News

On 21 November, the three AGRI rapporteurs presented their draft reports on the Commission proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post 2020 reform: - Ms Ulrike Muller (ALDE, DE) - Financing, management and monitoring of the CAP; - Ms Esther Herranz-Garcia (EPP, ES) - Strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the CAP; - Mr Eric Andrieu (S&D, FR) Amending Regulation / establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products.

The EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed the new Strategic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Japan on Wednesday 21 November. The recommendation will be tabled for a plenary vote in December, at the same time as the vote on the Economic Partnership Agreement. After that, it will also require the formal approval by all EU national parliaments, as well as by the Japanese parliament (The National Diet), to enter into force.

New rules easing access to the EU single market for fertilisers made from organic or recycled materials and setting limits for cadmium were agreed on Tuesday 20 November. The provisional agreement still needs to be confirmed by the EU member states’ ambassadors (Coreper) and by Parliament’s Internal Market Committee. Read more

In public session the Council discussed two progress reports on the work carried out on the proposals for regulation on financing, management and monitoring of the CAP, and on a common organisation of agricultural products. Ministers focused their interventions on the increased responsibilities of national bodies in the implementation and monitoring of the CAP and restated the need for a simple and effective CAP without excessive administrative burdens. They also considered in general that existing market support instruments have proved to be effective against market disturbances.

European Parliament approved on Thursday its negotiating mandate for a new EU law to do away with unfair trading in the food supply chain. The negotiating mandate was approved by 428 votes in favour to 170 against and 18 abstentions. The first trilateral talks between the Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission will start already the same day (October 25) at 13:30.