Europatat, European Potato Trade Association
  Europatat Circular 10 / 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

Research

Food Policy

Other

  
 

Europatat AGM 2020 - Voting form to be returned by 22 June
Activities Europatat

Following the announced calendar for the Europatat AGM of 29 June 2020 to be held via written procedure, members have now received directly by email the voting form which needs to be completed, signed and returned to the Europatat Office by email or fax by not later than 22nd June 2020. Under the rules of the written procedure all decisions require unanimity, so we thank you in advance for your collaboration in completing this process as swiftly as possible.

 

Europatat’s response to online consultation on R&I Green Deal Call
Activities Europatat

The European Commission has launched online surveys to engage stakeholders and the public in shaping up the different draft call areas of the new Horizon 2020 R&I European Green Deal Call. This dedicated call for proposals will reinforce Green Deal-related research and innovation activities under the current EU research and innovation framework programme. Out of the 11 call areas, there is one dedicated to Farm to Fork-related R&I activities, which calls for demonstration projects to test, pilot and showcase place-based, innovative system solutions to 4 pressing food systems’ challenges, and resulting in 4 targeted impacts:

  1. achieving climate neutral farms, and/or achieving climate neutral food businesses
  2. reduction of pesticides, antimicrobials, fertilizers and harmful nutrients, towards zero pollution
  3. reduction of food loss and waste
  4. shifting to sustainable and healthy diets, sourced from land and sea

Timeline:

  • 3 June 2020: Deadline for online feedback for the call
  • mid-September 2020: Formal adoption of Green Deal call as amendment to Horizon 2020 work programme 2018-20
  • mid-September 2020: Publication and opening of the call
  • 22-24 September 2020: Opportunity to find potential project partners at the EU R&I Days
  • end January 2021: Deadline for submitting project proposals

Europatat has prepared input to be sent to the Commission next week, highlighting the relevance of this call but pointing out that the timeframe might be too tight to prepare / receive good proposals. Should members have any input they would like to give, please contact the Secretariat.

 

EU’s Farm to fork and Biodiversity strategies unveiled
Agricultural Policy

On 20 May, the European Commission finally unveiled the long-awaited Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy “for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system” and its draft action plan, which includes several non-legislative and legislative measures to reach the goals of the Strategy: “to reduce the environmental and climate footprint of the food system and strengthen its resilience, leading a global transition towards competitive sustainability from farm to fork and tapping into new opportunities”. In order to accelerate and facilitate this transition, the Commission will propose a legislative initiative for sustainable food systems before the end of 2023 that “will gradually rise sustainability standards”.

On the same day, the Commission also unveiled a new Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 that aims to tackle the “key drivers of biodiversity loss, such as unsustainable use of land and sea, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and invasive alien species”. The strategy brings forward concrete actions such as transforming at least 30% of Europe's lands and seas into protected areas and bringing back at least 10% of agricultural area under high-diversity landscape features (strictly protected).

Both strategies complement to each other with key planned actions for the coming years such as:

2020

  • Action Plan for Organic Farming for 2021-2026 with the objective of reach at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming by 2030.
  • Review and possible revision of the EU Pollinators initiative.
  • Review of the EU promotion programme for agricultural and food products with a view to enhancing its contribution to sustainable production and consumption.

2021

  • Revision of the relevant implementing Regulations under the Plant Protection Products framework to facilitate placing on the market of plant protection products containing biological active substances.
  • Develop an EU code and monitoring framework for responsible business and marketing conduct in the food supply chain. In this regard, the Commission will seek timely commitments from food companies and organisations to take concrete actions on sustainability, focusing on reducing their environmental footprint and reducing packaging among others.
  • Develop a contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security.
  • Proposal for EU nature restoration targets.

