Europatat, European Potato Trade Association
  Europatat Circular 8 / 2020   Print this newsletter Default font size Large font size XL font size  ¦   
   
 

Inside this issue:

Activities Europatat

Agricultural Policy

Plant Health Policy

Food Safety

Market Access

Trade Policy

Sustainability

Quality Policy

Food Policy

Other

  
 

2020 Europatat General Assembly meeting
Activities Europatat

COVID-19 mandatory safety measures introduced by Belgian government have created a lot of difficulties for the holding of Annual General Assemblies and meetings of the Board of Directors, but some flexibility has been put in place. In particular, there is the possibility of holding the Annual General Assembly without physical participation. The Europatat Board and Secretariat, have decided to make use of this possibility for which, we must slightly adapt the process to ensure compliance with the applicable rules. 

Members have now been informed by email that the Europatat Annual General Assembly will take place on Monday 29 June 2020. The meeting will not be held in person and a written voting procedure will be followed.

Please let the Secretariat know if you have any questions regarding the procedure.

 

Coronavirus monitoring: Commission’s exceptional measures for the potato sector
Activities Europatat

On 22 April, the Commission presented a new package of measures including the exceptional derogation from EU competition rules applicable to the milk, flowers and potatoes sectors. The Commission will authorise the derogation from certain competition rules under Article 222 of the Common Markets Organisation Regulation, which allows operators to adopt self-organisation market measures. Concretely, these sectors will be allowed to collectively take measures to stabilise the market. The potatoes sector will be allowed to withdraw products from the market. Storage by private operators will also be allowed. Such agreements and decisions would only be valid for a period of maximum six months. Consumer price movements will be monitored closely to avoid adverse effects. The full detail of these proposals will be unveiled at the time of their final adoption. These measures must be adopted by the end of April. Beforehand Member States will vote on these measures (they are therefore subject to change).

Today (30 April), the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wociechowski, has presented this package of measures at the AGRI Committee meeting of the European Parliament. Members of the Parliament (MEPs) have welcomed the new package as a first step “in the good direction”, but they have criticised the lack of Commission’s ambition to find “measures out of the box”. Agriculture MEPs have also asked for more funds for these measures and to cover other sectors such as wine, which is also very much struggling. Most of the MEPs have called on the Commission to trigger the crisis reserve fund, a petition that Commissionner Wociechowski seems to support. However, he has reminded that the crisis reserve envelope “very much depends on the will of Member States”.

 

Other coronavirus updates
Activities Europatat

Europatat is monitoring the development of the coronavirus crisis, its impact on the potato market and the measures taken by the European Commission and other international bodies. Please, see below the latest information available:

AGRICULTURE

- The Dutch government announces a support package worth €650 million for floriculture, specific parts of food horticulture and the French fries potato sector: In a statement on April 15, the country’s Agriculture Ministry said that the bulk of the money would go to flower producers & horticulture (€600m), to aid companies facing a sharp drop in turnover as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Producers of potatoes for French fry production will be paid compensation for potatoes in storage, which cannot be processed this season (€50m), amounting to 40% of the average market value for September 2019 to February 2020.

- Official adoption of additional measures to support the agri-food sector: As advanced in the previous Circular 7/2020, the Commission has formally adopted two measures to help the agri-food sector amid the coronavirus crisis. The measures aim to increase the cash flow of farmers and reduce administrative burden for national, regional authorities and for farmers:

  • Higher advances of payments for farmers. Farmers will start receiving the advances of direct payments (from 50% to 70%) and rural development payments (from 75% to 85%) from mid-October. 
  • Reduction of physical on-the-spot checks. To minimise physical contact between farmers and the inspectors carrying out eligibility checks, the overall number of checks to be carried out is reduced. Member States will be able to use alternative sources of information to replace the traditional on-farm visits (i.e. new technologies such as satellite images to check the agricultural activity on the field or geo-tagged photos to prove that investments took place). This measure aims to reduce administrative burden and avoid delays in processing aid applications to ensure that support is paid to farmers in the shortest possible timeframe. 

- G20 Extraordinary Agriculture Ministers Meeting: On 21 April, G20 Ministers agreed at a virtual Extraordinary Agriculture Ministerial on a common statement on Covid-19 a pledge to avoid any restrictions on trade, which could threaten food security, issuing a strong call to strengthen the resilience of food systems globally and stressing the need to avoid waste. Following the video conference, G20 Ministers stressed the importance of “avoiding food losses and waste caused by disruptions throughout food supply chains,” and the “need to strengthen the sustainability and resilience of food systems globally”. The meeting was also attended by the heads of the World Health Organization (WHO), World Trade Organization (WTO), Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) and World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), along with a representative of the World Bank. 

