On Tuesday 10 January, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on its draft proposal for guidelines on how to design sustainability agreements in agriculture (‘guidelines’) using the new exclusion from EU competition rules introduced under the recent reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
In particular, the draft guidelines (https://aeur.eu/f/4u8 ): - define the scope of the exclusion. The exclusion only concerns agreements concluded by agricultural producers, whether between themselves or with other actors in the agri-food chain, such as companies supplying inputs for the production, distribution, transport or packaging of the product. Agreements concluded solely between operators in the agri-food supply chain without the involvement of agricultural producers cannot benefit from the exclusion, even where the agreement concerns an agricultural product; - define the eligible sustainability objectives (environmental protection, reduction in the use of pesticides, etc.); - set requirements for sustainability standards; and - set the test to identify indispensable restrictions to competition.
The Commission will make any necessary changes to ensure that the guidelines are in place by 8 December 2023. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)