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The EP's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction with the compromise reached by the European Institutions on the issue of dual food quality in the single market. The compromise was approved by the European Parliament shortly before the May European elections. IMCO considers the compromise to be too vague, as it still permits the presence of dual-quality products in the single market, relying on consumer responsibility - basically expecting consumers to be able to recognize that some foods on their market taste different than the same foods on other market. However, according to Committee Chair Petra De Sutter (BE, Greens), responsibility for the occurrence of dual-quality food should not lie with consumers but with producers. Polish MEP Róża Thun (EPP) strongly criticized the ambiguity of the definition, especially when assessing the ‘significant difference’ in the composition of food. She presented the members of the Committee with an example of the product of the German producer Hochland, which in one version contained only Cottage cheese but in the other version it contained milk powder, citric acid and natural flavours. IMCO stressed that the Commission has to work on the subject; one of the first priorities should be to clarify the notion of ‘significant difference’ in composition. At present, however, due to the approval of the compromise, it is only possible to carry out additional checks; a formal review will only be possible in 2024, two years after the implementation of the Directive. Czech MEP Marcel Kolaja (Greens) reiterated his support for the inclusion of dual-quality food in the EU single market on the list of black, directly prohibited commercial practices.

Adam Grant, Regional Vice President of the French food company Danone for UK, BE, NL and IE, urged large fast moving consumer goods businesses to work together to accelerate sustainability in the food system. Danone urges companies to commit to B Corporation (BCorp) certification, which should enhance sustainability and restore consumer confidence. Danone still has 14 BCorp certified subcontractors, covering approximately 30% of Danone's global sales. The goal of the company is to become the first international BCorp-certified concern, the companies that meet the highest standards of proven social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability in order to achieve a better balance between purpose and profit.
More information is available here.

The Lithuanian Government is completing work on the so-called trade tax, which should apply to all sellers who make goods available to consumers on the Lithuanian market. An additional 1% tax should apply to any retailer, realtor, or pharmacy that has a monthly turnover of more than € 2 million (or an annual turnover of more than € 24 million). The law should be adopted in mid-December 2019 and should enter into force next year.
More information is available here.

In its statement of 20/11/2019, EuroCommerce, a company representing retailers in the EU, warned against introducing trade taxes that could lead to the termination of a number of retailers. According to EuroCommerce, Member States are introducing trade taxes based on the trader's turnover; following Hungary, Poland (with the introduction now pending by the European institutions) and Slovakia will newly introduce the tax in Lithuania. According to the CEO of EuroCommerce, however, merchants - especially food traders - work with very low average margins ranging from 1 to 3%, so increasing trade taxes could either lead to the need to negotiate new prices from suppliers or increase final prices for consumers which could also jeopardize the existence of a number of retailers.

The Food Supply Chain Initiative (SCI) confirmed the end of its activities by the end of 2019. SCI started its activities in 2013 at the instigation of European food industry associations (FoodDrinkEurope, AIM), the retail sector (EuroCommerce, EuroCoop, European Retail Round Table ERRT & Independent Retail Europe) and representatives of agricultural traders (CELCAA) to ensure fair access along the food supply chain. Over 1200 companies have joined the SCI Code of Practice. However, after the new Unfair Commercial Practices Directive has been approved, the focus will be on the implementation of the Directive, so the initiative decided to end its activities after six years. The Code will continue to apply, and organizations will continue to be able to use it on a voluntary basis. In addition, a merger of two SCI members representing the retail sector in more than 30 countries, EuroCommerce and ERRT, was announced in early November. After the merger, the organizations will be united under the name EuroCommerce.