- Short-term outlook: despite challenges arising from the Coronavirus outbreak, EU agri-food sectors show resilience: On 20 April, the EU Commission published the latest short-term outlook report for EU agricultural markets, a regular publication that presents a sector-by-sector overview of the latest tendencies and further prospects for agri-food markets (it does not include potatoes). According to the Commission, the outbreak of the coronavirus brings about unprecedented challenges for the EU agri-food sector. However, the sector responds and adapts to the new circumstances, including logistical disruptions and rapidly evolving demand, “with efficiency”.

 

FOOD SAFETY

- Guidance for back to work after COVID-19: The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has issued a guidance on coming back to work after coronavirus. It covers risk assessment and appropriate measures, involving workers, taking care of workers who have been ill, planning and learning for the future, staying well informed and information for sectors and occupations. There are particularly sections per activities and sectors such as food/ on measures adopted by member states and other countries members.

 

TRADE

-  DG TRADE’s note on ‘The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global and EU trade: The in-house analysis performed by DG TRADE’s Chief Economist team estimates a 9.7% decrease in global trade for 2020. For the EU27, the predicted COVID19-related economic contraction results in a reduction of 9.2% in extra-EU27 exports of goods and services, and an 8.8% decrease in extra-EU27 imports in 2020. Exports of primary sectors (other than energy) and services trade turn out to be less strongly affected than manufacturing sectors.

- EU notifications to WTO on coronavirus-related actions: The EU is both making formal WTO notifications and submitting additional information to the WTO on countries’ trade measures related to coronavirus. In this context, the EU has informed the WTO about eight steps that included various fields of action touching upon various aspects of international trade operations, such as:

For more information visit this website.

- WTO joint statement on Covid-19 pandemic: Co-signatories of a joint statement shared with all WTO Members pledge to ensure well-functioning global agriculture and agri-food supply chains and avoid measures with potential negative impact on food security, nutrition and health of other Members of the organisation and their populations. The statement calls for any emergency measures related to agriculture and agri-food products to be targeted, proportionate, transparent, temporary and consistent with WTO rules. Measures should not distort international trade in these products or result in unjustified trade barriers. Rather, WTO Members are encouraged to put in place temporary working solutions to facilitate trade. Signatories also commit to engage in a dialogue to improve preparedness and responsiveness to pandemics, including through multilateral coordination. WTO Members, other than the EU, who have signed the initiative are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong-China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malawi, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Singapore, Switzerland, the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, Ukraine, United States and Uruguay.

 

OTHER

- Results of UNECE’s survey on seed potato supply and demand: The UNECE organised a survey on seed potato supply and demand two weeks ago. Now, you can access a summary of the survey. At the top of the report, you can choose to look at summaries of the individual questions as well as the individual responses to each question. The respondents included France (9), Germany (2), Belgium (2), Netherlands (4), United States (2), Poland, Scotland, Finland, New Zealand, Russia, and India:

  • For Europe before Covid-19, seed supply for both processing and fresh potatoes was sufficient in all countries except Poland. 
  • After the outbreak of Covid-19, most European countries saw reduced orders of processing varieties while orders for fresh market varieties remained unchanged. Some respondents from France and Belgium indicated reduced demand for fresh market varieties. The United States had a short supply of seed for both sectors before the outbreak which transitioned to a surplus and a reduction in orders for processing varieties after the outbreak. One response indicated insufficient supply for fresh market varieties. India was the only respondent that indicated that there were no changes in supply or demand after Covid-19, and that no orders for either processing or fresh had been changed. Russia’s response was similar to India’s with increases in orders for fresh the only difference. New Zealand reported sufficient supplies for both fresh market and processing varieties before the outbreak and a surplus in processing seed potato varieties after the outbreak.

The summary of results was also published on the UNECE Food outlook page at http://www.unece.org/trade/agr/foodoutlook.html

- Outcome of the European Council on 23 April 2020 focusing on COVID: 

- DG TAXUD’s Guidance on Customs issues related to the COVID-19 emergency: As a result of the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic, questions have emerged concerning the application of customs provisions relating to the customs decision-making process, customs procedures and customs formalities. For some particular cases, a number of existing provisions have been identified that provide valid solutions in these exceptional circumstances. The objective of this website created by DG Taxud is to offer guidance to the concerned stakeholders on practical solutions given by the current legal framework, in order to ensure a uniform application of the UCC even in this time of crisis. As the situation can evolve rapidly and imply further guidance on additional issues, this note is intended as an evolving document that will be updated as needed.