2022

  • Proposal for a revision of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive to significantly reduce use and dependency on pesticides and enhance Integrated Pest Management. The Commission wants to reduce the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% and the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50% by 2030.
  • Integrated Nutrient Management Action Plan to reduce nutrient losses by at least 50%, while ensuring that there is no deterioration in soil fertility. This will reduce the use of fertilisers by at least 20% by 2030.
  • Proposal for a revision of EU legislation on Food Contact Materials to improve food safety, ensure citizens’ health and reduce the environmental footprint of the sector

2023

  • Proposal for a revision of the pesticides statistics Regulation to overcome data gaps and reinforce evidence-based policy making.
  • Proposal for EU-level targets for food waste reduction.
  • Review of the EU school scheme legal framework with a view to refocus the scheme on healthy and sustainable food

According to the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, these measures “will all need to be taken forward in line with the better regulation principles, including evaluations and impact assessments as appropriate”.

Regarding the instruments enabling the transition towards “sustainable, healthy and inclusive food systems”, the Commission highlights Research & Innovation as one of the key drivers that “can help resolve tensions, develop and test solutions, overcome barriers and uncover new market opportunities”. Under Horizon Europe (the next R&I framework), the Commission proposes to spend €10 billion on projects on food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and the environment as well as the use of digital technologies (e.g. data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, robotics) and nature-based solutions for agri-food. 

The Commission commits to review these Strategy by 2023 and 2024 “to assess whether the action taken is sufficient to achieve the objectives or whether additional action is necessary”.

 

Commission presents revamped EU’s budget for agriculture
Agricultural Policy

On 27 May, the European Comission presented a revamped proposal on the multiannual financial framework (MFF), including a recovery plan for the years 2021-2027 (see last article of this newsletter). For the EU’s agriculture sector, the Commission suggests increasing the amount allocated in farming subsidies by €24 billion compared to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)’s bid presented in June 2018. The adjustment positively affects the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) – the CAP’s second pillar – with an increase of €15 billion provided by the ‘Next Generation EU’ rescue plan and €5 billion from the updated multi-annual financial framework proposal (MFF). The proposed budget allocation for the second pillar is now €90 billion, while direct payments to farmers and market-related expenditures (the first CAP pillar) would increase by an additional €4 billion, for a grand total of €258 billion.

With the new figures, the Commission seems to have made a U-Turn compared to its 2018 CAP proposal, where the rural development fund was hit by severe cuts, falling by roughly 30% compared to the 2014-2020 CAP budget. According to the Commission, the increase of the rural development heading will support farmers and rural areas in making the structural changes necessary to implement the European Green Deal and, in particular, support the ambitious targets set by the new Biodiversity and Farm to Fork strategies (see article above). However, the new proposal still represents a decrease of around 10% compared to EAFRD spending for the current programming period.

The new EU’s budget proposal has an influence on the current negotiations on the future CAP, that will depend on the available budget for agriculture. As such, Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, will be questionned by the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture on 2 June.

 

CAP transitional rules’ update
Agricultural Policy

On 15 May, the European Parliament’s virtual plenary session supported the mandate on the CAP transitional regulation (see Circular 8/2020), giving a go-ahead to the start of negotiations with EU agriculture ministers. A final agreement before the end of June, and the Croatian presidency’s hand-over to Germany, is the goal. 

As a reminder, the CAP transitional rules aim 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, the Parliament insists on introducing a flexible mechanism to prolong this period by another year.

 

European Patent Office rules against patents on conventional plants
Plant Health Policy

According to a verdict by the Enlarged Board of Appeal, the highest legal body of the European Patent Office (EPO), plants and animals exclusively obtained by conventional breeding are not patentable. The Board concluded that plants and animals obtained by ‘essentially biological processes’ are not patentable, with the exception of patent applications filed before July 2017. This verdict is in line with the interpretation of European patent law as decided by the 38 member states of the EPO in 2017.

 

EPPO Reporting Service
Plant Health Policy

The EPPO Reporting Service is a monthly information report on events of phytosanitary concern. It focuses on new geographical records, new host plants, new pests (including invasive alien plants), pests to be added to the EPPO Alert List, detection and identification methods etc.

The report number 5 of 2020 is now available. The EPPO Global Database (GD) is available here.

