Agrifood ProBrief

Mon 28 October 2024 | View online

Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes

Hello
Welcome to your daily Agrifood Pro Brief! We have entered one of the unofficial recess weeks in the rhapsodic calendar of the EU institutions. It’s the “Green week” for MEPs, with a bank holiday on 1 November, an optimal situation to take a breath before starting the commissioner confirmation hearings, from 4 November.

But the news doesn’t stop. Stay with us as we dive into what’s to come.

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🟡Agenda

Monday 28/10

Tuesday 29/10

Wednesday 30/10

This week’s sneak peek

Animal welfare during transport, state of play: EU member states are set to continue discussions on new animal welfare regulations during transport.

The Hungarian Council Presidency has confirmed that it will not pursue a general approach on this issue during its mandate. However, Budapest is currently negotiating Chapter V of the regulation, which outlines obligations for transporters and conditions at the destination.

Key provisions include requiring drivers to check on animals every 4.5 hours to assess their welfare and fitness for transport, as well as mandating the installation of tracking systems in vehicles.

In Wednesday’s Euractiv Agrifoof Pro Brief, we noted that the Parliament has made no progress on this matter in the ten months since the proposal was unveiled, largely due to one lead negotiator's reluctance to proceed without additional information on the implementation of existing rules.

EU to present plans for nature credits at COP16: The EU is expected to announce its plans for the creation of so-called 'nature credits' today at the COP16 on biodiversity, which runs until 1 November in Cali, Colombia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated the idea of a new financial tool to reward nature conservation, inspired by the EU's carbon trading scheme, at an environmental conference in Munich last month - which our Environment Hub colleague Niko covered in this article.

In the written answers sent to the Parliament last week, Teresa Ribera and Jessica Roswall also referred to the development of nature credits as one of their tasks if confirmed for the environment and clean transition portfolios respectively for the next mandate.

But ahead of this week's discussions, NGO Friends of the Earth is sounding the alarm about the potential negative environmental impact of such a scheme. "Turning nature into a simplistic financial asset will only allow destructive activities to continue business as usual,” said Clara Bourgin, a campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe.

According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), biodiversity or nature credits are intended to have a net positive impact on nature, while offsets are intended to compensate for companies' negative and unavoidable impacts on nature. Read this WRI analysis from March last year for more insight.

Also to pencil in your agenda…

Euractiv event on 31/10: Nourishing Europe - Financing the path to resilient and sustainable food systems

🟡 Trade

EU moves closer to tariff hikes on Russian agricultural imports

The Commission is working on an assessment of the potential impact of raising new tariffs on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus, diplomatic sources told Euractiv.

The EU executive sent a note to member state representatives on 21 October saying it was “ready to propose further import tariffs” on agricultural imports from these countries, following the 17 October European Council’s conclusions calling for such action, a diplomat said.

A sharp increase in EU tariffs on Russian and Belarussian cereals, oilseeds and derived products came into force last July.

At the AGRIFISH Council in Luxembourg last week, Latvian Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze said that this summer’s tariff hike had proved effective in reducing the flow of such products coming into the EU.

He told journalists that Riga wanted to increase duties for vegetables, fruit, fish and some types of alcohol.

His Finnish counterpart Sari Essayah said that imposing higher tariffs on Russian and Belarussian imports “is the way to deal with a situation where agricultural products are not under the sanctions [against Moscow]”, an exception made to safeguard food security.

Unlike sanctions, imposing trade measures on Russia does not require unanimity, but a qualified majority of EU member states in favour.

France and Spain in Morocco to consolidate Agrifish diplomacy

A few weeks after the EU Court of Justice annulled the EU-Morocco agreements on fisheries and agricultural products (4 October), on the grounds of lack of consent by the indigenous Saharawi population, France and Spain are consolidating their “food diplomacy” efforts.

The Spanish minister Luis Planas was in Rabat on Friday (25 October) and reiterated his support for the relations with Morocco at the CIHEAM ministerial meeting, as the national fishing industry is the main loser of the annulment of the agreement.

French President Emmanuel Macron will be in the Kingdom from today until 30 October. While migration issues will be at the centre of discussions, the leaders will address agricultural issues on the final day of the visit, Wednesday morning (30 October), the French presidency announced this week.

In particular, they will consolidate the roadmap signed by former French agriculture minister Marc Fesneau last April.

🟡 CAP & Agriculture

MEP calls for sanctions against bypassing Producer Organisations

Eric Sargiacomo MEP (FR, S&D) has urged the Commission to introduce sanctions against attempts by the food industry to bypass producer organisations (POs).

In a written question to the bloc's executive, the French MEP denounced the attempts by dairy giants Lactalis and Savencia to isolate members of POs by targeting individual farmers for milk collection stops or reduction, or "by blackmailing producers [...] into leaving a PO association".

According to the CMO regulation, "this type of circumvention cannot be authorised under any circumstances", writes Sargiacomo, asking whether "the Commission intends to introduce a system of sanctions for such actions during the next revision of the unfair commercial practices directive".

Spanish Urbezo wine gets the PDO logo

The Commission has approved the addition of the Spanish wine product "Urbezo" to the register of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Urbezo is produced from grapes grown in the Ebro River basin, located in the Northern Aragon Region, with documented evidence of wine-growing since the early 19th century. Among the varieties authorised for the production of Urbezo wines are the red varieties Garnacha, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Mazuela, Merlot, Syrah and Tempranillo, as well as the white varieties Chardonnay, Garnacha blanca and Moscatel de Alejandría.

🟡 Fisheries

EU toughens its stance against the UK sandeel fishing ban

The EU has called for an arbitration tribunal to decide whether the UK's ban on sandeel fishing is in line with its post-Brexit agreement with the bloc. The ban came into force on 26 March 2024 and covers English waters of the North Sea and all Scottish waters, preventing EU vessels from operating in these marine areas.

In April 2024, the EU asked for consultations to be opened with the UK in order to reach an agreement, but the talks were unsuccessful. The EU "remains open" to a "mutually agreed solution", the Commission said in a press release. Arbitration is the bloc's next step in the EU-UK dispute resolution mechanism.

Hugo has the details and implications of the decision.

🟡 Neighbours

Kyiv – Latest data confirms sharp rise in food exports

The latest data released by the Ukrainian State Customs Service shows a 25% year-on-year increase in agricultural exports in the first nine months of 2024, a growth attributed to the restoration of maritime traffic in the Black Sea. According to the data, 89% of Kyiv's agricultural product exports are currently carried by sea. In total, Ukraine exported around 44.3 million tonnes of agricultural products worth nearly €9.5 billion in the three quarters of 2024. This is an increase of 9 million tonnes, and worth €1.3 billion, compared to the same period in 2023.

London – Government urged to expand sugar tax to further products

A parliamentary committee has called on the UK government to come up with a plan to fix what it described as “a broken food system”, with recommendations including a new tax targeting products with high levels of sugar and salt.

The measures would build upon the country’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy, which was introduced in 2018 and the committee said was successful in discouraging the consumption of sugary drinks.

Read more

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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