 

“Farm to Fork” Strategy to be published on 20 May
Agricultural Policy

Following a meeting of the Executive Vice-Presidents and Commissioners working on the European Green Deal on the 22 April, it has now emerged that the “Farm to Fork” Strategy will be unveiled on the 20 May 2020 (tbc). The EU Biodiversity Strategy is due to be published on the same day. On 21 April, Members of the European Parliament Committee on Environment (ENVI) told Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans that the Commission must stick to its timetable for the important parts of the Green Deal. Timmermans reassured ENVI MEPs that the Farm to Fork Strategy would be delayed by a “few weeks, not months”. Exact timing of forthcoming dossiers is expected in the revised Commission Work Programme - due out in the coming days.

 

Transitional CAP rules could apply from January 2021 to end-2022
Agricultural Policy

On 28 April, the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee (COMAGRI) endorsed the second batch of rules to ensure a smooth transition from the current Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), which expires at the end of this year, to the future CAP. This transition aims to ensure the continuation of payments to farmers and rural development beneficiaries, providing predictability and stability for the sector. The duration of the transitional period, starting on 1 January 2021, should be by default one year, MEPs said, but they insisted on introducing a flexible mechanism to prolong this period by another year. This option should be triggered automatically unless the future EU’s long-term budget (MFF) and EU farm policy are agreed and approved by 30 October this year, which is highly unlikely at this stage of negotiations. In the mandate agreed by COMAGRI, MEPs also reiterated the need to avoid further cuts to the CAP in the next MFF, insisting that funding must be maintained at 2014-2020 levels in real terms.

Next steps: Establishing intermediate arrangements has become a race against the clock, as the transitional period should be adopted before and enter into force ahead of 1 August 2020. The text approved by the Agriculture Committee will now be submitted to the 13 - 14 May plenary to seek MEPs’ green light for negotiations with EU ministers. Once the plenary gives the final go-ahead to the Parliament’s position in May, negotiations with ministers will start immediately. A final agreement before the end of June, and the Croatian presidency’s hand-over to Germany, is the goal.

For more information: The European Parliament has published a briefing that summarises the main aspects of the Commission’s proposal for the transitional rules to the next CAP as well as the state of play of negotiations. 

 

Survey - Evaluation of the information policy on the CAP
Agricultural Policy

The European Commission has contracted PPMI – an European research and policy analysis centre to carry out an evaluation of the information policy on the Common agricultural policy (CAP). To this end, the contractor is launching a survey for stakeholders to gather their opinion about the information on the CAP that they receive from DG AGRI. All the replies of this survey will feed into the external evaluation of the information policy on the CAP. This evaluation will provide an evidence based assessment of the policy and will help the European Commission to improve their actions. 

 

EFSA on Plant Health
Plant Health Policy

Pest survey cards go digital

The first batch of EFSA’s plant pest survey cards is now available in an easy-to-use digital format. Ten of the existing 28 cards – which are designed to help EU Member States plan their annual survey of quarantine pests – have been published as “story maps” on EFSA’s website. They are smartphone-compatible. The cards contain material that is essential for carrying out surveys that conform to current international standards, such as up-to-date information on the pest’s distribution, its host range, its biology and risk factors, as well as available detection and identification methods. 

They are part of a plant pest surveillance toolkit that consists of pest‐specific documents, such as the survey cards, and documents that are relevant for all pests to be surveyed, including general survey guidelines and information on appropriate software. The remaining 18 cards will be adapted to the new format later this year. 

2020: the International Year of Plant Health

EFSA’s work on plant health and, specifically, on pests surveillance in their website on the International Year of Plant Health: https://bit.ly/33OwCDA

 

ePhyto Hub
Plant Health Policy

February / March Hub monthly report: 

  • While Myanmar is the latest country to be provided with a PROD environment in the GeNS, it appears that they will not get started with the actual exchange until June time.
  • Morocco is the latest country to connect with the Hub using their own national system. You can read about their implementation here: https://www.tradefacilitation.org/article/morocco-leads-the-way-in-africa-as-digital-phytosanitary-certificates-go-live/
  • Overall, the testing and production certificates have increased pretty significantly which is a welcome sign as countries will become more and more reliant on electronic means to conduct business as usual.

Joint call of the Industry Advisory Group (IAG) of the ePhyto Solution with the government and international organisation leaders of the project (the “ePhyto Steering Group - eSG”): 

- Country uptake of ePhyto: visit this webpage https://hub.ephytoexchange.org/AdminConsole/index.html? and click on “registered NPPOs” at the bottom of the page to find the latest country list. The eSG informed us that there is “active testing” with Costa Rica, South Korea, Kenya, Rwanda, Guatemala and Myanmar. In addition some 20 countries in Caribbean are actively pursuing the generic national system (GeNS), around 30 in Africa getting ready, and a number of Pacific island countries.

