In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the organisation FoodDrinkEurope states, in a press release published on Monday 23 March, that it is doing “everything it can to ensure all citizens can continue accessing safe, affordable and quality food and drink products” (see EUROPE 12450/15).
FoodDrinkEurope has written to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asking her to: - support the food sector workforce through guidelines to Member States to “establish harmonised protocols for food sector workers to continue their work safely, where they are fit and able, just as workers in the medical sector have also been given special dispensations and privileges”; - recognise the entire food supply chain as ‘essential’ (food and drink products, packaging and packaging materials, feed and pet food must be considered essential by all EU Member States in order to avoid delays at borders); - unblock transport bottlenecks by encouraging Member States to implement the priority ‘green lanes’ for food sector trucks and by lifting weekend driving bans; - support struggling businesses through emergency measures for the food sector; - facilitate global trade (bilateral talks with the EU's major trade partners to facilitate trade in food and drink products and essential ingredients).
Mella Frewen, the Director General of FoodDrinkEurope, said that “if we act on these five areas now, we believe we can avoid serious disruptions to food and drink supplies to consumers and safeguard our jobs and businesses”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)