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The European Commission has proposed a ban on another type of neonicotinoid - thiacloprid - produced by Bayer Company. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), thiacloprid meets the criteria to prohibit the use of this substance (an evaluation available here), and more than 300,000 EU citizens have signed the thiacloprid ban. Member States should vote on the ban in October 2019.
More information is available here.

The trade agreement with the Mercosur countries, which the EU and Mercosur reached at the end of June 2019 after 20 years of negotiations, should not enter into force sooner than in two or three years, according to Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan. The EU Council and the Parliament must also comment on the proposal, but a number of Member States have already disagreed with the agreement. Ireland is the strongest opponent of the agreement so far, but during the Council of Agriculture Ministers on 15/07/2019, no member state supported the Mercosur agreement without reservations, FR, HR, HU, SI, BE, RO, PT and IT also came up with critical responses. Member States have asked the Commission to provide a detailed description of the agreement.
More information is available here and here.

On 15/07/2019, EU ministers of agriculture meet at the Council of Ministers, the first one under the Finnish Presidency. Ministers will be informed about the priorities of the Finnish Presidency for the next six months, with Finland particularly interested in climate and environmental issues, and the setting of rules for the transition period under the CAP. In this context, ministers will also be consulted on the future of the CAP post 2020. Furthermore, ministers will receive up-to-date information on the work of the High Level Group on Sugar and on the EU’s sugar market situation. As for other issues, ministers will discuss the current situation regarding African swine fever, animal welfare during transport (even in the context of high temperatures), plant protection products, and the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.
More information is available here.

The European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) elected the Chairman and the four Vice-Chairs of the Committee last week. German MEP Norbert Lins (EPP) was elected Chairman of the Committee, Portuguese MEP Francisco Guerreiro (Greens, 1st Vice-Chair) and Romanian MEP Daniel Buda (EPP, 2nd Vice-Chair) were elected. The Committee's third and fourth vice-chairmen will be voted on at the Committee meeting on 23/07/2019. According to preliminary information, the Italian MEP Paolo De Castro, who expressed interest in re-opening the debate on the opinion on the CAP Strategic Plans (the Committee adopted the opinion in April 2019), is missing among the candidates for the Vice-Chairs. De Castro confirmed his interest in running for the post of S&D Agriculture Policy Coordinator after the first round of elections. Elsi Katainen (RE), a Finnish MEP, is among the candidates for the post of 4th Vice-Chair.

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) has a total of 48 full members, of which half are new MEPs, and a half was re-elected. The re-elected MEPs include, for example, the new Chairman of the Committee, Norbert Lins (DE, EPP), former Agriculture Coordinator of the ALDE faction Ulrike Müller (DE, ALDE), new Vice-Chair Daniel Bud (RO, EPP) and Paolo de Castro (IT, S&D). Italian MEP Herbert Dorfmann, who has been with the Committee since 2009, has also returned to the Committee. According to Dorfmann, the COMAGRI opinion adopted in April should not be discussed again, but he fears hundreds of amendments tabled in the EP plenary.

Among the newly elected MPs in the committee are:
Simone Schmiedtbauer - Austrian EPP MEP, who presented her agricultural priorities, which include promoting further development of organic farming, supporting the retention of the two-pillar structure of the CAP, refusing to renationalise policy, strengthening the focus on family farms, or supporting the achievement of external convergence of direct payments towards 90 % of the EU average.

Álvaro Amaro - Portuguese EPP MEP, linked to the investigation of corruption and EU funds fraud in Portugal (see here). According to Amaro's earlier statement, he intended to abandon the immunity he received after being elected to the European Parliament, but, according to EP officials, he has not done so.

Asger Christensen - Danish MEP for Renew Europe, farmer who manages over 650 dairy cows in Denmark. The history of his family farm dates back to 1760, the farm is one of the milk producers for the ARLA group, which is engaged in dairy production. According to his statement, the farm is currently managed by his son; Christensen himself works about a week in a year, receiving over EUR 3,000 in reward.

Francisco Guerreiro - a Portuguese MEP for the Greens, was elected 1st Vice-Chairman of the Committee last week. Guerreiro worked as a political advisor for the People-Animals-Nature (PAN) Portuguese party, becoming the first MEP in history to be elected as an animal rights party representative.

Sarah Wiener - an Austrian Green MEP who used to be a sought-after chef in Austria, ran a number of restaurants and bistros in Berlin. She is interested in sustainable agriculture, healthy eating and biodiversity conservation. She acts against genetically modified organisms.

Dino Giarrusso - an Italian unclassified MEP who has worked as an actor in films and series and has also gained experience as an assistant director. He is a member of the populist 5-Star Movement.

Dacian Ciolos - Romanian MEP for Renew Europe, was elected president of Renew Europe in early July. Ciolos served as Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development from 2009 to 2014 and after that he got the post of Prime Minister of Romania. Ciolos negotiated the current CAP 2014-2020 and participated in the introduction of greening measures.

Jérémy Décerle - French MEP for Renew Europe, former president of a French organization representing young farmers. Décerle is an active farmer himself, breeding about 100 charolais cattle. He has been elected for La République en Marche of French President Emmanuel Macron.