- The bulk of the discussions focussed on the status of the “Channel” that is being built to link the ePhyto Solution with other digital platforms. The first phase of the Channel is aimed at creating an interface with government agency digital platforms. We understand that the link has already been made with EU TRACES and this will be operational within the next 2-6 weeks (somewhat unpredictable because of the Covid-19 pandemic). 7 EU countries have now confirmed acceptance of the Channel. It is believed that the new component built into EU TRACES will soon facilitate trade between USA and EU. Mexico’s Single Window is also now linked. 

- Below are some questions that were put together by members of this Working Group about the “Channel”. The responses received confirm that a) control of access to the Channel will be governed by NPPOs and b) access is given to ePhyto information not to the ePhyto Solution itself.

  1. Which types of 3rd party systems will have access to the ePhyto Solution via the Channel?: Technically any 3rd party system. We are currently designing the registration process for national and global entities, in the end the communication to the connecting 3rd party will be authorized by the national entities at the level of the single message if required. Ones that have been in touch have typically related to logistics companies (shipping entities) and commodity groups (grain, cotton, seed, etc). The most important is going to be for groups that are crosscutting that deal with multiple exporters/importers in a more centralized way. Another good opportunity would be the commercial (banking) sector that the IPPC/NPPOs don’t have much experience working with but definitely could.
  2. How will commercial platforms access the channel? How does the commercial entity receive it and then go back to the customs for discharge purposes?: The commercial entity will receive the ePhyto XML by connecting to the HUB web services with the same data that the destination country is receiving. Approaches to Customs authorities may differ from country to country but in theory all Customs authorities can be linked with the Channel if that’s what national authorities decide. This is always a challenge and depends somewhat on the country involved. Some countries have ePhyto fully integrated in their Single Window systems so customs will already get the information when the country begins exchanging ePhytos.
  3. When sending ePhytos to a particular "commercial entity", will there be email tracking?: Tracking is done in the HUB, the connected party will need to connect, with their system, to the HUB and check the messages that have been forwarded. The HUB keep the messages in the queue for 5 days (the party can change that setting) and a regular email notification is sent to the administrators to report on the messages that are not pulled from the HUB. Most things aren’t tracked by email in the regard of “ePhytos”, the systems are more automated. Things to really consider for any commercial system will be how they want to display the information to their end users and how they distribute the information to the appropriate parties within their systems. There are a lot of automatic acknowledgements and tracking that is found in the logs of the system for troubleshooting and such.
  4. Will ePhytos be sent to the commercial systems even if the particular country is not ready for exchange? How can it be considered as valid if the country is not ready for exchange?: If the country is not ready for electronic exchange, the commercial party should be able to receive the information electronically anyway. This is a good point, because in most of the cases the sender country will not send the electronic version unless the destination country is connected to the HUB.
  5. Will 3rd parties be able to access the Solution to exchange certificates themselves?: The version that we are promoting in these days will allow 3rd parties to receive messages only. The HUB can support any type of content, therefore, technically, allowing 3rd parties to use the HUB for ePhyto supplementary information or other types of commercial exchanges is an option that can be enabled after verifying the impact and additional capacity requirements. For the present time, the Channel will allow information to flow to non-government entities only, the IPPC Contracting Parties have made it clear that the actual access to the Hub itself should be limited to NPPOs at least for now. The exchange of phytosanitary certificates through the Hub is a government to government process. It will be a stepwise approach on proving benefits and building momentum, but it’s relatively easy to allow the exchange in both directions once there is agreement and utilizing the same mechanism we are currently building.
  6. When will the ePhyto be communicated to the commercial platform and it what form?: When the sending country deliver the ePhyto to the HUB, based on the type of message the ePhyto will be forwarded to the list of commercial entities in the same XML form that the destination country will receive it, the commercial platform must be connected to the HUB and use the web services to get it. This is the most important point.  The information will arrive in the commercial platform the same way it does to the NPPO. The commercial platform has to build ways to digest/disseminate/display that information and it’s very important they think about those things before it starts. This is always one of the most difficult points to make.
  7. Who from the commercial platform will have access to the channel?: During the registration and onboarding of the commercial entity a system administrator should be having access to the HUB console, configure the connection parameters, review the status, test, receive notifications and so on… This access is only to setup and review the configuration and logs, the access to the HUB need to be done by a system. The channel administrator will not be able to open any content from the HUB console, just see the audit logs. The answer to this is that the commercial platform will have access to receive any information directed to their system but then they have to decide how it’s handled within their system.
  8. How will verification work - confirmation of delivery? Read / view / acceptance receipts? Multi-step authentication?: Similarly to how country systems are connecting to the HUB, the commercial platform will get the list of incoming messages, pull them, and acknowledge the receipt to the HUB, during the acknowledge the content is removed from the HUB and the logs are updated to report the status to the sender. Regarding authentication, the system will need to connect using a client X.509 digital certificate, that is configured in the HUB by the system administrator, the communication happen through on a secure and encrypted protocol TLS/HTTPS (all these technical details are in the API document and the rest of the public documentation here: https://www.ephytoexchange.org/landing/index.html) 

