At their physical meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 October, the Agriculture Ministers of the EU countries are expected to adopt conclusions that cautiously assess the ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy presented last May by the European Commission.
The ‘Agriculture’ Council of the EU is expected to, in this context, overcome its differences on the level of environmental ambition to be set for European agriculture.
The latest version of the text, as seen by EUROPE, takes note of the reduction targets (the adjective ‘ambitious’ has been deleted in the new version) for pesticides, antimicrobials and fertilisers as well as the other targets set out in the strategy in question.
Ministers point out that achieving these targets “will require efforts from Member States and all stakeholders”. The Commission will be requested to “base legislative proposals on scientifically-sound ex ante impact assessments”, after consultation with Member States.
The EU Council will insist on the further development of plant protein production and alternative sources of animal protein in the EU.
Trade. The ‘trade’ part of the text of the conclusions has yet to be finalised at ministerial level. The draft welcomes the fact that the EU will seek to ensure an ambitious sustainability chapter in all EU bilateral trade agreements. The Commission will be invited to perform impact assessments for those agreements “such that their results are available well before the final phase of the negotiation of a trade agreement”.
Animal welfare. The Commission will be asked to “carry out this review as promptly as possible in order to revise existing animal welfare legislation as soon as possible, in particular on the transport of animals, and propose new rules for animals that are not yet covered by specific EU legislation”.
Ministers are expected to invite the Commission to assess the impact of an EU regulatory framework “with criteria for an animal welfare labelling scheme” which would contribute to enhanced animal welfare, greater market transparency, better consumer choice and fairer compensation for livestock under higher animal welfare levels, as well as a level playing field. The EU Council will point out that national experience should be taken into account in this area and that the additional administrative burden should be reduced as much as possible.
As part of this strategy, the Commission plans to reduce the use of plant protection products and fertilisers by 50% by 2030 and to increase the proportion of land under organic farming to 25%.
On this last point, the Member States emphasise that the future development plan for organic farming must “ensure a balance between supply and demand”.
They look forward to the Commission’s forthcoming study on the status of ‘new genomic techniques’. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)