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Thu 14 November 2024| View online Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes |
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| | | EPP clinches narrow majority to delay EUDR for two years |
| A proposal by the European People’s Party (EPP) to delay the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by two years, rather than one, may pass in today’s vote at the Parliament’s ‘mini-plenary’ in Brussels, with support from far-right parties. The two-year delay is part of 15 EPP amendments introduced last week, aimed at modifying key aspects of the regulation, including exempting traders from compliance and creating a "no-risk" category for countries with no deforestation.
Check out Sofia’s story here - or listen to her podcast episode with Giada (see below). Far-right support. An ECR spokesperson confirmed yesterday (13 November) their support for the two-year delay. However, they noted they would support the Commission’s one-year delay if the EPP amendment does not pass. PfE, also indicated potential support for the EPP’s amendments, though unanimity within the group is not guaranteed, with some members preferring the one-year delay, a group source told Euractiv. ESN support would also be critical to secure a slim majority.
Within the EPP, the amendments faced internal opposition from Belgian, Irish, and some Dutch members, according to EPP sources. “The group will not have a free vote on its own amendments,” said another EPP spokesperson, who noted that the group backed the amendments during a meeting yesterday (13 November).
Next steps. If key amendments pass, notably exemptions for traders and a new low-risk category, the EUDR delay could be jeopardized, as Parliament would have only a month to negotiate with the Council before the regulation takes effect on 30 December 2024. There is also a risk that the Parliament will end up with no say in the regulation if there is no support from left-wing groups (and the unpredictable far right) for a weakened final text. |
| | | | Várhelyi’s fate remains uncertain |
| The confirmation of the candidate for the health and animal welfare portfolio, Hungary’s Olivér Várhelyi, is still up in the air amid a stalemate in a political deadlock that also involves the next Commission’s executive vice presidents (EVPs).
In an email seen by Euractiv, the chairs of the AGRI and ENVI committees – which are jointly responsible for Várhelyi’s hearing – informed MEPs yesterday (12 November) that his evaluation had been postponed again. The decision followed an unsuccessful meeting of the EPP, S&D and Renew coalition in the Berlaymont.
On Monday (11 November), ENVI and AGRI coordinators first delayed the decision on Várhelyi’s confirmation after receiving his answers to the additional questions sent by the committees on Friday.
While Renew advocated limiting his portfolio, S&D sources said yesterday that the group would not support Várhelyi even if von der Leyen stripped him of key competences. |
| | | Policymakers responsible for lab meat legislation, EFSA says |
| Changing the rules for approving cultured meat is the responsibility of EU legislators and not EFSA, the EU food safety watchdog director Bernhard Url has said in response to criticism from farmers' organisations and consortia of the Authority's new guidance on novel food applications.
In a letter seen by Euractiv on 23 October, PDO consortia and farmer organisations from Italy, the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Portugal and Spain warned EFSA of an imminent mobilisation against the new guidance document. According to them, the guidelines should have followed the political orientation of a note endorsed by agriculture ministers, imposing on cultured meat the same evaluation criteria reserved for new drugs and medicines, and suspending the authorisation of cell culture products on ethical and social grounds.
In EFSA's response, seen by Euractiv, Url said the ethical, social and economic issues raised by ministers and food and farming organisations were worthy of "careful consideration". However, they "do not fall within EFSA's remit," Url added, recalling that the authority has no legislative powers and that this is a task for the European Commission, the European Parliament and member states.
EFSA received the letter of complaint from the farmers' organisations on the same days that the Commission and a few member states rejected a Hungarian ban on cultivated meat. Angelo traced the origin of the story. |
| Chiquita loses appeal over oval logo |
| The General Court of the EU has confirmed that Chiquita Brands' blue and yellow oval cannot be protected as an EU trademark for bananas and fresh fruit in general. The court backed the view of the French Compagnie financière de participation, which brought the case in May 2020, that the mark lacks distinctive character.
In 2023, the EU Patent Office (EUIPO) had already declared the trademark invalid for fresh fruit. Yesterday (13 November), EU judges rejected Chiquita's appeal against the decision. According to the ruling, the shape and colour of the mark cannot be considered distinctive and Chiquita Brands had failed to prove that the mark as registered had acquired such character throughout the European Union. |
| | | Low turnout at Brussels' rally against EU-Mercosur deal |
| A hundred farmers and activists gathered near Place Schuman in Brussels yesterday (13 November) to oppose the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. "They want to kill European agriculture, they want to poison us with banned pesticides," said The Left MEP Manon Aubry, calling on the farmers to "start mobilising, block Brussels, block Paris, block the European capitals and, in the end, block the Mercosur agreement".
