The EU agriculture ministers have given a favourable reception to the proposal for a framework directive on waste, said Luis Planas, current President of the EU Council, on Monday 23 October.
In July, the Commission presented a proposal to amend the Waste Framework Directive, including legally binding targets, to reduce food waste. The proposal does not include targets for the primary production stage.
The ‘Agriculture’ Council discussed the agricultural aspects of the proposal.
Luis Planas pointed out that “we have made an international commitment to achieve our targets” for reducing food waste. “The proposal is a good starting point for harmonising our approach”, he added.
The proposal sets targets for reducing food waste at Member State level, to be achieved by 31 December 2030 at the latest: at the processing stage (a 10% reduction on the volume generated in 2020) and at the retail and distribution, restaurant and household stages (a total reduction of 30%).
Some ministers, including France’s Marc Fesneau, pointed out that the proposal should also include primary production. One third of food waste occurs at production level in France, said Mr Fesneau.
The targets must be realistic, warned Sweden, which, like others, asked that the efforts already made at national level be taken into account.
Several delegations (France, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, etc.) questioned the choice of the 2020 date (during Covid-19). Stella Kyriakides, the Commissioner for Health, defended this choice.
Several ministers had asked to focus on labelling and expiry or use-by dates, and on the methodology used for reduction targets. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)