The EU agriculture ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday 18 November under the chairmanship of Hungary’s István Nagy to assess the market situation, particularly with regard to the effects of imports of Ukrainian products into Europe.
The Ukrainian Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food, Vitalii Koval, will join the ministers before their discussion and will set out the situation regarding the agricultural sector in Ukraine in the context of the war launched by Russia.
During the European ministers’ debate on the markets (at which point the Ukrainian minister will not be present in the room), it is highly likely that the subject of the embargoes imposed by certain EU countries (such as Poland) on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products will be tabled. EU countries are ready to help Ukraine, but want the interests of EU farmers to be taken into account.
Evaluation report. Following a series of discussions between experts that have been organised by the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council since July on the main sectors (the dairy sector, the pig and poultry sectors, the beef, sheep and goat meat sectors, the cereal, oilseed and sugar sectors, the wine sector and, lastly, on the fruit and vegetable, apiculture and olive sectors), the ministers will read a working document (https://aeur.eu/f/ec2 ) from the Hungarian Presidency of the Council summarising these exchanges of views.
In summary, the Member States believe that the support measures provided by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are effective, but that the increasing frequency and complexity of different crises (climatic, health, economic, etc.) require risk management mechanisms that are more flexible and better adapted to the challenges. Several tools are available: exceptional measures under the regulation on the common market organisation (Articles 219 to 222), public intervention and aid for private storage, rural development measures, etc. The agricultural reserve (€450 million per year) provides budgetary support to deal with crisis situations.
At the meeting of the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) on 11 November, the European Commission pointed to signs of a return to normal after months of disruption: food inflation has stabilised at around 2%, price levels are in line with historical averages, producer margins are improving and input prices are more reasonable. Concerns remain, however, in relation to the fruit and vegetable sector and the cereals sector. Cereal production has dropped to its lowest level since 2007. As far as fruit and vegetables are concerned, apple production is being affected by the climate.
Animal diseases are also a cause for concern, in particular bluetongue virus.
In addition, the High Level Group on Wine Policy – who look at the future of the wine sector – is due to present recommendations at the end of the year on how to adjust production potential to changes in demand and how to exploit market opportunities.
Finally, on the international trade front, the European Commission is closely monitoring the series of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations launched by China.
Ukrainian honey. Bulgaria, with the support of Romania, will be requesting (under ‘other business’) that the EU adopt protective measures regarding imports of Ukrainian honey into these two countries. “The unprecedented high levels of imports from Ukraine place producers of honey in Bulgaria and Romania in a difficult situation. This creates conditions for decreased viability of farms in the sector, which plays an important role in providing alternative employment for the population in least developed rural areas”, according to a note put forward by these countries (https://aeur.eu/f/eb9 ).
Plant proteins. In a note (https://aeur.eu/f/eba ), a number of countries are calling for a European protein strategy that focuses, among other things, on boosting sustainable national production of plant-based protein products that are produced to high European standards.
EAFRD. In order to facilitate the implementation of European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) appropriations under the CAP strategic plans, a group of countries (https://aeur.eu/f/ebb ) is going to ask the European Commission to also implement the N+3 rule (instead of the N+2 rule) for the 2023–2027 CAP strategic plan, as was done during the 2014–2022 period.
Fisheries. The EU Council will hold an initial exchange of views on fisheries opportunities in the Atlantic and the North Sea for 2025 (see EUROPE 13519/25) and in the Mediterranean and Black Seas (see EUROPE 13483/10). This discussion, which follows on from the publication of the Commission’s proposals, is intended to prepare the ground for the decisions to be taken at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in December, where fisheries ministers are expected to reach a political agreement on fisheries opportunities for 2025. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)