The French Presidency of the Council of the EU is proposing that the EU Agriculture Ministers discuss, on 21 February, ways of “strengthening the coherence” between the European Green Deal, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and trade policy “to support the transition towards sustainable food systems”.
In a document dated 4 February obtained by EUROPE, France thus intends to set the debate on its number one priority in the field of agriculture during its six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU, namely the strengthening of reciprocity of standards in trade (see EUROPE 12876/14).
The French EU Presidency document identifies several (five) levers to be activated to ensure that agricultural and food products placed on the EU market (whether produced in Europe or imported) offer European consumers “the same level of protection” with regard to health and the environment.
The French Presidency of the Council of the EU calls on the European Commission to review the maximum residue levels (MRLs) applied to pesticides, “taking better account of environmental issues”. It also proposes that the Commission establishes specific MRLs for animal feed.
The paper goes on to suggest that the Commission should systematically assess the possibility of introducing ‘mirror measures’, particularly for animal welfare, in impact assessments of future EU legislation.
Another suggested area of work is the “reinforcement of compulsory origin labelling” for agricultural products. In addition, France supports the inclusion of chapters on sustainable food systems in trade agreements and encourages the Commission to become involved in international standardisation bodies, in particular via the Codex Alimentarius.
On Monday 14 February, the experts of the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) will prepare the ministers' debates on this theme, which is dear to the French Presidency of the Council.
Link to the document of the French Presidency of the EU Council: https://aeur.eu/f/9p (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)