EU agriculture ministers are meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 13 June to discuss reciprocity of standards between European and imported products and to raise concerns about the future proposal for a regulation intended to reduce the use of pesticides in the EU.
This was the French priority in terms of agriculture for the first half of 2022: advancing the debate on the imposition of mirror clauses on products that are imported into the EU. In a report published on 3 June, the European Commission admits that arrangements can be made “on a case-by-case basis” in compliance with WTO rules. However, a number of Member States are reluctant to do so (see EUROPE 12965/22).
Pesticides. Since the European Commission is due to present its proposal on 22 June for a regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides (with a target to reduce pesticide use and risks by 50% by 2030), ten Central and Eastern European Member States will present a joint paper (https://aeur.eu/f/21y ) calling for the current difference in use between countries to be taken into account when drafting this new legislation.
Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia are all of the opinion that “the contribution of each Member State to achieving the 50% reduction target for pesticide use should take into account the intensity of pesticide use in each Member State”.
They also note the need to take into account food security issues in the context of the war in Ukraine.
“Setting an obligation to act rather than an obligation to achieve a target will ensure that the legislation is better implemented”, they said. The ten Member States want the National Action Plans to be based on sound scientific and statistical principles and to take into account the principles of Integrated Pest Management, as well as “the availability of economically and technically justified non-chemical measures, alternatives to chemical treatments, crop structures and expected changes as a result of climate change and pests that are present in the territory of the Member State in question”.
Finally, they have warned that any proposal to ban the use of pesticides in Natura 2000 areas (as foreseen by the European Commission) “could only be justified if the negative impact of agricultural production on specific protected species or habitats is scientifically proven”.
The EU Council will discuss proposals for revising the geographical indications policy. The transfer of responsibility to the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) as proposed by the European Commission is of concern to several delegations (see EUROPE 12967/22).
Markets. The European Commission will again review the situation of EU agricultural markets in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the Commission, the situation is generally favourable despite exceptional circumstances including the threat of famine in West Africa, soaring input prices with no prospect of improvement, and consumer price inflation.
Croatia is set to discuss the recent weather conditions (thunderstorms and hail) and their impact on the agricultural sector. Finally, the European Commission will inform Member States about how the African swine fever epizootic is evolving.
Fisheries. Ministers will be briefed by the European Commission on its communication on the status of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and its implementation, which is scheduled for the end of 2022. The Commission will inform Ministers about the programming process of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), which entered into force on 14 July 2021 (see EUROPE 12965/37). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)