This month has been marked by the Nobel price nomination for chemistry to the inventors of the CRISP/Cas9, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, and the discovery of a new methodology of use this technique, notably with the Cas3 enzyme, so to allow to work with bigger parts of DNA. Moreover, CRISP/Cas9 have been used to modify trees and chickens for more, respectively, climate-friendly usage, and to cure poultry virus.
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In October, most important developments in the agriculture and livestock sector are linked to the CAP reform, agreed upon by the European Parliament and the Council. The new CAP poses different challenges and opportunities for the livestock and dairy sector, which causes debates among different stakeholders.
One of the most discussed topics this month are the rising cases of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in wild boars in Germany and the implications for trade within and outside of the EU.
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In October, several EU countries have adopted recovery plans for coping with COVID-19-related impacts on the agriculture sectors. At European level, the organic farming regulation has been postponed until January 2021. An exchange with MEPs from the Agri Committee in the European Parliament on 26 October highlighted the difficulties the wine, as well as the fruit and vegetable sector, face in light of the global pandemic.
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This month has been signed by some important developments in the reform of the CAP, notably, the European Parliament and the Council agreed on their positions prior the formal start of negotiations.
In parallel, the Parliament, which hold two plenary session in October, decided to increase the 2030 greenhouse gasses reduction target to -60% compared to 1990 levels; whereas the AGRI Committee successfully voted on the files on the agricultural recovery plan.
The Council adopted its position on the “Farm to Fork” strategy, while the U.S.D.A secretary Sonny Perdue commented this same strategy describing it as a policy that “stifle innovation”.
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The European Parliament has approved a Resolution asking the Commission to propose binding measures against imported deforestation.
This is a landmark initiative that we warmly welcome. It comes after years of tergiversation and lack of any effective action to block imports into the EU market of products originating in recently deforested areas.
The EU has allowed growing imports of palm oil from regions where primary forest is being burnt, in particular in South-East Asia. The problem is also acute as regards imports of meat and soybeans from the Amazon basin, where it is well known that primary forest is being burnt for logging, meat production and soybean farming.
The public backlash has been raising, and the European Parliament has rightly taken the lead in the absence of decisive action from the Commission.
Farm Europe is no stranger to this debate. We have asked that imported deforestation be tackled forcefully. We have made concrete proposals.
The Commission has now the obligation to change gear and propose binding measures against imported deforestation.
The European Parliament proposes mandatory due diligence from all operators as the model to follow. We invite the Commission to build on this proposal and make it effective and water tight.
We are concerned that basing the whole system on due diligence might over rely on paper guarantees from operators, or certification organisations, in particular those in third countries where deforestation is taking place and controls are deficient.
The Commission should avoid to the largest possible extent the proliferation of loopholes.
An effective means of blocking imports from deforested areas is, as Farm Europe has proposed, to independently monitor the evolution of deforestation using remote sensing and accredited EU operators, and confront the information gathered with the declarations of the operators.
This week, the Agricultural Ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss and vote on the Council conclusions of the CAP post-2020 legislatives proposals, notably on the Strategic Plan regulation, the Horizontal regulation, and the Common Market Organization regulation.
At the same time, the European Parliament voted on the same files during the plenary session of October 20th, 21st, and 22nd. The architecture and the main lines of the CAP reform were defined, which intends to be implemented from 2023 onwards. These will be defended during the negotiations that are set to begin in November with the Council, in the presence of the Commission (trilogues).
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During the plenary session of October 20th, 21st, and 22nd, the European Parliament defined the architecture and the main lines of CAP reform it intends to see implemented from 2023 onwards and which it will defend during the negotiations that will begin in November with the Council, in the presence of the Commission (Trilogues). Voting on the other sessions will take place in the following days.
The European Parliament, as the bearer of a European and common ambition for the Common Agricultural Policy, has chosen, in all responsibility, to move away from the reform proposal presented in 2018 by the European Commission. Farm Europe, who warned since the Commission proposal about the risks of a renationalization, welcomes the fact that the European parliament has rectified the direction, by underlying the “C” in the CAP.
Faced with a proposal that would split the CAP into 27 national policies, with a higher risk of market distortions, by cutting the relationship between Europe and the final beneficiary of this policy and by placing on the Member States’ shoulders the essential responsibilities, the European Parliament voted by a very large majority (more than 2/3) in favour of:
Noting that sustainable economic development can only be achieved on the basis of true sustainability, just as effective environmental management and the fight against climate change require economically prosperous actors, the MEPs propose a rebalancing of the priorities and tools of both the 1st and 2nd pillars around a search for dual economic and environmental performance.
The work carried out by key MEPs from the main political groups, following on from the one already set in May 2019 by the rapporteurs of the previous legislature, has been remarkable, even if some issues, such as the common ambition of eco-schemes, are still under work. It brings meaning and realism to the first European policy to regain its raison d’être: a policy through which the European Union invests in its future through its agriculture and rural areas.
This is an essential first step in order to start negotiations in Trilogues, as soon as the Council of Agriculture Ministers, too, will be in a position to do so with a general approach bearing a European ambition and moving away from the initial reactions of seeking maximum flexibilities to the detriment of the common good that only a European dimension can ensure.
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Background
European Parliament’s position on the CAP adopted on October 20th, 2020
The position adopted by the European Parliament departs from the Commission’s proposals regarding the way the CAP is managed in order to ensure the sound management of CAP funds and to seek simplification for farmers and Member States (where the Commission proposed a system that was simpler to manage for itself but more bureaucratic for farmers and payment agencies). The eligibility of final beneficiaries of CAP aid will have to continue to be checked, as well as compliance with the rules defined at EU level and in the national strategic plans for the different types of measures.
On the other hand, the Commission will have to rely on the work of the national certification agencies and will have to limit strictly any double checks on farmers, unless the certification agencies show malfunctions.
Monitoring the effectiveness of the CAP is planned on the basis of a limited number of indicators analysing every 2 years the results achieved in relation to the objectives validated in the framework of the national strategic plans. The proposals of the European commission on Annual Controls and Sanctions of the Member States on the basis of administrative performance indicators (number of hectares under the different CAP measures) are refuted, as is the idea of having as many control and sanction policies as there are Member States.
With this position, which is diametrically opposed to the idea of renationalisation of the CAP proposed by the Commission in 2018, the European Parliament (led by the S&D and EPP groups) strongly reaffirms by a large majority opposing the rapporteur in charge of the dossier – that the common European dimension of the CAP cannot be called into question. It firmly rejects any temptation to renationalise and ultimately dismantle the CAP and thus sends a strong signal to the Council and the Commission.
France, Ireland, and Italy outlined the draft bill for the 2021 budget for agriculture.
At the European level, the Agri Committee voted the Recovery and Resilience plan for agriculture ahead of the discussion and vote in the plenary to be held in Strasbourg on October 20th. The bill passed in the Committee with 46 votes in favour, 2 abstentions, and no against.
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September was marked as follows:
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At European Parliament level, Paolo De Castro (S&D), rapporteur on the recovery plan dossier, proposed that at least 2/3 of the total recovery package should be devoted to investment in sustainable development and digitization.
At the meeting of the Council of agriculture ministers, Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski explained that despite the recession caused by the pandemic, the value of EU agri-food exports reached €75.8 billion in January-May 2020, an increase of 2% compared to the same period of the previous year.
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