In the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) on Monday 7 November, experts from EU countries discussed the European Commission’s decision to join the Sustainable Productivity Growth Coalition set up by the US.
The Commission joined the coalition in May 2022 in its own capacity, and the question is whether the Council of the EU considers this coalition to be political. If this is the case, the Commission should instead join it on behalf of the Union, according to the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The Commission representative said that thirty such coalitions are currently ongoing at international level. The Commission decided to join eight of them.
These coalitions are not discussion forums for governments or states, but rather open forums where public actors act together with private actors. They are therefore also open to NGOs and universities. Participants have exchanged ideas on very practical examples of sustainable food production, especially in Africa.
The EU Council’s Legal Service was asked about this matter. The main question, it said, is whether this is a coalition that the Commission should have joined on its own or one that the Commission should have asked the EU Council to join on behalf of the EU. The Commission is authorised to enter into commitments vis-a-vis other actors when it comes to administrative arrangements. The EU Council’s Legal Service said that the Commission cannot enter into political arrangements: only the Union can do so. According to the Legal Service, there is a political commitment to the goal that this coalition has committed to achieve, namely productivity growth.
Counter-proposal? The delegations to the SCA took the floor to thank the EU Council’s Legal Service for its analysis of the issue and stated that they would present this advice to the national experts. Some delegations (e.g. Finland, Romania and Slovakia) stated, however, that in their view this coalition was much more than just an administrative matter and that membership of the coalition should take place in accordance with the rules of procedure.
Some delegations (e.g. Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia and Portugal) asked for clarifications about the link between the coalition’s objectives and those contained in the Commission’s Farm to Fork strategy, arguing that the coalition’s objectives could be considered a ‘counter-proposal’.
Delegations also asked for clarification on the participation of Member States in these coalitions and on how they will be consulted in the future.
More information on this coalition: https://aeur.eu/f/3xn (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)