The European Ministers of Agriculture are meeting informally from 30 August to 1 September in Koblenz, in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, to discuss the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and other issues related to the welfare of farm animals.
In preparation for the working meeting on Tuesday, 1 September, the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union presented a working paper on the topics to be discussed by the ministers.
The first question asks what changes need to be made to “make the food supply chain more resilient to disruptions” in the event of a crisis, such as the one resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Germany suggests measures to strengthen the independence of the food supply chains in the EU, from inputs and production to processing and marketing.
Another theme highlighted was the areas in which the labelling of the origin of agricultural products could be improved.
The German EU Council Presidency wants to launch a debate on two topics which it considers to be priorities: European animal welfare labelling and improving the transport conditions for farm animals.
In the run-up to this informal meeting, coalitions from twelve Member States, including more than 400 European civil society organisations, sent a letter to Julia Klöckner, the German Federal Minister and President of the Agriculture EU Council, calling for decisions to “align the CAP” with the requirements of the European Green Deal, in particular with the objectives of the ‘Farm to Fork’ and ‘Biodiversity’ strategies.
Link to the German Presidency document: https://bit.ly/2D1bIb8
To consult the NGO newsletter: https://bit.ly/32nGYcY (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)