 

Health and Food audits and analysis
Plant Health Policy

The European Commission has published the following audit reports:

 

F2F & EU Biodiversity Strategy: Food safety targets
Food Safety

A number of regulatory and non-regulatory elements included in the Farm to Fork Strategy and the EU Strategy for Biodiversity for 2030 are related to food safety policy, notably:

50% reduction of the use and risk of chemical pesticides and more hazardous pesticides by 2030 - The Commission will look into paving the way to alternatives and maintain farmers’ incomes:

  • Revision of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive, enhance provisions on integrated pest management (IPM) and promote greater use of safe alternative ways of protecting harvests from pests and diseases. IPM will encourage the use of alternative control techniques, such as crop rotation and mechanical weeding, and will be one of the main tools in reducing the use of, and dependency on, chemical pesticides in general, and the use of more hazardous pesticides in particular.
  • Agricultural practices that reduce the use of pesticides through the CAP will be of paramount importance and the Strategic Plans should reflect this transition and promote access to advice.
  • The Commission will also facilitate the placing on the market of pesticides containing biological active substances and reinforce the environmental risk assessment of pesticides. It will act to reduce the length of the pesticide authorisation process by Member States.

Import tolerances 

1) for substances that are no longer approved in the EU due to effects on the environment:

  • Imported food must continue to comply with relevant EU regulations and standards.
  • The Commission will take into account environmental aspects when assessing requests for import tolerances for pesticide substances no longer approved in the EU while respecting WTO standards and obligations.

2) for substances falling under “cut-off criteria” and presenting a high level of risk for human health:

  • A more sustainable EU food system also requires increasingly sustainable practices by the EU’s  trading partners.
  • In order to promote a gradual move towards the use of safer plant protection products, the EU will consider, in compliance with WTO rules and following a risk assessment, to review import tolerances for substances meeting the "cut-off criteria" and presenting a high level of risk for human health. The EU will engage actively with trading partners, especially with developing countries, to accompany the transition towards the more sustainable use of pesticides to avoid disruptions in trade and promote alternative plant protection products and methods.

50% reduction of nutrient losses while ensuring that there is no deterioration in soil fertility. This will reduce the use of fertilisers by at least 20% by 2030.

  • This will be achieved by implementing and enforcing the relevant environmental and climate legislation in full, by identifying with Member States the nutrient load reductions needed to achieve these goals, applying balanced fertilisation and sustainable nutrient management and by managing nitrogen and phosphorus better throughout their lifecycle.
  • The Commission will develop with Member States an integrated nutrient management action plan in 2022 to address nutrient pollution at source and increase the sustainability of the livestock sector.
  • The Commission will also work with Member States to extend the application of precise fertilisation techniques and sustainable agricultural practices, notably in hotspot areas of intensive livestock farming and of recycling of organic waste into renewable fertilisers. This will be done by means of measures which Member States will include in their CAP Strategic Plans such as the Farm Sustainability Tool for nutrient management, investments, advisory services and of EU space technologies (Copernicus, Galileo).

 

REFIT report - Evaluation of EU legislation on PPPs and residues
Food Safety

The European Commission has adopted a Report on the Evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 on the placing of plant protection products on the market and of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides. The detailed findings of the evaluation are presented in an accompanying Staff Working Document. The report will now be presented to the Council and the European Parliament for their views.

Many elements presented in the REFIT report on PPPs and MRLs are also reflected in the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy (see previous article). A short summary that includes some of the important elements can be found below:

  • An EU agriculture entirely without pesticides is not a realistic objective, including in organic farming where a limited number of pesticides may also be used. Use of pesticides is an essential tool to reach the EU’s objectives on plant health, food safety and food security, especially in view of the coming increase in global food demand linked to population growth. The aim of EU legislation on pesticides is therefore not to eliminate pesticides but rather to minimise their impact on human health and the environment through reduced dependency on pesticides, alternative methods and through increased use of low risk and non-chemical pesticides.
  • While the evaluation has found a number of weaknesses, stakeholders from across the spectrum agree that the current legislation sets an adequate framework of pre-market approval of active substances and authorisation of plant protection products and are not calling for fundamental changes of the PPP Regulation, while views were more divergent as regards the MRL Regulation.
  • The evaluation found that the PPP Regulation is largely effective in protecting human health and the environment due to the stringency of the approval criteria, although implementation can be further improved. The number of active substances decreased already by more than 50 % under Directive 91/414/EEC, the predecessor to the PPP Regulation, which means that the level of protection of health and environment was already high before the PPP Regulation came into force.
  • The number of active substances earlier allowed in plant protection products, is further reduced and the overall number of active substances approved is substantially lower than in third countries with significant agricultural production. The share of active substances with high hazard profiles is low (2%) and will further decrease in the future, while the proportion of active substance with less problematic profiles is relatively large (37%) and is increasing. In fact, in recent years, about half of the applications for the approval of new active substances (of which there are on average 10 per year) are for microorganisms (non-chemical) or substances that are expected to meet the criteria for low-risk substances. From 2011 to 2018, decisions to not approve, not to renew the approval, or withdraw 22 active substances because of health- or environment-related concerns, have contributed to reducing serious risks for consumers, operators, workers, bystanders and residents in the EU, and for the environment. The protection of human health and the environment is expected to further improve in the coming years when the first review of all existing approvals will be finalised (expected by 2025).
  • While the PPP Regulation has the clear potential to be effective in reaching its objectives, including increasing the share of low risk substances, these have only been partially attained due to efficiency problems. In fact, implementation of the PPP Regulation suffers from significant delays that occur in the approval and renewal of active substances and the (re-) authorisation of PPPs. This leads to the need for the extension of approval periods of active substances for several years in order to conclude the decision-making process, while also delaying market access for low-risk active substances and keeping on the market active substances that ultimately are found to not fulfil the approval criteria anymore.
  • The costs and workload involved in approving and renewing the approval of active substances and authorising PPPs within the three zones established by the PPP Regulation are not fairly distributed across Member States. This also contributes to the existing delays as certain Member States face a high workload. In addition, the fees raised by some Member States seem to be both insufficient to cover their costs, and, in addition, not all Member States ring-fence the fees for the authorities actually carrying out the work, resulting in insufficient resources being available.

 

Implementation Report on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive
Food Safety

The Report on the experience gained by Member States on the implementation of national targets established in their National Action Plans and on progress in the implementation of Directive 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides, show that more than two-thirds of Member States have failed to complete a review of their national action plans (NAPs) under the EU Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides within the required five years. Only AT, BE, DK, FR, DE, LT, LU and ES, got the reviews in on time. By the time of publication of the report, a further thirteen countries, CY, CZ, EE, FI, HU, IE, LV, MT, PL, PT, RO, SI and SE, had completed the job. Three Member States identified useful targets on the basis of their review. Germany set a target of a 30% cut in potential risk to the environment by 2023, compared with 1996-2005. Denmark went for a 40% reduction in the Pesticide Load Indicator (PLI) and a 40% reduction in the load from substances of very high concern by end 2015, compared to 2011. Meanwhile, France targeted a 25% cut in plant protection product use by 2020 and a 50% cut by 2025, compared to 2015. The report states that “most Member States have not addressed the weaknesses identified by the Commission in their initial National Action Plans (NAPs) in their revised NAPs.” That means that “the majority of revised NAPs lack ambition & fail to define high-level, outcome-based targets.” However, despite delays in the revision of the plans and the lack of “high-level outcome based targets,” in most of them “Member States have made progress” in implementing the Directive over the last two years. Where they have not made satisfactory progress, the European Commission is “currently considering a range of actions, including infringement procedures.”

 

Report – Crop protection and the EU Food system
Food Safety

The RISE Foundation has launched a new report to contribute to the debate on the future of Crop Protection in the EU. The report sets out to better understand the issues surrounding the way agricultural crops are protected in the EU, and an appendix to the report examines more closely the issues and evidence around crop protection. Whilst EU agriculture relies heavily on the use of synthetic chemical plant protection products to combat pests and diseases, EU regulation aims to encourage the uptake of non-synthetic crop protection methods to reduce harm to human health and the environment. However, available data show no significant overall change in the use and associated impacts of plant protection products during the last decade. A transition in the way crops are protected in the EU is needed. The report proposes one which aims to re-establish ecosystem functions on agricultural land to provide nature-based solutions for pest, disease and weed threats, and to utilise all means to enable a substantial fall in the harms caused to health and environment by the use of PPPs. This transition cannot be disassociated from the wider food system and land use changes which will have to embrace food consumption and waste, food pricing which internalises the true cost of production, and welfare and trade policy. The report spells out some of the policy changes and key actions to bring about the required transition. These fall under four categories: high level food system strategy, agricultural and environmental policy, specific crop protection policy and enabling policy measures.