The main rally was originally planned to block Rue de la Loi, the main avenue of the European district, but took place in another street, adjacent to Place Schuman.
The EU-Mercosur agreement "runs counter to the ambitions of the Green Deal and the strategic dialogue on agriculture", the organisers (the farmers' organisations FUGEA and ECVC) said in a press release. |
| | | Avian flu does not give a break |
| Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) are on the rise in the EU. The latest data from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), points to ongoing outbreaks in at least nine member states: Hungary – which is seeing the largest increase in cases –, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The viral disease has a major impact on the poultry industry, as affected countries implement strict culling measures on infected farms. In the 2021-2022 epidemic season, 48 million birds were culled across the bloc, with 21 million of those in France only.
While the viral disease primarily affects poultry and wild birds, it has occasionally been transmitted to mammals. This year, the US has reported 45 cases of farm workers infected through contact with cattle or poultry. Canadian authorities are currently investigating a suspected case in a teenager, the first in the country.
Next Monday and Tuesday (18 and 19 November), Commission and member states will discuss avian influenza and other animal diseases affecting the bloc in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed. |
| Soil Atlas 2024: Desertification affects at least 13 member states |
| The German Heinrich Böll Foundation has launched the 2024 Soil Atlas, which calls on the new European Parliament and Commission to "take soil health more seriously and put it at the heart of EU biodiversity and agriculture".
According to the organisation's president, Imme Scholz, intensive agriculture and the climate crisis are contributing to increasing desertification, which affects 13 member states, not only in the south but also in temperate and humid climates such as Bulgaria and Hungary.
The 54-page report also looks at the potential downsides of soil carbon credits, which have hailed by the Commission as a potential alternative source of income for farmers and foresters. “In countries like Australia and Scotland, trading soil carbon credits has driven up land prices, making it harder for young farmers and smallholders to access land,” reads the text.
Read Maria's article for the latest on the experts' negotiations to certify carbon farming.
Yesterday (13 November), the Commission wrapped up the European Mission Soil Week, in which the EU executive highlighted progress towards the goal of creating 100 living labs for sustainable land management by 2030. |
| | | Mediterranean fishermen want quotas frozen at 2024 levels |
| Ahead of the Council of agriculture and ministers meeting on 18 November to discuss fishing opportunities in the Mediterranean for 2025, the fishing industry and trade unions have issued a resolution calling for fishing effort to be frozen at 2024 levels.
In its proposal published last September, the European Commission confirmed a reduction in fishing effort for trawlers in 2025, as recommended by the EU's multi-annualmanagement plan for demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean. The plan calls for a 40% reduction in trawler fishing effort between 2020 and 2025.
In their resolution, the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), Europêche and COGECA call for "a halt to any further restrictions until the full impact of the current policy has beenassessed in 2027". They call for a "completely new approach to setting fishing opportunities and technical measures in the Mediterranean", taking into account economic and social factors as well as environmental considerations. |
| | | Warsaw – Poland and Ukraine to hold joint agri forum Polish Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Vitaly Koval to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, the Ukrainian ministry said in a press release yesterday (13 November). Poland still has a unilateral ban on food imports from Ukraine in place, but Kyiv’s minister said that the two countries plan to hold a joint agricultural forum in Warsaw to consolidate links between producers, create new joint processing companies and strengthen scientific cooperation.
Paris - Agri-food industry leads in jobs and turnover The French Ministry of Agriculture has published a long-awaited overview of the agri-food industry in France. The report highlights the good performanceof the sector, which remains the national leader in terms of jobs (463,334 in2021) and turnover (€212 billion) generated by 19,037 companies. The thre elargest companies in 2021 were the dairy group Danone (€24.281 billion), followed by its rival Lactalis (€22 billion) and Pernod Ricard (€8.824 billion). However, the trade balance has deteriorated since 2000. The surplus has remained around €8 billion on average, but excluding beverages, French agri-food trade "has been structurally in deficit since 2014", the report says. Imports are rising steadily (+3% in 2023), 68% of which come from the EU. |
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| | | Today’s briefing was prepared by the Agrifood team; Angelo Di Mambro, Maria Simon Arboleas, Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro, and Hugo Struna. Share your feedback or information with us at digital@euractiv.com. |
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