EU Member States made progress on Monday 7 March towards the adoption of market measures for those sectors most affected by the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
At Monday’s Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA), the European Commission presented a number of possible measures to help sectors in difficulty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, among others (see other news and EUROPE 12902/3) : - private storage aid for pigmeat (a meeting of industry experts is scheduled for 17 March); - the use of the reserve in the event of an agricultural crisis.
Communication on food security. In addition, the Commission has indicated that it will publish a Communication on food security on 23 March, according to a provisional timetable.
With a few exceptions, the delegations in the SCA broadly supported the package announced by the Commission. EU countries also generally supported the French EU Presidency’s idea of using set-aside land to intensify protein crop production in the EU.
Some delegations expressed doubts about the possibility of achieving the targets of the ‘European Green Deal’, on the grounds that the ambitious targets could further damage the EU’s capacity to produce food.
A call was made by delegations for the EU to focus urgently on finding ways to reduce its dependence on certain third countries for certain products.
Grain imports, particularly from Russia and Ukraine, are currently at a standstill.
The Agriculture Council on 21 March will take stock of the exceptional measures related to the war in Ukraine. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)