At their informal meeting from 30 August to 1 September in Koblenz, the EU Agriculture Ministers kicked off the final negotiations on the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and discussed a number of issues relating to product labelling.
Indeed, now that a political agreement has been reached between EU leaders on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027, the CAP talks can finally enter their final phase.
The German EU Council Presidency hopes to get the EU Ministers to agree on a ‘general approach’ on the future CAP in October, with a view to starting talks with the European Parliament immediately afterwards.
On Tuesday 1 September, discussions focused on the lessons to be learned from the Covid-19 outbreak on the agri-food sector, labelling of the origin of products and the introduction of a European animal welfare label, which German Minister Julia Klöckner is strongly advocating for.
Extension of origin labelling. Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski told Ministers that the Commission is considering “proposing the extension of compulsory origin labelling to certain products, while taking full account of the impact on the single market”. It will pay particular attention to those categories of foodstuffs in which consumers show a strong interest. The first step in this process is the publication of an impact assessment, scheduled for autumn 2020.
The Commission welcomed the debate on new initiatives on animal welfare labelling. Ministers were divided on the introduction of European labelling in this area. The Commission will launch an external study on this subject in the first half of 2021.
Finally, as part of the Farm to Fork strategy, the Commission has committed itself to reviewing EU legislation on animal welfare, in particular as regards the transport and slaughter of animals. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)