EU agriculture ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday 21 November to discuss, among other things, proposed measures to facilitate the availability of fertilisers for agricultural production.
The main issue of this Council chaired by Zdeněk Nekula, Czech minister of agriculture, will be the reaction of Member States to the European Commission’s communication of 9 November on fertilisers (see EUROPE 13060/5).
In addition, the Spanish delegation will inform ministers about the need to ensure the availability and affordability of fertilisers as a key element for food security.
The Commission presented the communication on fertilisers on 15 November in the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA).
Overall, the Member States’ delegations responded favourably to the communication. They welcomed the emphasis on promoting more sustainable production and strategic autonomy for the fertiliser sector in order to reduce dependencies on third countries, including Russia.
Delegations also welcomed the use of organic fertilisers. However, some delegations stressed the need for short-term measures and financial resources beyond the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). They also stressed that the CAP strategic plans could not be changed for short-term measures.
Countries were divided on the idea of using the reserve for agricultural crises in 2023. Taxes on windfall profits in the fertiliser sector were also mentioned by some delegations as a potentially effective way to help farmers. Some delegations also recalled the need to work towards a plant protein strategy at EU level.
Forests. On 15 November 2021, agriculture ministers approved conclusions on the new EU Forest Strategy 2030 and invited the Commission to report annually to the Council on its implementation.
Ministers are expected to review the progress made so far in implementing the strategy and exchange views on measures taken at EU and national level. They should also call for forest data collection to be adapted to national circumstances and for a coherent EU forest governance framework.
Nature. The European Commission will address the agricultural, forestry and maritime aspects of the proposed nature restoration regulation. A Commission document has been published to guide the discussions in the Council (https://aeur.eu/f/42w ).
In addition, the ministers will discuss the results of the EU conference on the bioeconomy, which took place in Brussels on 6 and 7 October.
Energy transition for fisheries and aquaculture. The Commission will inform ministers (https://aeur.eu/f/42x ) about concrete measures to promote the energy transition of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors.
Another topic of discussion is the measures presented by the Commission to develop and strengthen sustainable production in the algae sector (see EUROPE 13063/21). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)