The EU’s agriculture ministers will be meeting in Brussels on Monday 20 November to debate the proposal for a framework for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) and adopt conclusions on the implementation of the long-term vision in rural areas.
France, along with other countries, will once again be pushing for the renewal, at least in part, of the derogations granted for the last two years on the use of set-aside land.
NGTs. Chaired by the Spanish Minister Luis Planas, the EU ‘Agriculture’ Council will review the progress of negotiations on the proposal to facilitate the use of NGTs (see EUROPE 13292/14). In a note prepared for the EU Council debate, the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council stresses that Member States are generally in favour of the approach of creating two categories of NGTs.
Nevertheless, some delegations expressed concern about the coexistence of plants derived from genomic selection techniques with organic production and the absence of a provision allowing Member States to prohibit their cultivation on their territory.
Croatia will be insisting (in a related ‘other business’ item) on four key points in the text: the freedom to prohibit NGT cultivation, product labelling and consumer information, the maintenance of organic farming free of NGTs, and the issue of patents.
To see the Croatian note: https://aeur.eu/f/9m2
Madrid also indicates that it will be necessary to include provisions to encourage the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises and national research centres, while guaranteeing consumer safety and choice.
Germany has commented on the issue of patents (https://aeur.eu/f/9m3 ) for these new genomic techniques.
Following the EU ‘Agriculture’ Council on 20 November, the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council will present new revised compromise texts on the proposal at the EU Council working group meeting on 27 and 28 November.
The aim is to get the agriculture ministers to agree on a general approach at their last meeting of the year on 11 December in Brussels.
Rural areas. The EU Council will adopt conclusions (https://aeur.eu/f/9m4 ) on a long-term vision for rural areas. Two years after the publication of the Communication, delegations are expected to call on the European Commission to put in place an EU rural strategy that would address the different challenges and diversity of the EU’s rural areas while maximising their potential and opportunities. Approved by Member State experts at the meeting of the Special Committee on Agriculture on 14 November, the aim of this text is to assess the effectiveness of the measures and provide political guidance on the way forward.
These conclusions will also feed into the Commission’s assessment report on the subject, currently being prepared and scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.
In a note (https://aeur.eu/f/9m0 ), Italy, supported by France, Austria, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Poland and Romania, points out that farmers play a central role in the vitality of these rural areas thanks to a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with sufficient financial resources, in particular to maintain production in areas with natural constraints. The eight Member States are also calling for a reassessment of the status on protection of wolves, and for an assessment of the overall impact of Green Deal measures on food security in the EU.
Derogations from CAP rules. France (supported by Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia) should once again ask the European Commission to extend, at least partially, until 2024 the derogations granted for the last two years to the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions 8 (GAEC 8) rule on the use of set-aside land in order to stimulate production in the context of the war in Ukraine (https://aeur.eu/f/9lz ).
The French minister, Marc Fesneau, has been pushing for months with several of his counterparts to ensure that this renewal is achieved in one way or another.
But the Commission has so far opposed this, arguing that the derogation could not be introduced for three consecutive years.
Forests. The EU Council will receive an update from the Commission on the implementation of the EU Forestry Strategy for 2030. The Austrian delegation will discuss the ‘For Forest’ group. Germany will ask the Commission (https://aeur.eu/f/9m1 ) for details of the overall strategic framework for cooperation with third countries that the Commission is putting in place to support the application of the regulation on imported deforestation. “Reactions from producing countries underline the expectation towards the Commission and Member States to provide support to create enabling framework conditions for producers to comply with the new requirements”, insists Berlin, which says that this cooperation is essential if the objectives of the text are to be achieved.
Fisheries. The EU Council will hold an initial exchange of views on two Commission proposals on fishing opportunities, namely the proposal on total allowable catches (TACs) for 2024 in the Atlantic and North Sea (see EUROPE 13279/15 and updates to the proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/9m5 ; https://aeur.eu/f/9m6 ) and the proposal on catch limits in the Mediterranean and Black Sea (see EUROPE 13268/8). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)