News

A SUGAR tax of 30c a litre on drinks with more than 8g of sugar per litre will kick in in Ireland from April. And a charge of 20c per litre will be slapped on drinks with 5-8g of sugar per 100ml. The sugar tax will commence in April 2018 in a similar move the UK took last year, pending State aid approval.

The European Commission adopted today a report on the sustainable use of pesticides Directive. It takes stock of progress made by the EU Member States in applying measures to reduce the risks and impacts of pesticides. It covers a wide range of topics such as aerial spraying, information to the public or training of professionals. The report indicates insufficient implementation of the Directive on the sustainable use of pesticides.

Today the Council adopted conclusions, setting out the EU's position for the seventh session of the governing body of the international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (ITPGRFA), which will take place in Kigali (Rwanda) from 30 October to 3 November 2017. Read more.

On Monday (October 9), EU agriculture ministers will gather at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg. Topics which will be discussed: Baltic Sea fishing, agrimarkets development, SDGs and CAP post 2020. More information

Health experts from EU countries discussed on 5-6 October the glyphosate issue at the Standing Committee on Plant Animal Food and Feed (PAFF), but failed to make any progress. According to the planning, a PAFF meeting is scheduled to take place on the 23 October but the Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis left the door open for a vote until the end of the year.