A busy agenda awaits the European Union’s agriculture ministers in Brussels on Monday, 21 February, with discussions on how to strengthen coherence between the EU’s Green Deal, the common agricultural policy (CAP), and trade policy on the proposal concerning deforestation-free products and even the delicate state of agricultural markets.
French Minister for Agriculture Julien Denormandie will preside over the Council of the EU, and the European Commission will be represented by Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, and Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius.
The EU’s agriculture ministers will discuss ways to strengthen coherence between the European Green Deal, the CAP, and trade policy. The French Presidency of the Council of the EU presented a working document on this issue, which notably advocates reviewing maximum residue limits (MRLs) and applying certain European standards to imported products, or mirror clauses (see EUROPE 12891/6). The ideas contained in this document were received “in a positive manner” by the delegations from EU countries, according to a European diplomat.
Deforestation. Ministers will have a policy debate on the proposal on deforestation-free products. This proposal aims to reduce deforestation by ensuring that products purchased on the EU market do not contribute to forest degradation throughout the world. Mandatory due-diligence rules are envisaged for operators exporting commodities linked to deforestation (including derived products such as leather, chocolate, and furniture) to the EU. The proposed regulation applies to six commodities (coffee, cocoa, palm oil, soy, beef, and wood) and their derived products and has a review clause providing for the possibility of amending the scope 2 years after the implementation date. In particular, ministers will speak on the ecosystems and commodities to prioritise in order for the EU to take the most relevant action against deforestation.
Promotion. The European Commission is expected to make a proposal on EU countries’ promotion measures soon, which worries some countries, since certain products could be excluded in future. In a note (https://aeur.eu/f/dk ), Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, and Spain consider it to be “justified to continue the EU promotion policy based on currently binding provisions”. The option that involves reviewing conditionality/eligibility—which may result in certain sectors (for example, meat and wine) being completely excluded from support—“raises firm opposition”, these countries explain. “If we stop promoting EU products such as [...] meat or wine, consumers will reach for similar products outside the EU of significantly lower standards”, according to this group of countries.
Agricultural markets. The European Commission will review the state of agricultural markets. Poland, supported by Hungary and Latvia, will speak on “the critical situation on the pig meat market” and call for “exceptional aid” for the EU’s pig producers, according to a document that was sent out (https://aeur.eu/f/dl ). “The pig meat situation is complex and affects certain Member States more severely than others”, a European diplomat indicated on 16 February.
Vegetables, puppies, egg labelling, and drought. The European Commission will present reports in two areas relating to plant health legislation: the application and effectiveness of phytosanitary measures relating to imports into the territory of the European Union and the extension of the plant passport system to all movement of plants for planting within the EU’s territory.
Denmark will advocate the need to improve the welfare of dogs that are bred for commercial purposes (https://aeur.eu/f/dm ). In Denmark, several obstacles linked to the import of dogs have been listed, such as health problems and the sale of puppies that are under 8 weeks of age. At present, there are no common rules at the EU level in this area. Consequently, the Danish delegation has invited the European Commission to adopt common EU legislation on dog welfare.
The Netherlands—supported by other countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, and Romania)—will provide information (https://aeur.eu/f/dq ) on the consequences of avian influenza on the labelling of free-range eggs. Since the end of 2021, a number of Member States, including the Netherlands, have required laying hens to be kept indoors in order to combat the epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza. EU legislation on egg marketing standards sets a maximum confinement period of 16 weeks during which eggs can be labelled as free range. After this period, eggs from confined hens must be sold as barn eggs, and the packaging must be changed.
The Portuguese and Spanish delegations will bring up (https://aeur.eu/f/dn ) the impact of the drought [in their countries] on agriculture. Both delegations are requesting support measures, such as increasing advances for direct aid or applying the force majeure clause.
Finally, Austria will call for measures to ensure fair remuneration for EU farmers. It will speak on instruments that could potentially increase producers’ incomes, such as the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, producer organisations, sustainable agricultural practices, and mandatory EU-wide origin labelling. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)