 

Mancozeb lowering of MRL
Food Safety

On 17 April the European Commission has notified the World Trade Organisation with a Draft Regulation regarding the non-renewal of approval of the active substance mancozeb. If the draft regulation is voted in favour (indicative date of vote in July), the decision will only concern the placing on the market of mancozeb 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 will be taken on MRLs.

Lowering of MRL: Mancozeb MRLs are covered under the established dithiocarbamates MRLs, which also include other active substances under renewal review. The group of active substances of dithiocarbamates comprises of: maneb, mancozeb, metiram, propineb, thiram and ziram. Dithiocarbamates have also a common residue definition expressed as carbon disulphide. The MRLs cannot be lowered individually for mancozeb without impacting the other substances comprised in the group of dithiocarbamates. The group needs to be reviewed as a whole considering that some substances are still approved, other are no longer approved and there may be additional sources of carbon disulphide. The process will take longer than expected due to its complexity. Therefore the European Commission intends to initiate a collective review of dithiocarbamates MRLs based on procedure set under Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. The exact launching date for the Article 12 for the group of dithiocarbamates is not yet confirmed.

 

Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) notifications
Food Safety

The European Commission has notified the Draft Commission Implementing Regulation concerning the non-renewal of approval of the active substance benalaxyl: This draft Commission Implementing Regulation provides that the approval of the active substance benalaxyl is not renewed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. EU Member States shall withdraw authorisations for plant protection products containing benalaxyl 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 will likely be taken on MRLs and a separate notification will be made in accordance with SPS procedures.

 

Draft Guidance Documents for consultation
Food Safety

The European Commission has shared with Europatat the attached draft Guidance Documents:

1) Guidance document on the risk assessment of metabolites produced by microbial pesticides: The approach described in this guidance document is based on the consensus reached by the EU Working Group on Biopesticides which is that the assessment of all metabolites produced by a micro-organism through an evaluation as performed for chemical active substances is not required, not feasible and unnecessary from a risk perspective. The approach ensures that applicants provide all available data on metabolites including any indication of hazardous effects of any of these metabolites. For those metabolites for which a hazard is identified, this (and only this) hazard is followed-up on by generating additional data where needed for a focused risk assessment for just those particular metabolites.

2) Guidance document on emergency authorisations according to Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009: This guidance explains the process that should be followed by applicants and Member States for application for emergency use as well as specifying the information that should be provided in such applications and their resulting authorisations. The use of the Plant Protection Products Application Management System (PPPAMS) as the EU tool for the submission of applications and the notification of their resulting authorisations for emergency use ensures that detailed information about the situation and about the need for emergency use is shared swiftly with the other Member States and the Commission and that information on emergency authorisations is made publicly available.

For which they are grateful to receive comments (using the attached form) by 26 June at the latest. Members can send us their comments or reply directly to SANTE-Advisory-Group@ec.europa.eu with sante-consult-e4@ec.europa.eu in copy.

 

Related document

EFSA Highlights
Food Safety

Public consultations: 

 

Publications: 

 

Brexit Updates
Market Access

EU-UK trade negotiations: The UK finally published its draft legal proposals for a new partnership with the EU, in the form of a series of individual agreements on various issues (such as fisheries, law enforcement and judicial cooperation, or aviation), with a free trade agreement at the centre. This approach contrasts sharply with the EU proposal, which incorporates the whole partnership in one single comprehensive agreement. Regarding the SPS provisions of the Draft Comprehensive FTA (chapter 6):