A member of the industry group shared a good source for information about trade flows - this website provides regular country updates on ports, shipping and quarantine measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic: https://www.nepia.com/industry-news/coronavirus-outbreak-impact-on-shipping/

 

Related document

Health and Food audits and analysis
Plant Health Policy

The European Commission has published the following audit reports:

 

Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) notifications
Food Safety

Bromoxynil: This Draft Commission Implementing Regulation provides that the approval of the active substance bromoxynil is not renewed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. EU Member States shall withdraw authorisations for plant protection products containing bromoxynil as an active substance. The non-renewal of approval is based on the first evaluation of the substance for use as a pesticide active substance in the EU under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. The substance was formerly assessed and approved under Directive 91/414/ EEC. This decision only concerns the placing on the market of this substance and plant protection products containing it. Following non-approval and the expiry of all grace periods for stocks of products containing this substance, separate action may be taken on MRLs and a separate notification will be made in accordance with SPS procedures.

 

Mancozeb: This Draft Commission Implementing Regulation provides that the approval of the active substance mancozeb is not renewed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. Existing authorisations of plant protection products containing mancozeb will be withdrawn and such products can then no longer be placed on the market. The non-renewal of the approval is based on a scientific assessment conducted under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 by experts from the Member States of the European Union and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) . This decision only concerns the placing on the market of mancozeb and plant protection products containing it. Following non-renewal of approval and the expiry of all grace periods for stocks of products containing this substance, separate action will be taken to swiftly lower all existing MRLs to the limit of quantification and a separate notification will be made in accordance with SPS procedures. As soon as the lowered MRLs will be applicable (expected in the third quarter of 2020), foodstuffs with higher levels of mancozeb will become non-compliant and can no longer be placed on the EU market.

Draft Commission Delegated Regulation amending Part I of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 as regards the use of in-conversion and non-organic plant reproductive material: Delegated Regulation amending Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on the provisions for the use of in-conversion and non-organic plant reproductive material in particular with respect to the criteria for derogating from the obligation to use organic plant reproductive material which shall be applied by the competent authorities of EU Member States and rules on monitoring. Some provisions can affect also organic operators in Third Countries.

 

Cadmium Draft Regulation
Food Safety

The European Commission had prepared a draft Regulation (in attachment) proposing changes to the cadmium maximum levels. This draft Regulation has been circulated to Member States for comments. Following the scientific opinions on cadmium of the Contam Panel, the Commission has investigated the possibilities to reduce some of the existing maximum levels for cadmium. For potatoes the level is still 0.10 mg/kg. This draft is scheduled to be discussed at the Standing Committee in June. The final vote is scheduled to take place after the summer. However, this timeline is subject to changes taking into account the situation regarding Coronavirus.

 

Related document

EP objection on maximum residue levels
Food Safety

In February EU Member States voted in favour to Commission’s draft Regulation regarding the maximum residue levels for cycloxydim, flonicamid, haloxyfop, mandestrobin, mepiquat, Metschnikowia fructicola strain NRRL Y-27328 and prohexadione. The minutes of that meeting and the draft Regulation are available.

The draft Regulation was objected by the European Parliament in February 2019, because it also included an import tolerance MRL for clothianidin. As a response the European Commission removed clothianidin from this Regulation with the intention to respond to the European Parliament separately and allow the European Parliament to proceed with remaining active substances. 

However after the second intend the European Parliament again has objected the same Regulation due to concerns regarding other active substances. Members of the European Parliament have general considerations regarding:

  • promoting new uses of pesticides;
  • specific concerns regarding flonicamid, in relation to a potential risk to bees;
  • haloxyfop and mandestrobin: they are import tolerance requests and MEPs believe they would have an impact on the level of protection of EU citizens.

Indeed, on 21 April the European Parliament, ENVI Committee discussed European Parliament’s Draft Motion by MEP Michèle Rivasi and voted in favour by the majority of Member of the European Parliament representing ENVI Committee: 45 MEPs in favour, 31 MEPs against, 5 MEPs abstained. 

As a standard procedure, the European Parliament should now present the Draft Motion for Resolution for a vote in a Plenary Session of the European Parliament within 2 month time. However given that the European Parliament will not hold its Plenary Session in the next 2 months (due to COVID-19) the Chair of ENVI Committee requested the European Commission to make an exemption and consider the vote in ENVI Committee as if it is a vote in the Plenary Session. As the regulatory procedure with regard to setting, modification or removal of MRLs involves the scrutiny process by the European Parliament and Council, the European Commission must react to the opposition expressed by the European Parliament. The European Commission is currently assessing the situation, but might have to come back to the European Parliament with an amended proposal taking into account concerns identified in the Motion for a Resolution.

