To preserve food security in the context of the war in Ukraine, a majority of the members of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee called for the European Commission to examine the possibility of temporary derogations from the rules on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on Wednesday 18 May.
In a letter to Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, Committee Chair Norbert Lins (EPP, Germany) and the majority of its political groups call on the European Commission to assess the possibility of providing for derogations from the CAP in light of the war unleashed by Russia (see EUROPE 12954/13).
These derogations “could be a way to counter global shortages in food supply and to make a contribution to food security” for a limited period of time, the letter says.
The derogations would be taken under Article 148 of the CAP Strategic Plan Regulation, providing for implementing acts of the European Commission which are both necessary and justifiable in cases of urgency.
The letter refers to the last meeting of the G7 Agriculture Ministers, where the CAP derogations were discussed informally.
On 24 March, the European Parliament called for the use of fallow land for protein crop production in 2022 and for allowing some “temporary and short-term flexibility of conditions and derogations”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)