The European Commission will bring forward a proposal on strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain in 2017. The Commission will decide on whether or not there is a need to propose Community legislation to address unfair trading practices (UTPs), an issue on which the Council delivered very cautious conclusions on Monday 12 December.
The Slovak Presidency of the Agricultural Council of the EU has fulfilled one of its objectives in getting the Council unanimously to adopt conclusions on strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain and on UTPs.
European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan has confirmed the Commission’s intention to present a proposal on these issues in 2017 taking into account June’s European Parliament opinion recommending EU-wide framework legislation against unfair practices, the recommendations of the agricultural markets task force which are on the same lines, the Council conclusions and the work carried out by the high-level forum for a better functioning food supply chain which met on 15 December. “The fall in prices paid to producers cannot continue like this”, the commissioner told the press on Monday 12 December.
Impact analysis. The Council conclusions, which have been very well received by Copa and Cogeca, the farmers’ and agri-cooperatives organisations in the EU, call on the Commission to undertake, “in a timely manner”, an impact assessment “with a view to proposing an EU legislative framework or other, non-legislative measures to address UTPs” while respecting the principle of subsidiarity and safeguarding well-functioning national systems as well as already existing national statutory protection.
This cautious form of words was inspired by suggestions from Germany, supported by the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. It was, however, deemed too timid by the Czech Republic, along with Italy, Slovenia, Lithuania and Bulgaria.
Transparency, competition rules and risk management. The Council calls on the Commission to address, in a reasonable timeframe and in a coordinated way, the issue of the lack of transparency and information asymmetry in all levels of the food supply chain, where possible, including at consumer level.
Here, the Council lays emphasis on making available timely information on prices or margins at every level of the food supply chain, where feasible, while minimising administrative burden and costs. France, in particular, put great stress on the issue of prices and margins.
The Commission was asked, too, to provide legal clarity to allow producer organisations, including cooperatives, to better understand and use agriculture-specific derogations from competition law while respecting existing cooperative structures. The member states, lastly, say it is necessary to explore risk management tools at EU level, complementary to and coordinated with member states’ national strategies, including their application at regional level. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)