effects of World Trade Organization (WTO) decisions in the Airbus dispute on European agriculture. The United States decided to impose a duty on European agricultural production in October 2019, the intention was also supported by the WTO. According to the US, the introduction of customs duties is a response to the illegal subsidization of the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. Customs duties should be valid from 18/10/2019 and should amount to 10% for Airbus and 25% for other production - a total of US $ 7.5 billion. Agricultural products should be newly burdened with cheeses, dairy products, Irish whiskey, spirits, French wines, sweeteners, coffee, biscuits, olives and pork. In its Resolution of 28/11/2019, the European Parliament calls on the Commission to investigate the impact of these measures on the affected sectors and the internal market and, if justified, to swiftly release support for the worst affected sectors in line with WTO rules and within budget limits.
More information is available here.

Environmental NGOs ClientEarth, Fern and Conservation International have criticized a study by the independent London School of Economics (LSE Consulting) on assessing the impact of the EU trade agreement with Mercosur on sustainability, published by the European Commission. The study analyses the impact assessment of the EU - Mercosur trade agreement on the economy, society, human rights and the environment. The report concludes that the agreement will have a minor impact on carbon dioxide emissions and, according to environmental organizations, does not offer a sufficient environmental impact assessment, with most of the results to be published only in the final report to be published in the first half of 2020 The report should focus primarily on the impacts of deforestation, pesticide use, fisheries and water resources. In addition to the inadequate environmental impact assessment of the agreement, environmental organizations also criticize that the study was submitted too long after the draft trade agreement was submitted (draft submitted in June 2019, study in October 2019). John Clarke, Director of International Affairs of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, said the study would have a negligible effect on deforestation due to the low volume of 99,000 tonnes of beef quota for Mercosur.
More information is available here and here.