3 September: an important step towards true reciprocity in EU import rules

Eat Europe and Farm Europe warmly welcome the entry into force, as of 3 September, of the European Commission’s decision excluding Brazil from the list of Countries authorised to export products of animal origin to the European Union unless compliance with European rules on the use of antimicrobials can be demonstrated.

This is an important day and a concrete step forward in the efforts that Eat Europe, Farm Europe and their members have been pursuing for a long time to achieve true reciprocity. The principle is simple and fundamental: there cannot be different standards depending on whether a product is produced within the European Union or imported from a third country. European rules on food safety and the use of antimicrobials must be consistently applied and enforced throughout the entire supply chain.

But this achievement must translate into the effective enforcement of the rules.

Recent information made public by the Brazilian authorities and representatives of the livestock sector regarding the new certification protocol intended to ensure compliance with EU requirements on the use of antimicrobials raises concerns that cannot be ignored. 

According to information provided by the Brazilian authorities and industry representatives themselves, the certification system is still at an early stage, and no farms have yet been certified under the new protocol. This indicates that the practical implementation of the system and the verification of effective compliance are still being established.

The European Union’s standards concerning the prohibition of certain antimicrobials in animals intended for export are not new. These requirements have been applicable since 2023 and exporting countries have had sufficient time to adapt. Compliance with EU legislation cannot depend solely on future commitments or certification systems that have yet to demonstrate their effectiveness in practice.

For this reason, Farm Europe and Eat Europe call on the European Commission to maintain a strict and precautionary approach, strengthening official controls on imports of beef from Brazil. The competent Brazilian authorities must provide robust, verifiable and reliable guarantees that all products exported to the European Union fully comply with European requirements.

“The Brazilian experience reaffirms the importance of strengthening controls, certifications, and verification procedures for the production systems of exporting countries, rather than relying solely on checks at the border,” said Luigi Scordamaglia, President of Eat Europe. “The focus must shift from ex-post controls to ensuring, throughout the entire supply chain, production conditions equivalent to those applied in Europe.”

The protection of European consumers must remain an absolute priority. At the same time, it is essential to protect European operators who comply with stringent standards every day and bear the costs associated with implementing EU rules. And this is true not only as regards compliance with our veterinary legislation, but this must also apply to the requirements concerning traceability and the ban on imports of Brazilian products derived from GMOs that are not authorised in the European Union.

“The credibility of the European food safety system depends on the ability to apply the same rules to everyone”, added Yves Madre, President of Farm Europe. “Any disparity in the enforcement of standards would risk undermining consumer confidence, placing compliant European producers at a disadvantage and weakening the very principle of reciprocity. It is a matter not only of fairness but of political credibility as well. Members of the European Parliament are crystal clear with a very large majority of Comagri members tabling amendments to single CMO reform requiring imported products to meet EU production standards“. 

3 September is therefore an important day: not an end point, but a step forward in building true reciprocity.