| | October 2, 2024| View online Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes |
| | | Barnier for continuity in agriculture |
| The new French government plans to "defend" farmers in Brussels, continuing the "crucial work of simplifying rules" and making sure EU budget talks and trade agreements "respect the national farming sector and are reciprocal," said French PM Michel Barnier yesterday (1 October) in his first address to the national parliament.
In emphasising the need for a level playing field in agrifood trade, Barnier showed continuity with the French approach of recent years, characterised by increasing demands for "reciprocity" in agricultural production standards between the EU and its trading partners.
It took the former agriculture minister and EU Brexit negotiator an hour to bring up farmers in his speech, but he promised to step up efforts to support them. "Their production is vital for our food sovereignty and for our country's competitiveness," he said, pledging to pass the stalled Farm Law, which has been on hold since the national parliament was dissolved after the European elections, "without delay". He also stressed the need for "increased transparency on supermarket margins" and to encourage contracts between farmers, food processors and retailers.
Barnier added that France should do more to tackle cases of EU law "over-transposing", which he said were damaging national farmers’ competitiveness. This was one of the pledges made by the recently appointed Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard in her first speech on 23 September, when she said that the country was "shooting [itself] in the foot" by applying higher environmental standards than those required at EU level.
Genevard and Barnier are expected to attend the Sommet de l’Élevage in Clermont-Ferrand on Thursday and Friday, respectively. |
| | | EP to make final decision on hearings |
| The leaders of the Parliament’s political groups - formally known as the Conference of Presidents (CoP) when they meet - will today finalise the details of the hearings of the new commissioner-designates. The CoP meeting starts at 16:00 this afternoon. During yesterday's meeting, the committee chairs of the Parliament agreed to disagree on who would grill which candidate. Agriculture MEPs were among those making additional requests, in particular to question Italy's nominee Raffaele Fitto jointly with the committee for regional development (REGI) - which in an initial proposal was the only responsible committee.
However, the committee chairs agreed to present two alternative hearing dates to the CoP: one starting on 14 October and another on 4 November. Nicholas’ article looks at the mechanics of the hearings.
Meanwhile, fisheries and environment MEPs yesterday (1 October) expressed concern over the nomination of Fitto, a hard-right politician, for a Commission vice-presidency with a vast portfolio. "We have a Fitto problem," said MEP Christophe Clergeau (S&D) at the launch of the Blue Manifesto in the Parliament (more on this below). The claim was echoed by Swedish MEP Emma Wiesner (Renew) at the same event.
The S&D and Renew groups have taken issue with the appointment of an ECR candidate to the post of vice-president for cohesion and reforms, who would also oversee agriculture and fisheries. |
| | | Patriots to challenge 'cordon sanitaire' in AGRI - again |
| In tomorrow's (3 October) meeting of the agriculture committee, the far-right PfE will make another attempt to break the "cordon sanitaire" strategy of pro-European political parties. MEPs will vote on the committee's fourth vice-president, a seat left vacant since July due to a row over gender balance between the EPP and the S&D group. Euractiv has learned that the PfE will again put forward a female candidate, Mireia Borrás Pabón, for the post.
Meanwhile, EPP sources told Euractiv that the party is planning to push again for Polish MEP Krzysztof Hetman, which would make all four vice-presidents male and whose candidacy led to the dispute in the first place.
According to the source, the conservatives will not support Borrás and are determined to keep the "cordon" in place. Currently, none of the parliament's 24 committees and subcommittees have members from the PfE or the other far-right group ESN as chair or vice-chair.
While a socialist raised the issue of gender balance in the AGRI committee, it was the S&D (male) candidate Eric Sargiacomo, elected as third vice-chair, who upset the balance. The other two vice-chairs are EPP's Daniel Buda and Norbert Lins. |
| | | Austria, Czechia push back against EUDR |
| The governments of Austria and the Czechia are preparing the final push against the implementation of the EU's anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR) by the end of the year, seeking support from "like-minded" EU countries.
