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The European Commission is continuing to revise geographical indication (GIs) rules under the Farm to Fork strategy plan, to increase the usability of geographical indications for farmers and producers of sustainable products; to increase the attractiveness of geographical indications; and to correct regulatory gaps or allow for a better evaluation of the GI system. The European Commission plans to move the agenda for approving protected GIs to the European Intellectual Property Office, and the action plan on intellectual property issues already calls for improving the system of protection of geographical indications to increase its effectiveness. The legislative proposal is still in the European Commission's internal approval process and is expected to be published in late March or early April 2022.

The European Parliament adopted on 15/02/2022 during the plenary session resolution on the implementation report on animal welfare in farms. The draft report was drafted by French MEP Jérémy Decerle (Renew) and approved in October 2021 by the EP's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI). The October motion for a resolution called for future EU animal welfare rules to be uniformly implemented in all member states and to be based on scientific data and impact assessments; to introduce voluntary animal welfare labelling in the EU; and that the revised animal welfare legislation is fully in line with the priorities of the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy. The plenary of the European Parliament voted on the COMAGRI opinion of October on 15/02/2022, the opinion was adopted by 496 votes to 140, with 51 abstentions. Parliament calls for clearer rules, support for farmers who put them into practice and reciprocity for imported products. The legislation should also be fully and uniformly transposed across the EU, and the planned revision of animal welfare rules should be scientifically based and based on an impact assessment.
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The Ministers of Agriculture met in Strasbourg on 06-08 / 02/2022 for a meeting of the Informal Council of Ministers, the main topic of which was possible procedures for reducing emissions and storing carbon. Ministers also exchanged experiences with private carbon sequestration mechanisms and certification schemes and discussed key factors for farmers' involvement in carbon farming. French Minister Julien Denormandie has supported the introduction of European legislation to support carbon farming, which should create a new source of income for farmers. However, he warned against excessive administrative burdens, so he did not support the mandatory nature of the use of carbon agriculture by farmers.

The European Commission should present a revision of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive on 23/03/2022. According to a draft of a document received by some European agricultural media last week, the European Commission plans to propose the targets of a 50% reduction in pesticide use to be legally binding at the EU level. However, member states should be allowed to set their own national percentage reduction targets. However, according to the working proposal, member states may not set national targets lower than 45% unless they can demonstrate that the level of reduction chosen is justified by factors such as the emergence of new pests. If Member States can demonstrate the existence of aggravating factors, they may set targets below 45%. According to the European Commission, however, in no case can any of the two national targets be less than 25%.
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Member States approved new rules at the Standing Committee on Animals, Plants, Food and Feed on 10/02/2022 to simplify the process of approval and authorization of biological plant protection products containing micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa. The new rules are intended to help farmers switch from using chemical pesticides to lower-risk biological products. According to Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, organic products can protect crops with less risk to human health or the environment. However, the European Commission acknowledges that biological plant protection products may be less effective than chemical pesticides; however, their use in organic farming is crucial. More than 60 micro-organisms are currently approved in the EU for use in plant protection products. The new rules should make micro-organisms and plant protection products containing them more quickly available on EU markets. The changes will now be examined by the European Parliament and the Council. If no objections are raised by these institutions, the new rules will be adopted and come into force in November 2022.
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