News

In an effort to revitalise rural communities and make them more attractive and sustainable, together with MEPs, the European Commission on 11 April launched an EU action called “Smart Villages”. Text of the action is available here.

Environment MEPs put forward a number of possible measures to cut the EU 88 million tonnes per year food waste by half by 2030 on Tuesday. MEPs called on the European Commission to lift existing restrictions on food donations and stressed a solution is needed for the confusion created for many consumers by the “best before” and “use by” labelling. Read more.

Border controls following Brexit will make EU food products up to 8% more expensive and could result in more products being manufactured in the UK, according to a new analysis by Rabobank. Learn more.

The EU and Norway have reached a deal on trade in agricultural products, which will see mutual duty-free access for 36 tariff lines, including for example various types of live plants, corn for feed, various berries and fermented beverages such as perry and cider. Read more.

Italian regions are acting together to make the best use of European Union rural development funds, by setting up the Agriculture Italian Guarantee Multiregional Platform (AIGMP). Benefitting small and medium-sized enterprises in the production, processing and distribution of agricultural products, the AIGMP aims to generate an overall volume of investments of more than €1 billion. Read more.