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The European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development should discuss the imposition of US customs duties on EU goods on 14/10/2019 at an extraordinary meeting of the Committee. 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 in force as of 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. The topic should also be discussed at the Council of Ministers of Agriculture, which will also take place on 14/10/2019, and will be the last to be held under the mandate of the current Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan. Since November, Hogan will replace Cecilia Malmström as Trade Commissioner, if confirmed by the European Parliament plenary.

On 07/10/2019 the EU Council adopted the legal basis for EU accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement of the Parties to the Protection of Geographical Indications (GIs). The treaty, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), currently includes 28 members, incl. Algeria, Burkina Faso, Congo, Cuba, Gabon, Georgia, Iran, Israel, Peru and Togo, as well as seven EU Member States - FR, HU, BG, CZ, SK, PT and IT. By joining the international registration system, all types of European Geographical Indications, incl. agricultural products, food, beverages and patents, in all current and future agreements under the Geneva Act. The relevant acts will now be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force 20 days after publication. The EU will officially join the Geneva Act three months later.

Last week, the European Parliament held public hearings with Commissioners-designate for Agriculture (Janusz Wojciechowski, PL), Health (Stella Kyriakides, CY) and Environment and Oceans (Virginius Sinkevičius, LT). Committee coordinators may reach consensus to recommend a Commissioner-designate for approval by plenary. This plenary session should take place in the week of 21/10/2019, with the new Commissioners taking up their seats on 01/11/2019.

The Agriculture and Rural Development Committee questioned the Polish candidate for the agriculture portfolio Janusz Wojciechowski on 01/10/2019. During his introductory speech, Mr Wojciechowski said the EU needs a “long-term vision for European agriculture“. The first actions if he is successful in being confirmed as the new European Commissioner would be to commission a report into the current state of European agriculture and the impact of international trade agreements on European farmers. He will also seek support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a focus on family farms, and for a greater shift towards environmental and climate measures. He reiterated his readiness to discuss the proposal that the European Commission had already submitted in June 2018, with the view that in some areas it would be appropriate to improve the Commission proposal. The candidate further stated that he will endeavour to provide support for those farmers who use their own feed (in line with efforts to limit imports from third countries). He supported the improvement of animal welfare - less stocking density, use of straw in pig breeding, reduction of long-distance transport of live animals, and reduction of livestock production intensity. Wojciechowski also stated that it is not right that 80% of the subsidies go to 20% of the beneficiaries, which he said will have to be reflected in the long-term strategy for agriculture. Moreover, according to the candidate, industrial agriculture threatens the environment and the climate. According to Wojciechowski, the transitional period could be set at one year; the new CAP should be implemented from January 2022. Members of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee identified Wojciechowski's remarks as unsatisfactory and therefore submitted another set of written questions. After answering them, they decide whether the candidate will have to go through the second round of interviewing.

The Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee questioned Stella Kyriakides, candidate for the Health portfolio on 01/10/2019. As part of her mandate, she should address not only health related topics, but also sustainable food production and the fight against food fraud, the reduction of pesticide use, or uniform labelling rules. She will also be in charge of introducing a new 'Farm-to-Fork' strategy, which aims to ensure sustainable food production. The candidate during the hearing supported the protection of bees and other pollinators by reducing the use of neonicotinoids for which alternatives should be sought. According to Kyriakides, the new Commission should oversee the correct implementation of pesticide use and authorization legislation, address antimicrobial resistance, and strengthen animal welfare. Food fraud, according to the candidate, leads to a weakening of consumer confidence and considerable economic losses, therefore all possibilities should be used to detect fraud, including the European Anti-Fraud Office. The candidate also supported the introduction of a pan-European food labelling system, an example of which could be NutriScore. Commissioner designate Stella Kyriakides received the green light from the committee to proceed to the next stage of her application.

On 03/10/2019 the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, and Fisheries Committees questioned Virginijus Sinkevičius, candidate for the Environment and Oceans portfolio. In his speech, he addressed the issue of sustainability of fisheries, pollution of the seas and oceans, and possibilities of support for fishermen. From an agricultural policy point of view, unsustainable agricultural production can no longer be supported by EU resources, supported the reduction of pesticide use, strengthened biodiversity protection, and emphasized the importance of the circular economy - by 2030 all plastic packaging should be easily reused usable or recyclable. MEPs put forward several questions on increasing the wolf population and addressing this problem. Sinkevičius has repeatedly stated that he does not support the shooting of wolves whose population the EU is still trying to restore. According to him, farmers should take advantage of the protection of herds from wolves, for example, the construction of fence. Members of the committee supported his nomination.

The Irish Commissioner for Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan, the current Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, has also been successfully nominated. Phil Hogan's responsibilities will include not only the ratification and possible implementation of the Mercosur trade agreement, but also trade negotiations with the United Kingdom in the event of its withdrawal from the European Union.

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.
More information is available here.

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.
More information is available here.