| New ge(NO?)mic techniques. There will be two key votes on the next steps for the EU’s plan to loosen the rules on the use of new genetic techniques next week. Over in the Council, the Spanish Presidency hopes to seal the deal on a general approach in the next meeting of EU ministers, set for Monday (11 December) – but, according to sources, it will be touch and go whether there is enough support for the position. At least nine member states have “explicitly or implicitly” spoken out against the general approach, according to multiple sources close to the matter. These include Poland, Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Hungary, Malta, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Meanwhile, the majority of those in favour of the text have also stated they cannot make further concessions to opponents. However, the vote must pass by a qualified majority, meaning a combination of 55% of member states vote in favour (or against) – in practice, 15 out of 27 – as well as member states representing at least 65% of the total EU population. This means the vote hinges on EU juggernaut Germany – and it is highly likely that it will choose to abstain, according to sources, given a divide between the country’s green-led agriculture ministry and its liberal research and science ministry. Meanwhile, over in the European Parliament, the agriculture committee is also gearing up to vote on its opinion on the matter on Monday. While the committee is not the lead on the file, it does share competence on several key areas of the file, including on the status of category 1 NGT plants. Strategic dialogue. Addressing EU agrifood stakeholders at the EU executive’s agricultural outlook conference on Wednesday (6 December), European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen confirmed that her long-awaited strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture, which she unveiled in September to foster “more dialogue and less polarisation”, will be launched in January. According to the president, this will involve the full range of agrifood actors, and will orient around several core questions, including ways to support rural communities and ensure a fair standard of living for them, as well as supporting agriculture “within the boundaries of our planet and its ecosystem”. She also announced that the EU executive plans to put forward an initiative on EU biotech and biomanufacturing in the spring of next year in efforts to boost a “crucial industrial sector in the midst of the global technology race”. For EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, the dialogue will also help set the course of discussions on the shape of the future Common Agricultural Policy, including budgetary discussions and the possibility of a third pillar for crisis intervention. Agriculture’s crystal ball. The European Commission anticipates more price volatility, fewer and larger farms and less diversity in European agriculture over the next decade, according to the findings of a report published on Thursday (7 December). “We need to pay particular attention to food affordability in the coming years,” an EU official told journalists on the sidelines of the EU executive’s agricultural outlook conference on Wednesday (6 December). Climate change was found to be one of the main drivers of change in the outlook, causing shifts in land use and volatility in yields. The report found that water scarcity in the EU is unlikely to reduce by 2030, leading to increased competition and more frequent restrictions on water use. The EU official also added that the Commission expects production to move “to the north[ern] part of Europe (…) in the next decade”. According to the report, other sources of uncertainty include “geopolitical conflicts and certain free-trade agreements under negotiation”, which could change the course of EU’s trade relations. Data suggests a significant increase in poultry imports from Ukraine after the EU lifted restrictions on Ukrainian goods in June 2022 following Russia’s invasion of the country. The European Commission recently acknowledged “some risk” of imports driving down prices and threatening local production of poultry, eggs and sugar. Meanwhile, in terms of the structure of the agriculture sector, the report found that 52% of the EU’s agricultural land in 2020 was in the hands of farms larger than 100 hectares, and the trend is for farm sizes to continue to increase. “Diversity has reduced over the last decades (…) we have larger and larger farms,” the EU official said. Animal welfare ‘package’. The European Commission has put forward its proposals for stricter rules on animal transport and pets. The proposals come in lieu of the comprehensive overhaul of all EU animal welfare legislation that the Commission had originally promised as part of the Farm to Fork Strategy but has now given up on tabling before the end of the mandate next year. “The work is ongoing,” Šefčovič told a press conference when asked about the omission of large parts of the originally envisaged package. “We have to realise that it is extremely technical and demanding.” However, since the EU executive does not plan to make further proposals on animal welfare before next June’s EU election, it will be up to the next Commission to decide anew about when and which initiatives should be tabled. But campaigners have lambasted a number of loopholes, while large parts of the originally envisaged animal welfare overhaul have been left to the next mandate. See here for the details about the conditions proposed by the Commission. Fur farming. The Commission also responded this week to a European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Fur Free Europe’, in which more than 1.5 million citizens called on the EU to ban fur farming and the placement of farmed fur products on the market. Despite the staunch support for the move, the Commission decided not to take action on the matter at this time, instead tasking the EU Food Safety Authority EFSA with “a scientific opinion on the welfare of animals farmed for fur”. A decision on legislative action is then set to be taken on the basis of this opinion, but this is not expected to be finalised by March 2025. Antitrust guidelines. The European Commission adopted guidelines on how to design sustainability agreements in the field of agriculture. While agreements between companies that restrict competition, such as those between competitors that lead to higher prices or lower quantities, are generally prohibited, there are certain exceptions for the agricultural sector when related to sustainability. The guidelines are therefore intended to help operators active in the agri-food sector to design joint sustainability initiatives. | 