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The European Parliament is ready to ask the European Commission for a crisis plan to ensure the flow of EU money in the absence of an agreement on the European Union budget (MFF - Multiannual financial framework) for the period 2021-2027 by the end of 2020. The aim is to protect beneficiaries and ensure continuity of funding, in the event that the current Multiannual Financial Framework is not extended. This plan should include a legislative proposal to abolish the deadlines for expenditure programs expiring at the end of 2020 and should include a transitional clause where some programs would need to be continued after December 2020.
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Members of the Committee on Agriculture (COMAGRI) and the Committee on the Environment (COMENVI) are considering drawing up an own-initiative report on EU deforestation policy, on the basis of the recommendations of the political group coordinators’ document of 25/09/2019. Own-initiative reports have no legal status; they are important for demonstrating Parliament's views. Own-initiative reports can also affect possible legislative activity by the European Commission. Last week, Frans Timmermans, candidate for executive vice-president of the European Commission responsible for the implementation of the European Green Deal, supported a pan-European regulation to ensure that only products that do not cause deforestation can be sold and consumed on the EU market. Timmermans also requires mandatory labelling of products that cause or may cause deforestation.
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The German Minister of Food and Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, announced on 30/09/2019 a plan to adopt voluntary food labelling using the Nutri-Score system. In a public survey in Germany, 57% of the 1600 respondents favoured the French Nutri-Score labelling over three other nutrition labelling schemes. The Nutri-Score aims to inform consumers clearly about the nutritional value of the product through a range of 5 colours, from green (foods low in sugar, salt or fat) through orange to red to indicate the high levels of these nutrients. The first products with this label could appear in German stores in 2020. Minister Klöckner would like to promote uniform labelling with the Nutri-Score system across the EU. Now this voluntary labelling system is used in FR, PT and BE. Among large food companies (Nestlé, for example), uses this system. On the other hand, some Member States, such as Italy and the Czech Republic, point out that this food labelling scheme disqualifies some traditional foods that are guaranteed traditional specialties (TSG) or have an EU protected geographical indication (PGI). The Commission has not yet submitted a report with recommendations on nutrition labelling across the EU, the report was due to be published in July 2019.
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Danish farmers protested last week against the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, according to which the rules on the granting of building permits and the approval of certain agricultural activities characterized by high nitrogen emissions violate European Union law. As a result of this decision, nearly 18,000 projects have been stopped, and the Court also considers that the Danish government should take steps to reduce pollution. Most of the nitrogen emissions come from farms, so some Danish MPs have proposed to reduce nitrogen emissions by halving Denmark's total livestock population, which would mean slaughtering up to 6 million pigs and 50 million chickens.
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According to a member of the board of the agrochemical company Bayer, which produces, inter alia, controversial Roundup herbicide, the company will consider legal action in case the license for the use of the substance glyphosate is not renewed for the period after 2022.