Eat Europe and Farm Europe urge MEPs to strengthen rice safeguard mechanism ahead of decisive vote

Eat Europe and Farm Europe are calling on Members of the European Parliament to support crucial amendments to the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) revision ahead of the 28 April plenary vote, warning that the proposed safeguard mechanism for the EU rice sector risks being ineffective in its current form.

While the reform introduces an important automatic safeguard clause intended to anticipate and manage market crises, in a letter sent to all Members of the European Parliament both organisations caution that excessively high activation thresholds could severely limit its usefulness and leave European rice producers exposed to avoidable market shocks.

At the centre of concern is the proposed 45% increase threshold required to trigger the safeguard mechanism. As already highlighted at the outcome of the trilogue negotiations, Eat Europe and Farm Europe argue that this level is disconnected from market realities and would prevent timely intervention in situations where early action is essential to avoid structural damage to the sector.

“An automatic safeguard mechanism must be operational, not theoretical,” the organisations state. “If the thresholds are set too high, the instrument will fail precisely when it is needed most.”

The organisations are urging lawmakers to support a reduction of the trigger threshold to 20%, describing it as a targeted, proportionate and technically feasible adjustment. They stress that such a modification would not reopen or undermine the broader trilogue agreement, but rather ensure its practical effectiveness.

They also highlight unresolved technical concerns linked to the calculation methodology, including the use of a moving average reference system, which remains insufficiently responsive to rapid market fluctuations.

According to Eat Europe and Farm Europe, improving the safeguard mechanism for rice would also establish an important precedent for other vulnerable EU agricultural sectors, such as sugar and ethanol, which face similar exposure to global market volatility.

“This is not about reopening negotiations,” the statement continues. “It is about ensuring that a crisis-prevention tool works in practice and delivers real protection for European producers.”

The organisations are therefore calling on Members of the European Parliament to support the proposed amendments, stressing that failure to act could leave the EU rice sector exposed to severe and potentially irreversible economic damage.