On Tuesday 10 December, the European Commission adopted proposals aimed at strengthening the position of farmers in the agri-food supply chain.
The proposals, which stem from the farmers’ crisis and the results of the strategic dialogue on the future of European agriculture (see EUROPE 13475/1), amend the regulation on the common market organisation (CMO) of agricultural products and concern a new regulation on cross-border enforcement against unfair trading practices.
The targeted amendments to the provisions of the CMO regulation are specifically aimed at strengthening the position of farmers in the agri-food supply chain and restoring the trust between actors, by:
- enhancing rules for contracts between farmers and buyers, making written contracts a general obligation and improving the way long-term contracts take into account market developments and fluctuations of costs and economic conditions;
- making the establishment of mediation mechanisms between farmers and their buyers mandatory;
- boosting producer organisations and their associations by improving their bargaining power, allowing Member States to grant them more financial support under Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) sectoral interventions and simplifying the rules on their legal recognition;
- allowing the EU to financially support producer organisations that would take private initiatives to manage crises;
- defining when optional terms like ‘fair’, ‘equitable’ and ‘short supply chains’ can be used to describe the organisation of the supply chain when marketing agricultural products;
- expanding the possibility for farmers and other actors to agree on sustainability initiatives with certain social dimensions (supporting generational renewal, preserving the viability of small farms, improving working conditions for farmers and farm workers).
See the CMO proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/eqj
In parallel, the Commission is proposing new rules on cross-border enforcement against unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain, which are prohibited by the directive. On average, around 20% of the agricultural and food products consumed in a Member State come from another Member State.
There is a need to enhance the cooperation of national enforcement authorities, notably by improving the exchange of information, investigations and collection of penalties.
Today’s proposal on cross-border enforcement against unfair trading practices will further strengthen the enforcement of existing rules in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain by supporting transnational enforcement.
The proposal introduces procedural rules on how this cooperation in cross-border cases would be performed and achieved.
By setting up a mutual assistance mechanism, national enforcement authorities will have the possibility to ask for and exchange information and request another enforcement authority to take enforcement measures on their behalf. This approach would allow enforcement authorities to agree on launching a coordinated action whenever there is reasonable suspicion of widespread unfair trading practices with a cross-border dimension.
Such investigations will enhance EU-level protection for farmers and small and medium-sized suppliers against unfair trade practices in the agri-food supply chain at EU level.
See the proposal on unfair trade: https://aeur.eu/f/eqk (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)