 

Academic paper condemns pesticide assessment practices
Food Safety

In a paper entitled ‘Achieving a High Level of Protection from Pesticides in Europe: Problems with the Current Risk Assessment Procedure and Solutions’, published in the European Journal of Risk Regulation, a group of scientists and lawyers, has condemned what they say are systemic failings in the EU’s assessment procedure for pesticides and called for new measures, in particular the proper implementation of existing law and guidance, to ensure that best practice is enforced. The paper investigates the reasons for regulatory failures that allow unsafe pesticides onto the EU market. The authors note that the EU evaluations of glyphosate, which is in fact a herbicide, “were frequently used as examples of the failures of the system,” and suggest that its case has revalued that “the shortcomings in the implementation of the EU’s pesticide regulation are systemic rather than isolated errors or abuses.” They say that “a growing body of evidence shows that pesticides that have passed through this process and are authorised for use may harm humans, animals and the environment,” even though the EU system is one of the most stringent in the world. To tackle the problem, they suggest that “guidance documents should be revised to reflect best scientific practice and their standards should be enforced”, calling for transparency to ensure, “the accountability of institutions and stakeholders in adhering to good scientific practices and meeting their obligations under the law.” The experts also put forward the idea of systematic reviews in pesticide assessments and the enforcement of strict conflict of interest policies.” 

 

Multiannual control programme 2021-2022-2023
Food Safety

The European Commission has published Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/585 concerning a coordinated multiannual control programme of the Union for 2021, 2022 and 2023 to ensure compliance with maximum residue levels of pesticides and to assess the consumer exposure to pesticide residues in and on food of plant and animal origin. Potatoes will be sampled in 2023, in particular for Cyromazine, Fluazifop-P and Propamocarb.

 

Specific protection goals for the environmental risk assessment of PPPs
Food Safety

Europatat had an expert representative in the EU working group working on developing Specific Protection Goals (SPGs) for the environmental risk assessment of plant protection products (PPPs). The first workshop took place on 25 September 2019. The second took place on 3 & 4 February 2020. The report of this second workshop is attached. The Commission is considering all the concerns, recommendations and feedback raised so far and will come back to all stakeholders on the next steps of the project. The report will be shared with the representatives of the Member States prior to the next ScoPAFF meeting in May 2020.

 

Related document

EFSA Highlights
Food Safety

Results of EFSA’s pilot assessments on the risks posed to humans by residues of multiple pesticides in food: The assessments – one considering chronic effects on the thyroid system and the other acute effects on the nervous system – are the culmination of a multi-year collaboration between EFSA and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The documents were finalised following a two-month consultation period during which EFSA received valuable feedback from a variety of stakeholders, including national institutions, academia, non-governmental organisations and commercial associations. A meeting was also held with stakeholders in Brussels to help clarify the methodology and explain the results of the work. The overall conclusion for both assessments is that consumer risk from dietary cumulative exposure is, with varying degrees of certainty, below the threshold that triggers regulatory action for all the population groups covered. (See FAQ for more information on the use of uncertainty analysis in the assessments.) Assessments covering the effects of pesticides on other organs and body functions will follow in the coming years. EFSA is currently defining a comprehensive implementation plan with the European Commission.

Practical Arrangements (Pas) to implement Transparency Regulation provisions: EFSA has published the first PAs for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and Articles 6 and 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 (Public Access to Documents (PAD) & Aarhus Regulation) on EFSA’s website. This follows the strict timeline imposed by the Transparency Regulation, which foresees the adoption of this document by EFSA’s Management Board by March 27 2020. The Public Access to Documents (PAD) & Aarhus Regulation PAs lay down detailed procedures highlighting the steps required at each stage for replying to public access to documents (PAD) requests, and explain the conditions for exceptions to disclosure. The remaining PAs on Confidentiality, Transparency, Consistency of confidentiality assessments for new active substances (NAS) and renewals under the Plant Protection Products Regulation, Notification of studies, Public consultation of third parties and Pre-submission advice will follow a different adoption process and timeline. 

 Evaluations of active substances: According to Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, EFSA is required to review the existing MRLs for the following active substances (for more information on the process, please consult the document “Overview of the MRL review progress under Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005”):

  • 8-Hydroxyquinoline: In view of this MRL review, EFSA is now initiating the new (future) process for this active substance. All authorisation holders (including non-EU authorisation holders) are advised to liaise with the rapporteur Member State Spain (prados@inia.es) in case they want to support the EU MRL review of this active substance as this is the only opportunity for providing this information. Current MRL for potatoes is 0.01 mg/kg (lower limit of analytical determination).
  • Pinoxaden: In view of this MRL review, EFSA is now initiating the new (future) process for this active substance. All authorisation holders (including non-EU authorisation holders) are advised to liaise with the rapporteur Member State Austria (elisabeth.aranguiz-rebolledo@ages.at; christian.prohaska@ages.at) in case they want to support the EU MRL review of this active substance as this is the only opportunity for providing this information. Current MRL for potatoes is 0.02 mg/kg (lower limit of analytical determination).

