The new political majority elected in the mid 2014 European elections has made growth and employment its top priority. The challenge for agriculture & food sector is: how can it contribute to this agenda? This theme will be at the heart of reflections, with a special focus on investment, innovation, social trends, education and employment.
Strategic priorities: organic farming and livestock The Plan recognizes the importance of organic farming to contribute to the achievement of all environmental objectives; indeed, the sector is allocated about 2.5 billion euro in the five-year period within the rural development. The allocation already foreseen by rural development (1.5 billion euros) is in fact integrated with […]
During the last reunion of the year of the Environmental Council of the EU, Ministers showed to be more resistant to modification of the current GMO legislation, notably in a note advanced by the Austrian delegation calling on the precautionary principle to be applied. At the same time, the Commission still reiterates its commitment to […]
In November the negotiations talks on the new government coalition in Germany brought their fruits and a new German agriculture minister from the Green Party, Cem Özdemir, has been confirmed. In the coalitions’ agreement the topic of genetic engineering does not seem to be a priority. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US […]
October has marked the first step in the opening of the revision of the European legislation on GMOs, with the European Commission’s feedback period opened to receive the opinion of the European stakeholders on the matter. More than 70 000 feedbacks have reached the Commission offices, mainly for German and French citizens. Also, the European […]
In September the European Commission opened for public consultation asking for stakeholders their opinion on the legislative initiative to update the curent legal framework on the matter of New Genomic Techniques, following the study published in April 2021. At the same time, a letter signed by 50+ organisations addressed to the Commission opposed its opening […]
At EU-level, historically low harvests have been forecasted for France, Italy and Spain following spring frosts, hail, droughts and diseases earlier this year. At national level, a volcanic eruption on the Canary Islands is threatening wine growers, hail affected Spanish vineyards and wildfires threatened white wine crops in Greece. In Italy, Agriculture Minister Patuanelli ensures […]