  • The UK insists on its ask for its autonomous regulatory regime for sanitary and phytosanitary standards to be recognised as ‘equivalent’ to the EU: “The importing Party shall accept an SPS measure of the exporting Party as equivalent to its own if the exporting Party objectively demonstrates to the importing Party that its measure achieves the importing Party’s appropriate level of protection” the UK text reads, adding that the final determination of equivalence would rest with the importing party. The draft also proposes the possibility for one of the parties to specify any appropriate risk based special conditions or any agreed disease status the exporting Party will need to meet in the case of commodity types and/or official controls where the importing Party does not recognise equivalence of SPS measures.
  • The UK suggests a timeline of one year for the completion of a PRA: ‘When a risk assessment is required, each Party shall promptly, and normally within one year from the date of receipt of the required information for exporting the product, make available the risk assessment it conducts as part of an approval procedure”
  • No clarity is provided as to the future ‘openness’ of the UK system in terms of plant health, as article 6.9.11 indicates ‘the phytosanitary requirements of the importing Party shall be established considering the phytosanitary status in the exporting Party and, if required by the importing Party, the result of a Pest Risk Analysis (“PRA”)’.

The agenda of the next round of negotiations (2-5 June) has been made available. This round is just a month before the 1 July deadline the UK has to request an extension of the transition period for one or two years. The EU Withdrawal (Implementation Period) Bill will be debated by MPs on June 12.

UK's new MFN tariff regime: the UK Global Tariff for potatoes: The UK Government has announced the UK’s new MFN tariff regime, the UK Global Tariff. This will replace the EU’s Common External Tariff on 1 January 2021 at the end of the Transition Period. According to the announcement, the new tariff is tailored to the needs of the UK economy. It will support the economy by making it easier and cheaper for businesses to import goods from overseas. It is a simpler, easier to use and lower tariff regime than the EU’s Common External Tariff (EU CET) and will be in pounds (£), not euros. It will scrap red tape and other unnecessary barriers to trade, reduce cost pressures and increase choice for consumers and back UK industries to compete on the global stage. The Government is maintaining tariffs on a number of products backing UK industries such as agriculture, automotive and fishing. For potatoes:

UK publishes ‘approach’ for Northern Ireland: On 27 May, the UK government published an outline of its plans for Northern Ireland (NI) admitting that there will be “some limited additional process on goods,” arriving in the region, but still insisting there will be “no new physical customs infrastructure.” In the published NI Protocol, the UK insists that the agreement on NI does not create, “nor does it include any provision for creating any kind of international border in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” London insists that the UK must function as a “single customs territory in practice.” Trade from NI to the rest of the UK “should take place as it does now,” without any additional process or paperwork and there will be no restrictions on NI goods arriving in the rest of the UK. Trade from the rest of the UK to NI, will not be subject to tariffs. “Only those goods ultimately entering Ireland or the rest of the EU, or at clear and substantial risk of doing so, will face tariffs,” the UK government says.

 

Analysis - Coronavirus’ impact on EU international trade in goods
Trade Policy

According to the latest statistics published by Eurostat, the variety of restrictive measures taken by countries around the world to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemichave caused a significant impact on international trade in goods. In March 2020, the total extra-EU trade (imports + exports) fell from €252 billion to €228 billion compared with January 2020. This pattern was observed for both exports and import with all five main EU’ trade partners:

The analysis of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy and international trade, published by the European Parliament’s Think Tank, also shows that the unprecedented containment measures adopted worldwide resulted in, for instance, significant reductions in production, disruptions in logistics and distribution, and a drop in purchasing power and trade finance. As a consequence, the World Trade Organization (WTO) predicts a decrease in global merchandise trade of between 13 % and 32 % in 2020. Although the WTO broadly prohibits the use of export prohibitions and restrictions, it allows their temporary introduction if a critical shortage of food or other essential products in an exporting country needs to be prevented or mitigated. In this sense, the WTO Secretariat's information note of 23 April 2020 estimated that 80 countries and separate customs territories (of which eight were not WTO members) had introduced export prohibitions or restrictions in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. While most of the measures concerned medical supplies, 14 WTO members and three observers also imposed measures on food products. Although, in principle, all these measures should be notified, the WTO notes the low number of notifications. Thus, three notifications on foodstuffs export restrictions have been sent by Kyrgyzstan (wheat, rice, etc.), North Macedonia (wheat and wheat flour), and Thailand (eggs). According to the food trade restrictions tracker of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), as of 25 May 2020, 11 countries apply active binding food export restrictions, among them Kazakhstan (buckwheat, sugar, etc.), Russia (wheat, rye, barley, etc.) and Ukraine (buckwheat, buckwheat grain).