Publications: 

 

Minor Uses Coordination Facility newsletter
Food Safety

The Minor Uses Coordination Facility (MUCF) has released its 13th newsletter containing information about various activities in that area.

 

Related document

Update on EU-UK trade negotiations
Market Access

Michel Barnier, the European Commission´s Chief Negotiator, and David Frost, the UK´s Chief Negotiator, have been holding a series of videconferences during the last weeks to take stock of the technical work that has taken place since the first negotiating round on the basis of the legal texts exchanged by both sides. After the last round of virtual talks that took place between 20 and 24 April, Barnier showed his frustration about the failure of the UK to engage on a number of fundamental issues to bring progress to EU-UK negotiations. The EU’s Chief Negotiator stressed the tight deadlines that negotiators are facing, given that the UK confirmed during this round of talks that it would refuse any extension of the Withdrawal Agreement transition period (according to the WA, the UK has until 1 July 2020 to request a an extension of the transition period for up to 1 or 2 years). The two sides also are “very far apart,” on the question of governance, with the EU having proposed a single framework, while the UK continues to insist on a number of separate agreements, each with their separate governance arrangements. From the EU’s point of view, this could lead to duplication, inefficiencies and a lack of transparency.

The next negotiation rounds will take place on 11 May and 1 June. The stock-taking EU-UK High Level meeting foreseen for June will take stock of the progress made and will be critical to define progress made and the next steps.

 

EU and Mexico conclude negotiations for new trade agreement
Trade Policy

The European Union and Mexico have this week concluded the last outstanding element of the negotiation of their new trade agreement. The trade agreement is part of a broader Global Agreement, which sets the framework for the EU's relationship with Mexico and covers issues of broader shared interest that go beyond trade, including political issues, climate change and human rights. The EU and Mexico started the negotiations for this new, modernised agreement in May 2016. They reached an agreement in principle two years later, in April 2018, leaving for further discussion some outstanding technical issues. Those are now fully agreed.

Under the new EU-Mexico agreement, practically all trade in goods between the EU and Mexico will be duty-free. The agreement also now includes progressive rules on sustainable development, such as a commitment to effectively implementing the Paris Climate Agreement. It is also the first time that the EU agrees with a Latin American country on issues concerning investment protection. Simpler customs procedures will further help boost exports.

The legal revision of the agreement is now being finalised. Once the process is concluded, the agreement will be translated into all EU languages. Following the translations, the Commission proposal will be transmitted for signature and conclusion to the Council and European Parliament.

 

1st issue of the new EU Platform on Food Waste’s newsletter 
Sustainability

The EU Platform on Food Loss and Food Waste, to which Europatat is a member, has launched a new monthly newsletter publication (please see attached here below). The purpose of the newsletter is to offer an overview of the Platform members’ initiatives in food loss and waste prevention. This first edition is dedicated to actions especially taken to prevent food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic. The newsletter will be published on the European Commission’s food waste website and further disseminated to other relevant networks (e.g. FAO Save Food, Champions 12.3 etc.). As a collective initiative, should you wish to contribute to this newsletter, please contact the Europatat Secretariat.

 

Related document

Scientific opinion - Towards a Sustainable Food System
Sustainability

The scientific opinion ‘Towards a Sustainable Food System’, written by the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors has now been adopted and published. The paper, which is intended to help the Commision on the preparation of the “Farm to Fork” Strategy, focuses on how to deliver an inclusive, fair and timely transition towards a sustainable food system in Europe, delivering health, environmental and socioeconomic benefits. According to the scientific advisors, “the EU food system has achieved high levels of food security, food safety and a wide consumer choice, but is currently not sustainable with respect to the environmental, economic and social aspects. Continuing with ‘business as usual’ will significantly endanger natural resources, our health, the climate, and the economy”. EU’s chief scientific advisors have identified one central overarching recommendation (make environmental, social and economic sustainability the central objective of all policies relevant to food), as well as more specific recommendations, such as:

