The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, said, on Thursday 23 March, that in this crisis situation (war in Ukraine), “the European food system is working relatively well”.
He responded to a question from Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italian), who considered that the Commission was a little too optimistic about the situation of agricultural markets in the EU.
The Commissioner for Agriculture was participating in a structured dialogue in the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture. He confirmed that the Commission would present, in the autumn, a Communication on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with a focus on food security.
Concerning the situation of the milk market, mentioned in particular by Ulrike Müller (Renew Europe, German), the Commissioner for Agriculture acknowledged that problems exist in Lithuania and Latvia (price drops), “but the other European countries have not expressed the will to trigger crisis measures”, he said, in view of the debates at the EU ‘Agriculture’ Council on Monday 20 March. The drop in milk prices in these two countries should be transitory, predicted Wojciechowski.
Crisis reserve. He also justified the choice of countries (Poland, Romania, Bulgaria) that will benefit from the agricultural crisis reserve because of the increase in imports of Ukrainian agricultural products (see EUROPE 13145/11).
For Romania, there is no such increase in stocks, but the country plays an important role in the ‘solidarity lanes’, the Commissioner justified. Prices are not directly dependent on Ukrainian imports, he commented. It is mainly Ukrainian maize that is experiencing an increase in imports, he said.
Wojciechowski recalled the possibilities offered by State aid and indicated that he did not exclude future decisions on the mobilisation of the crisis reserve.
He acknowledged the difficult situation of farmers in other countries (Slovakia, Hungary) who, for the time being, are not affected by the decisions on the crisis reserve.
He declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations on the EU/Mercosur free trade agreement.
Pesticides. The Commission responded, on 22 March, to the EU Council decision requesting further data on the impact of the Regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides on food safety (see EUROPE 13147/11). In its letter, the Commission commits itself, “in a spirit of sincere cooperation and on an exceptional basis”, to provide additional information on the basis of available evidence and data, as soon as it is available, “in the course of spring of 2023”.
Link to this letter: https://aeur.eu/f/5yv (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)