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A study of Irish institutions published by a research consortium compared the way pesticide data is shared across the EU. The results of the study were published in the article "Assessing availability of European Plant Protection Products". According to the results of the study, the monitoring of the use and sales of pesticides is insufficiently harmonized within the European Union, the data obtained from some countries are often not even in accordance with the official data on sales of pesticides. These factors make data obtained from different countries impossible to compare, their use is limited, and therefore harmonization is needed. Only then will it be possible to achieve the ambitious reduction targets set in the European Farm to Fork Strategy and in the legislative proposal to revise the Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides.
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The Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian port of Odesa on 23/07/2022 caused immediate outrage in Ukraine and countries around the world, as it was carried out after reaching trade agreements, in particular the agreement mediated by the United Nations (UN) and signed by Russia and Ukraine on 22/07 /2022 in Turkey. The agreement was set to allow the resumption of vital wheat and grain exports to ease the global food crisis. Ukraine is one of the world's leading exporters of basic cereals. The most important agricultural export of Ukraine in the economic year 2021-2022 is sunflower oil with a total volume of 4,950,000 tons, followed by corn 23,000,000 tons, wheat 19,000,000 tons, rapeseed oil 2,700,000 tons and barley 5,800,000 tons.
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On 20/07/2022, the European Commission presented a new legislative instrument and a European plan to reduce gas demand with the aim of voluntarily reducing gas consumption in EU member states by 15% in the period from 01/08/2022 to 31/03/2023 (compared to with their average consumption in the same period in the previous five years). In its Communication entitled "Save Gas for a Safe Winter", the Commission calls on all consumers, public authorities, households, owners of public buildings, energy suppliers and industry to take measures to save gas consumption. In its Communication, the European Commission emphasizes the critical and strategic importance of the EU food chain and the need to ensure safe gas supplies to maintain food security. In addition to the food chain, the Commission also included healthcare, security, defence, refineries and the provision of environmental services as key sectors.
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On 22/07/2022, the European Commission proposed, following pressure from EU member states and agricultural organizations, temporary short-term exceptions to the application of the rules for crop rotation and maintenance of non-productive features on arable land. Member States may decide not to grant exemptions to farmers, nor may farmers decide to implement exemptions. The impact of the measure therefore depends on the decisions of the Member States and farmers, but the measure has the potential to maximize the EU's production capacity for cereals for the food industry. Exemptions should only be applicable during 2023, they only apply to production that is necessary to address global food security concerns - so they cannot be used to plant crops that are normally used for animal feed, such as maize and soya. Before formal adoption, the Commission's proposal will still be sent to the EU Member States.
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The Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Janusz Wojciechowski, attended a meeting of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture last week, during which the issue of the process of approving draft national CAP strategic plans was also discussed. Some Member States expressed their doubts as to whether it is possible to complete the approval process by the end of the year, and requests were made towards the European Commission to speed up the process. Commissioner Wojciechowski said that five member states - Portugal, Poland, Spain, Denmark and France - have already finalized their proposals to the stage where the final approval of the proposals by the Commission can take place. The Commissioner also assured the ministers that the European Commission is doing everything in its power to complete the approval process as quickly as possible; he confirmed that the Commission plans to accept all proposals by the end of this year. The final approval process by the European Commission takes six weeks, the first approved proposals should be available at the beginning of September 2022.