EU agriculture ministers will be meeting in Brussels on Monday 26 January to discuss their priorities for the bioeconomy and the proposal to revise certain rules on organic farming.
Maria Panayiotou, Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, will present the work programme of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council in the fields of agriculture and fisheries (see EUROPE 13781/13).
During their working lunch, ministers will discuss the launch of the Imports Control Task Force on the control of imports of agricultural products (see EUROPE 13781/4).
Organics. The Council will examine the proposal to amend the regulation on organic farming (see EUROPE 13788/4). The Cyprus Presidency hopes that the Council will adopt its position by the end of June, with a view to reaching an agreement with the European Parliament before the end of 2026.
Bioeconomy. Following a presentation by the Commission, ministers will discuss the European Bioeconomy Strategy, based on the communication of 27 November 2025 (see EUROPE 13774/16). This Strategy aims to stimulate innovation, support European businesses in the green transition and reduce the pressure on natural resources.
Responsible use of biomass is identified as a priority for long-term competitiveness.
This exchange of views by agriculture ministers will feed into the work of the ‘Environment’ Council, which is due to adopt conclusions on the European Bioeconomy Strategy on 17 March.
Trade. During one of the many ‘any other business’ items (thirteen at this stage), Poland, supported by Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, will call for measures to protect sensitive agricultural sectors in the context of trade agreements with third countries. These countries are calling for the inclusion of permanent bilateral safeguard clauses tailored to their specific agricultural needs. They stress the importance of aligning import requirements with EU production standards, particularly in terms of food safety, animal welfare and sustainability. They are calling for an analysis of the cumulative impact of trade concessions on sensitive agricultural sectors. They propose the creation of a fund to compensate for any losses incurred by the agricultural sector as a result of these agreements.
See the Polish note: https://aeur.eu/f/kd8
Austria will ask the European Commission to immediately suspend the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for fertilisers (see EUROPE 13791/11).
In another ‘any other business’ item from the Cyprus Presidency of the Council and the Commission devoted to food safety, ministers are expected to advocate a controlled opening of markets to third countries, with safeguards to protect sensitive sectors and reciprocity requirements in terms of health and environmental standards (see EUROPE 13789/12).
Milk. Hungary, supported by Poland, Romania and Slovakia, will address the crisis in the European dairy market, marked by very low milk prices. These countries are calling for measures at EU level to stabilise the sector, including temporary private storage of cheese and butter. The Commission is invited to consider the use of the crisis reserve to support the dairy market (https://aeur.eu/f/kd9 ).
In another ‘any other business’ item, Italy will be advocating an “extraordinary European plan” to deal with the crisis in the dairy sector.
Germany will raise the issue of marketing standards for poultry meat.
Austria will be calling for urgent action to protect EU agriculture.
Origin of products. Nine countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain) will be calling (https://aeur.eu/f/keb ) on the Commission to rapidly revise Regulation 1169/2011 on consumer information, with a view to extending compulsory origin labelling to a greater number of food products. The Member States concerned (France is at the origin of this ‘any other business’ item) are calling for the precise country of origin to be indicated rather than generic ‘EU’ or ‘non-EU’ indications, in order to better meet expectations of transparency.
Slovenia will be calling for animal welfare to remain a visible priority in the Commission’s work programme from 2026 and beyond, particularly with regard to fur farming (https://aeur.eu/f/ke0 ).
At the Council, Commissioner for Health, Olivér Várhelyi, will present the simplification package related to food and feed safety legislation.
Malta will be talking about storm damage to agriculture and fisheries.
Fisheries. A number of ‘any other business’ items are planned: - need for urgent EU action on North-East Atlantic mackerel (Ireland); - difficulties in implementing the Control Regulation and in using the CATCH system (Spain); - actions to improve the multiannual plan for demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean (Spain). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)