News

Today member states represented in the Special Committee on Agriculture endorsed the deal on the so-called Omnibus regulation. The Omnibus regulation amends the financial regulation governing the implementation of the EU budget as well as 15 sectorial legislative acts, including in the field of agriculture.

The European Commission has today issued guidance to help Member States protect agricultural land from threats such as excessive price speculation and ownership concentration. Today's Communication responds to a call in March by the European Parliament, which asked the Commission to set a clear and comprehensive set of criteria for land market regulations to ensure a level playing field in compliance with EU law. Read more.

Today the Estonian presidency and the European Parliament reached a preliminary agreement on the agricultural part of the so-called Omnibus regulation. The Omnibus regulation amends the financial regulation governing the implementation of the EU budget as well as 15 sectorial legislative acts, including in the field of agriculture. The agreed rules make a series of technical improvements to the four regulations governing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP): direct payments, rural development, common market organisation and horizontal regulation.

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.