European agriculture ministers will meet in Brussels on Tuesday, 26 May, under the chairmanship of Cypriot Maria Panayiotou to discuss the measures that the European Commission has proposed in its Fertiliser Action Plan, which was presented on 19 May.
European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen will present a broad outline of this plan before an initial round of comments from Member States (see EUROPE 13870/2). The discussions are notably expected to focus on the timeline and implementing rules for the immediate measures proposed, specifically the use of the agricultural reserve in the event of a crisis, as well as support for fertiliser production in the EU, the diversification of supply sources, and the promotion of alternatives to chemical fertilisers.
The European Commission is also planning a legislative package related to common agricultural policy (CAP) rules—so as to give Member States more flexibility to redirect unused funds, advance CAP payments, and develop or adapt eco-schemes and agri-environmental measures—with the aim of promoting more efficient and sustainable fertilisation.
In addition, the action plan emphasises reducing dependency on synthetic fertilisers by encouraging the use of digestates, organic alternatives, and nutrient-efficient farming practices while allowing Member States to adapt how the Nitrates Directive is applied to their national conditions.
Trade. Based on information provided by the European Commission, the Agriculture Council will also hold an exchange of views on trade-related agricultural issues, including those connected with free trade agreements concluded or under negotiation with third countries (see EUROPE 13873/3).
Miscellaneous items. Several other topics will be on the agenda:
- Austria, France, and Italy will present proposals to support European agriculture, which is considered to be “under massive pressure”, particularly where origin labelling for agricultural products is concerned (see EUROPE 13871/21);
- Slovakia will ask for support (crisis reserve) due to the unprecedented situation faced by its agricultural sector, which has been hit by an extreme drought (note: https://aeur.eu/f/m00 );
- Austria will discuss the classification of soya under the framework of the Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) methodology (https://aeur.eu/f/m01 );
- Lithuania will request support specifically for the dairy sector;
- Bulgaria and five other countries will request a derogation from the N+2 budgetary rule (https://aeur.eu/f/lzz ); and
- Sweden will raise the issue of sustainable forest management, calling for the duplication of criteria and indicators to be avoided.
Finally, in the fisheries sector, the Czech Republic will advocate taking a joint approach to cope with the impact of fish-eating predators, specifically the great cormorant. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)