EU agriculture ministers will be meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 25 July to discuss the situation on the markets, which have been destabilised by the effects of the war in Ukraine declared by Russia.
Discussions are expected to focus on the non-renewal of the international Black Sea agreement, which facilitated grain exports from Ukraine.
The Spanish minister, Luis Planas, who is chairing the EU Council, has already publicly denounced Russia’s decision to terminate the agreement.
At the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) on 17 July, most delegations expressed their concerns about the expiry of the agreement in question. In particular, they advised finding alternative solutions and strengthening the ‘solidarity lanes’ created to help Ukraine export its agricultural products.
Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia will also be discussing the effects of Ukrainian imports on agricultural markets. In particular, these countries are asking for the ban on imports of four types of cereal to be extended beyond 15 October (until June 2024, according to some of these countries) (see EUROPE 13226/24).
Romania will also provide the EU Council with information (https://aeur.eu/f/86a ) on the negative consequences for the country’s farmers of the war, adverse weather conditions and high input prices. It will ask the Commission to renew the derogations under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2024. These are Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) 7 (crop rotation) and 8 (minimum proportion of arable land devoted to non-productive areas and features).
Cereal stocks. The EU Council will also review cereal stocks. In a 17 July note on the world market situation, the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council stated that “due to the reduction in stocks, combined with uncertainty over the renewal of the Black Sea cereals corridor agreement, volatility will continue to prevail on world cereals markets”.
A European regulation on the notification of stock levels of cereals, oilseeds and rice provides for the obligation to communicate this information to the European Commission from July 2022. Ministers are invited to share information on their crop estimates for 2023 and on their experiences with the new system for monitoring cereal stocks. At the SCA, the Commission deplored the fact that a third of Member States do not send data on stocks, “which clearly hampers our efforts to take the most appropriate political decisions”.
NGT, seeds and pesticides. The ministers will also have an exchange of views on the proposal opening the door to the development of new genomic techniques (NGT) (see EUROPE 13216/1). The Commission will present (under other business) the proposal concerning plant reproductive material.
On the basis of the information provided by the Commission, the ministers will hold an exchange of views on the study completing the impact assessment of the proposal on the sustainable use of pesticides.
Africa. The ministers will be briefed on the main results of the 5th African Union-European Union Agricultural Ministerial Conference , held in Rome on 30 June, the central theme of which was ‘Resilient food systems and sustainable agri value chains’.
Lastly, Luis Planas will present the main priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council with regard to agriculture and fisheries, in the run-up to the Spanish general elections on Sunday 23 July. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)