  • Develop responsive, learning-focused policy approaches and governance structures including through pilot initiatives, assessing their suitability for broader adoption.
  • Increase the policy focus on food manufacturers and retailers: According to the paper, existing policies mainly target producers and consumers. However, the strong influence of food processing and retail sectors have on producer and consumer choices warrants a greater focus of sustainability policies and initiatives targeting these sectors. Such policies should include requirements for accessible, transparent and comparable sustainability information, including certification and labelling, to support proper market functioning, due diligence and traceability. 
  • Support a food environment that helps citizens to make healthy and sustainable food choices.
  • Strengthen the more vulnerable actors in the food system: EU’s chief scientific advisors state that the food processing and retail sectors have a strong influence of on producer and consumer choices. Accordingly, “further EU policy reform is needed to provide for small-scale or otherwise vulnerable actors, and support representation and participation of broad groups of food producers”. It is also highlighted that alternative and shorter food supply networks, such as linking consumers directly with producers, are examples of initiatives supporting weaker groups and individuals, which should be considered for EU support.

As indicated at the beginning of this Circular, the awaited “Farm to Fork” Strategy is set to be published on 20 May. 

 

Public consultation– 2030 Climate Target Plan
Sustainability

The European Commission has opened a new public consultation on the 2030 Climate Target, in this case the 2030 Climate Target Plan. As reminder, the European Green Deal aims to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by increasing the EU’s 2030 target for greenhouse gas emission reductions to at least -50% and towards -55% compared to 1990 levels. Revising the current 2030 target upwards puts us on a more gradual pathway towards becoming climate-neutral by 2050. The consultation aims to collect opinions on the desired ambition level of climate and energy policies, necessary actions in different sectors and specific policy design to increase climate ambition by 2030. It also aims to gather further information, including roadmaps, policy briefs and studies relevant for deeper greenhouse gas emission reductions.

The consultation is available here and the deadline for responses is the 23 June 2020. 

 

Geographical Indications – a European treasure worth €75 billion
Quality Policy

According to a study published on 20 April by the European Commission, agri-food and drink products whose names are protected by the European Union as “Geographical Indications” (GIs) represent a sales value of €74.76 billion. The study was based on all 3,207 product names protected across the 28 EU Member States at the end of 2017 (by the end of March 2020, the total number of protected names increased to 3,322). It concludes that the sales value of a product with a protected name is on average double than that for similar products without a certification. According to the study, geographical indications represent 15.5% of the total EU agri-food exports.

An online public consultation was launched from 4 November 2019 to 3 February 2020 to gather feedback on the policy from stakeholders. Among the key findings, a majority of respondents agreed that EU quality schemes benefit producers and consumers. The ‘factual summary' report gives a detailed overview of the feedback received from the public consultation.

 

World Food Crisis Report 2020 calls to avoid a “food disaster” due to coronavirus
Food Policy

The Global Network against Food Crises, an international alliance steered by the UN, of which the EU is a member, has released the 2020 edition of its annual global report on food crises. According to this report, at the end of 2019 more than 135 million people in 55 countries and territories were facing serious food insecurity and were in need of emergency aid. In addition, more than 183 million people faced food security challenges, at high risk of falling into acute food insecurity if they faced additional shocks - which is particularly worrying given the expected development of the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, 17 million children worldwide were wasted due to acute malnutrition, and as many as 75 million were stunted due to chronic malnutrition. The Global Food Crisis Network has warned that the situation could unfortunately continue to worsen in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and has expressed its firm commitment to continue helping millions of vulnerable people around the world who already suffer from food insecurity and acute malnutrition.

In parallel to the report, the network published a short note outlining ‘Key takeaways of the Global Network Against Food Crises on Preventing a food catastrophe during the COVID-19 pandemic’. It stresses the risks brought by declines in economic activity, combined with trade restrictions, which could reduce household incomes, and may lead to rises in food prices and disruption in food value chains.

 

New potato podcast from World Potato Markets’ team is now live!
Other

A new podcast called PlanetPotato from the World Potato Markets’ team has gone live. According to Cedric Porter, the podcast will take a look “at every aspect of the potato’s impact, from the cultural to the culinary, the political to the poetic, offering listeners a lively, surprising look at one of the world’s favourite foods.” The first episode features food historian Professor Rebecca Earle on the potato as a rebel crop, a look at its current role in spreading the social-distancing message, and a soothing recitation of the poetic names of potato varieties. 

Please do not hesitate to listen and share as widely as possible the podcast, which is not primarily aimed at potato experts but “for people all round the world who love the potato and want to know more about it” points out Porter. The WPM is also looking for ideas, feedback and contributions. Should you have any comment to pass to the WPM team, please let us know.

You can download the free PlanetPotato podcast from: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1028971/episodes/3445543

 

  
 

This Circular contains information for the personal use of Europatat members only, and must not be further disseminated to non-members. Europatat members are kindly invited to inform the Secretariat about any specific country or industry developments which are appropriate for circulation in this Circular. For more information on the contents of this Circular, contact the Association’s Secretariat.

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