0
Agriculture and Rural Development
Finalising the Transitional regulation for 2021-2022, to bridge the gap between the soon-to-expire Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rules and the not-yet-agreed future ones, and agreeing on a negotiating mandate on the CAP reform in October, will be key priorities, Food and Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner told MEPs on Wednesday 15 July. The Presidency will also focus on animal welfare, digitalisation and reducing food waste. Farm to fork, Biodiversity and EU Forest strategies will also be on top of the presidency’s agenda, the Minister said.
MEPs in the debate denounced the European Council’s attempts to decide unilaterally on EU farm policy matters and insisted that they need to be decided jointly by the Parliament and the Council. Many speakers called for a two-year long CAP transitional period and stressed that Farm to Fork strategy measures should be designed and implemented with farmers and not against them. Several MEPs also criticised the detrimental effects of trade deals on EU farmers and called for fairer distribution of direct payments both within and among member states.
Environment, Public Health and Food Security
On Thursday 16 July, Food and Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner said that ensuring sufficient and safe food availability will be crucial in emerging from the COVID-19 crisis. Mrs Klöckner highlighted the Farm to Fork Strategy and agreeing on EU CAP reform as the main priorities for the Presidency, along with working to create an EU-wide nutrition labelling scheme and animal welfare label as well as reducing food waste.
Several MEPs raised questions about the biodiversity strategy, pollution from farming, animal welfare and protection of pollinators through reduction of pesticides use. They also debated organic food and protecting EU farmers including in EU trade agreements with non-EU countries.
4 September 2020/ European Parliament/ European Union.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu
