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France announced plans to substantially reduce the use of glyphosate by early 2021, and a total ban on use should come into effect in early 2023. Last week, the French government published a report on progress towards this goal. The results of the report indicate that it is quite difficult to ascertain exactly how much of the active substance is used, and the report also highlights a number of other obstacles to reaching a ban on the use of glyphosate. According to the report, progress towards the target is therefore still insufficient.
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The European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, has asked the European Commission to publish a list of countries that are blocking the adoption of guidelines in the Bee Guidance Document. Guidelines were presented by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2013, but Member States have not yet agreed on criteria for introducing stricter rules on the use of pesticides harmful to bees. New guidelines would tighten current EU legislation, as the EU and national authorities would have to take into account the long-term effects of pesticides on pollinator populations. The position of the Member States was to be published by the Commission by 10/08/2019, the Ombudsman extended the deadline. Both NGOs and the Greens in the European Parliament insist on speeding up the implementation of the guidelines, Member States' positions should be public, according to environmental organizations, and be published without further delay. However, the European Commission refused to publish a list of countries that are blocking the adoption of the document last week - according to available information; these are 16 EU Member States. The Commission stated that the work in EU committees must remain secret under the current EU legislation.

Last week, a British NGO representing farmers (NFU) presented a list of agricultural and food requirements for trade negotiations following the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, the list should be presented to the new government, which will be elected in mid-December 2019. to ensure the import of food of the same quality as domestic production - representatives worry in particular about the effects of imports of cheap hormone-treated beef from the US or chicken-treated chicken from Brazil. NFU President Minette Batters also supported the strengthening of the use of GMO crops, which could help Britain reduce dependence on soybean imports.

On 31/10/2019, the European Commission published draft rules for a transitional period, which should last for one year. According to the European Commission, the new Common Agricultural Policy should be implemented as of 01/01/2022. During the transitional period, farmers should follow the current rules approved for the CAP 2014-2020. The Commission has divided the proposal into two parts, as the flexibility regulation seeking to update the references needed to apply financial discipline and the rules for transfers between pillars was, according to Commission representatives, extremely technical. The proposal should inter alia allow Member States to revise their decisions on the implementation of voluntary coupled support (VCS) for 2020. Commission representatives called on the European Parliament and the Council of the European Commission to quickly adopt the proposal for a transitional period, ideally by the end of 2019 The second part of the proposal, covering the transitional period and ensuring continuity of CAP support under both pillars for 2021, should facilitate the transition to the new strategic plans, which should be adopted by the institutions by summer 2020. The second Regulation aims to adapt rules for continuing CAP support in 2021 with updated amounts for direct payments, rural development, and sectoral aid programs. The transitional measures should allow producer organizations active in the fruit and vegetables sector to decide to adapt the approved programs to meet the requirements of the CAP strategic plans or to replace the approved programs with new operational programs. In the case of Member States at risk of running out of rural development funds, the proposal could extend the rural development (national and / or regional) programs to 31/12/2021. If no extension is necessary, the amounts corresponding to the allocations not used in 2021 will be transferred in equal proportions to the years 2022 to 2023 in line with the proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework. The amounts indicated in the proposal should be adjusted when the agreement on the EU Multiannual Financial Framework after 2020 is adopted.

The draft transitional periods have already been discussed by the EP Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. Italian MEP Herbert Dorfmann (EPP) said that the European Commission had submitted the proposal too late, while at the same time asking for the rapid approval of the first part of the proposal. Similarly, Italian MEP Paolo de Castro (S&D) and German MEP Martin Häusling (Greens) stated that the Committee would need sufficient time to consider the proposal. German MEP Peter Jahr (EPP) and French MEP Anne Sander (EPP) said that a one-year transition period would not be sufficient, Czech MEP Martin Hlavacek (Renew) stressed the need to discuss a number of technical details and warned against estimating the results.

Also, the Special Committee on Agriculture, composed of Member States' national experts, has already discussed the Commission's proposal; Germany supported the introduction of a two-year transition period. Ministers of Agriculture will discuss the Commission proposal within the Council of Ministers on 18/11/2019.

The New York Times (NYT) published a report last week on the Common Agricultural Policy, its budget, and beneficiaries of CAP aid. According to NYT, a significant proportion of European CAP subsidies go to support rich farmers, influential politicians and corruption. NYT states that the European Union pays $ 65 billion annually in agricultural subsidies to support farmers and maintain the viability of rural communities. But throughout Hungary and much of Central and Eastern Europe, NYT funds are paid mainly to several high-ranking individuals, NYT mentions the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, or the mafia in Slovakia and Bulgaria. However, according to NYT, the European Commission is not addressing the problem of paying CAP aid to these specific individuals through, for example, tightening the control system. The NYT criticizes the Commission for proposing to strengthen the subsidiarity of Member States, which should then be able to make better decisions on how EU funds are spent. NYT identified the European subsidy system for agricultural policy as one of the largest subsidy programs in the world, focusing further on the situation in Hungary. According to NYT, during the reign of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, thousands of hectares of state agricultural land were sold to the prime minister's family and friends and subsequently enriched by CAP funds. NYT described the system of paying out European subsidies as a modern form of feudalism, where small farmers are kept under the control of the big ones. In this context, in addition to Viktor Orbán, the article mentions Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who according to NYT last year from the EU thanks to the CAP gained over 42 million dollars. NYT also mentions that 80% of CAP aid goes to only 20% of beneficiaries, while in Bulgaria there are 100 enterprises receiving 75% of subsidies from the Bulgarian CAP envelope. In Slovakia, according to NYT, the Attorney General acknowledged the existence of an agricultural mafia; small farmers were allegedly blackmailed to sell land for which subsidies were paid. The article also commemorates the murder of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak.
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