Diplomatic sources told Euractiv that the two member states are preparing "written messages" with a to-do list for the Commission, as the publication of implementation guidelines is still pending.
In particular, the countries are calling for the publication of the guidelines, the benchmarking that ranks countries according to their risk of deforestation, and a "functioning" IT system. The countries argue that implementation is "not feasible" and ask for a one-year delay to prepare for implementation.
But time is running out. Even a decision to delay the regulation's full entry into force would require consensus in the Parliament and Council - a process that usually takes months. |
| | | London drops UK-wide 'not for EU' label |
| As part of the UK’s Brexit deal with the EU, the ‘not for EU’ label has been mandatory for all meat and some dairy products sent from Britain to be sold in Northern Ireland since October 2023.
The label, aimed at preventing goods that have not been subject to EU border checks from entering the Republic of Ireland or other EU member states, would have been extended nationwide as of yesterday (1 October) but for a last-minute change by the UK government to the previous administration’s plans.
London decided not to proceed with a UK-wide label following a consultation period with business representatives, who said the scheme would be costly and burdensome for the food sector.
The label also caused some confusion among UK consumers, with some believing it indicated lower quality and safety standards than the EU’s.
According to a government press release, new rules for applying the ‘not for EU’ labelling scheme across the country could be developed "in a targeted way" if needed in the future. |
| | | Ombudsman: More transparency in national CAP plans |
| The European Commission should "improve its handling of public access requests as a matter of priority," the European Ombudsman said concluding an investigation into public access to the annual performance reports of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for EU Member States.
The inquiry began in July 2024, when NGOs lodged a complaint about the Commission's refusal to grant access to the 2023 reports. Following the refusal, the NGOs insisted on the application of the higher standard of public access to environmental information, but the Commission did not respond in time. The Commission replied during the investigation and the Ombudsman closed the case, but underlined "concerns about the time taken by the Commission to deal with public access requests". |
| | | NGO 'Blue Manifesto' calls for EU ocean fund |
| More than 100 NGOs marked Ocean Week yesterday by calling on the EU to adopt a series of measures to protect the oceans, set out in a new 'Blue Manifesto' launched at the European Parliament.
A new Oceans Fund, a European Oceans Agency to publish regular reports on the state of the environment, transparent labelling of all seafood products and a ban on bottom trawling in all EU marine protected areas are the key milestones of a "Roadmap for a healthy ocean by 2030".
The NGOs urged the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who pledged in July to create a ‘European Pact for the Oceans’, and the new Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis, to align this future pact with the Blue Manifesto. |
| | | | Brussels - Flemish coalition wants Belgium to replicate French food chain law In the government agreement published on Monday (30 September), the Flemish coalition called on the federal authorities to step up efforts to strengthen farmers’ position in the food chain, urging them to take France’s EGalim laws as an example. But the "EGalims" are not without controversy. A legal battle has been going on for years, with Paris trying to fine companies with purchasing centres in other EU countries, an interpretation of the EU law that has been rejected by the European Court of Justice.
Warsaw – Cereals and apples down, potatoes up in crop estimates 2024 According to the latest estimates of the national office of statistics, Poland's grain harvest in 2024 will be 2% smaller than in 2023, while potatoes will grow by 5%. Also the sugar beet harvest is estimated to be around 10% higher than in 2023. On the other hand, abundant rainfall and summer storms have severely damaged fruit production. Apple production is expected to fall by 17%, plum production by 23% and cherry production by 35%.
Madrid – New strain of bluetongue has reached Spain The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed the arrival of the bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3), which is particularly lethal to sheep and caused Europe's first serious outbreak in the Netherlands last year. The virus has entered the country via the border with Portugal, prompting the Spanish authorities to introduce preventive measures in the affected areas, including compulsory vaccination and movement restrictions. |
| | | | | Today’s brief was brought to you by Euractiv’s Agrifood team |
| | | 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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