On Wednesday 12 November, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament made timid progress in their negotiations on amending the Common Market Organisation (CMO) regulation.
During this second trilogue on the text, the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU reaffirmed the importance of this dossier, which aims to meet the farmers’ most urgent needs and strengthen their position in the food supply chain. The Danish Presidency of the EU Council hopes that the two institutions will reach agreement on the new rules by the end of 2025 (see EUROPE 13730/12).
The co-legislators addressed the following points: - short circuits (including delegated or implementing acts); - an increase in investment support to 70% for young farmers in producer organisations (POs); - contractual obligations and the inversion of the buyer/supplier obligation (mandatory content in written contracts, contractual obligations and exemptions for producer organisations and cooperatives); - the mediation mechanism.
An agreement in principle has apparently been reached between the EU Council and the European Parliament on short distribution channels and increasing investment support to 70% for young farmers. With regard to contractual obligations and the inversion of the buyer/supplier obligation, political guidelines have been given to guide negotiations at a technical level. With regard to the mediation mechanism, political guidance was also provided to continue the work at a technical level.
The main areas of disagreement therefore remain on the table. The issue of written contracts (their mandatory nature and possible exemptions) is still at the heart of the discussions. The same applies to a number of provisions not included in the Commission’s initial proposal, such as the protection of names reserved for meat. Parliament wants to reserve the names ‘steak’, ‘cutlet’, ‘sausage’ or ‘hamburger’ exclusively for products containing meat.
A forthcoming trilogue is scheduled to take place on 10 December. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)