The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, refused, on Monday 10 February in Strasbourg in front of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture, to add measures for wine to the recent proposal amending the common organisation of the market (see EUROPE 13557/14).
However, he announced that he would be presenting - in March, if possible - proposals on wine based on the recommendations of the High-Level Group on Wine (see EUROPE 13546/10).
Wine. At a meeting devoted to proposals on how to empower farmers in the food supply chain (CMO and unfair trade practices), Commissioner Hansen said: “The Commission is very keen to propose a package of specific measures for the wine sector, to provide immediate responses (to the problems) without waiting for the CAP reform”. Referring to the internal procedures required, he added that he hoped to be able to” put forward a proposal very soon and possibly already in March”.
MEPs welcomed the announcement of such proposals. “The wine sector is under pressure. Consumer behaviour is changing and, as a result, I think it's important that we act quickly”, explained Mr Hansen.
Responding to a question from Elsi Katainen (Renew Europe, Finnish), who regretted the lack of an impact study accompanying the proposals (CMO and unfair trade practices), the Commissioner promised to present a working document from his services on the changes to the CMO in the near future. As far as unfair trade practices are concerned, this text comes under the heading of better regulation, so there is no need for an impact study, in his view.
Unfair trade practices. Several MEPs claimed that measures were needed to prevent products having to be sold below a production price. However, according to Commissioner Hansen, it is difficult to establish the production cost of a product, which differs from country to country and even from farm to farm. He welcomed the ideas for fair prices, “but I believe that the contracts that will be concluded will already be fair, because the farmer knows what the harvest was in previous years, what the input costs are and what the margins are to be able to make a living from this production”, explained Mr Hansen.
Gilles Pennelle (PfE, French), who called for the suspension of the European Green Deal, the end of free trade agreements and the defence of Community preference, advocated a ban on the sale of agricultural products at a loss and the setting of minimum prices to cover production costs.
CMO. Mr Hansen defended his proposal that every delivery of agricultural products should be subject to a written contract. “I know that some people might argue that a written contract is cumbersome, but on the other hand, it doesn’t have to be a fifteen-page contract. It can be as simple as an e-mail. There is a revision clause in this contract”, stressed the Commissioner, in response to questions from Cristina Maestre (S&D, Spanish).
The proposal authorises recognised associations of producer organisations (POs) to negotiate contractual terms on behalf of their members, provided in particular that the volume of products covered by the association's activities does not exceed 33% of the total national production of a given Member State. This percentage of 33% poses a problem for several MEPs, including Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italian) and Éric Sargiacomo (S&D, French), who mentioned the banana sector. The Commissioner replied that existing POs were not affected by this ceiling.
Several MEPs, including Mr Sargiacomo, said that the proposed text on non-recognised POs risked destabilising existing POs or leading to the creation of POs managed by large agri-food companies.
Lastly, the Commissioner promised a new package to simplify the rules of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), to be presented in the second quarter of 2025 (see EUROPE 13566/10). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)