In March, EASAC, the Scientific Advisory Council of European Academies, called for a radical reform of the legal framework for GMOs, and considered that new varietal selection techniques can help, inter alia, to combat social inequalities. Paolo De Castro MEP, S&D coordinator at Comagri,, agreed with EASAC’s request and called for European agriculture to be […]
March was marked as follows: At the level of the European Parliament, measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic have stopped all meetings of the Agriculture Committee. However, negotiations on compromise amendments are continuing. At EU Council level, the meeting on 23 March was cancelled for the same reasons, and the informal summit on the 25th […]
The month of March was marked by: – At the level of the European Parliament, the exchanges of MEPs in Plenary session after the failure of the European Summit on 21 February, in the absence of agreement and concrete ambition shown by the Member States. – At the level of the European Commission, the announcement […]
The widespread crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a first set of decisions at national and EU level. Support for the general economy represents a total of 947 billion euros. – At the level of the European Commission, a second package of measures was adopted on 2 April 2020: The Coronavirus response […]
The Covid-19 crisis is already impacting agriculture in a number of ways: cross-border flows of agriculture goods face delays, and in some areas there are not enough workers. These are serious problems. We understand that measures are being taken to speed up cross-border trade, and particular work shortages can only be addressed at regional and […]
Although the Council of March 23 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agriculture ministers of the 27 nevertheless met for a video conference on March 25, 2020. In the presence of the President of the Council Marija Vučković as well as the Commissioners for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski and the Commissioner for Environment Virginijus […]
The month of February was marked by the failure of EU leaders to reach an agreement on the EU’s 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Charles Michel’s proposal of an overall level of the MFF 2021-2027 at 1.074% was not unanimously supported at the Summit on the 19-20th February and no compromise emerged. As far as […]
February was marked as follows: Following the work of rapporteur Elsi Katainen, the majority of ComAgri MEPs confirmed the need to extend the one-year transition period proposed by the European Commission by at least one year. They also expressed their support for producer organisations as a means of strengthening the position of producers in an […]
The European Union Regulation for the promotion of EU wine entered into force on 3 February, ratified by a positive vote by COMAGRI on 18 February. Rising prices continued to drive down wine sales in the USA. In France, winegrowers are asking for a compensation fund from the French President. On a world level, the […]
In February, the European Commission launched a consultation on NBTs as part of a study it wants to finalise by April 2021. In France, the State Council through a decision, considers that NBTs should be subject to the same clauses as GMOs with regard to the application of the European directive regulating genetically modified organisms. […]