 

Public consultation on the opening of negotiations with Tajikistan
Trade Policy

The EU has opened a public consultation on its roadmap to request the Council the opening of negotiations for an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Tajikistan. With the proposed new agreement, the EU aims to update its relationship with Tajikistan with view to enhancing relations with the country. More concretely, the negotiations are expected to reinforce trade provisions, covering most areas of trade relations between the EU and Tajikistan. Negotiations would also be facilitated by the fact that Tajikistan is a member of the WTO and that it has not joined the Eurasian Economic Union. The consultation will be open until 12 June 2020.

 

CELCAA update on Trade Agreements
Trade Policy

EU-US Trade relations: DG Trade confirmed that Commissioner Hogan sent letter to USTR to engage in a positive trade agenda with the US in the context of Covid-19, with view to cooperate on medical devices, pharma, acknowledging also the need for support and subsidies as this point in time to support industry, but that there would be a need to discuss the phasing out after the end of the crisis. Commission is indeed monitoring the US recent subsidies in agriculture (some 19 b $ as direct payments to farmers and another envelop expected in July). EU also wants to engage with the USA on the global governance vis-à-vis China. On the Mini-package with the USA, the mini-package is still on the table. Both sides are still working on this with delay due to Covid-19 but that would concern tariff reductions for medical devices; regulatory convergence for medical devices; pharma; SPS and more coordination when it comes to global standardization. Commission seemed to believe that the WTO panel report on Aircraft expected in June would be delayed - and that it could possibly be that the tariff retaliation on EU exports to the US could be there for long time. Level of ammunition for the EU is at this stage unknown and it would appear difficult to get into a negotiated solution at this stage - while the US are not engaging on this front.

EU-Vietnam FTA: The EU side has made all the ratification process. Vietnamese National Assembly was first supposed to ratify the agreement at their session of 28  June and Commission is confident that the vote will take place on that date. If so, once both parties will exchange formally letters that their internal process is completed and according to the FTA, it will become applicable on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Parties have notified each other of the completion of their ratification. Commission therefore expects date of entry into force to be 1st August. Tariff liberalization will apply on products declared at imports as from 1st August - or date of implementation. Goods en route or in transit will benefit from trade liberalization once declared at customs on the date of entry - this is also valid for goods in hubs. The Commission will communicate widely on the date of entry into force once parties have notified each other. On the certification rules, Commission is in discussion with Vietnam to clarify the practice on non-manipulation rules but it is understood that there will be no obligation from parties to systematically ask for certification rules. Commission clarified that according to Art. 13 of the FTA text, goods in hubs can be considered in transit if they remain under customs supervision and non-altered. The Commission also informed CELCAA that the high level mission with Agriculture Commissioner to Vietnam originally planned in 2020 is postponed to 2021 due to Covid-19.

EU-Australia / New Zealand: EU completed the 7th round of negotiations with Australia week of 18th May 2020. EU will have its 8  June 2020. For both negotiations, there was exchange of market access offer - but not on the sensitive products. There is an acceleration of the process for EU-NZ FTAs negotiations. At this stage, Commission is consulting member states on a second market access offer including sensitive products. This second offer, if matured enough and endorsed by MS, could be part of the negotiations in the June round. Commission is still working on wine annex for EU-NZ FTA similar to what has been proposed in Mercosur or CETA. End game of the negotiations with NZ could happen in 2020 also depending on the political agenda (ie elections in NZ in October). With Australia, discussions are more difficult - especially on GIs as Australia remains a fierce supporter of the trademark system. Next discussions with Australia are expected in September and then December. Commission intention is to make progress on other parts of the agreement where a lot still needs to be achieved, such as government procurement - Before Commission can move further with Australia, progress needs to be made on GIs, and other chapters under discussion.

 

WTO Director-General to step down in August 2020
Trade Policy

World Trade Organisation’s Director-General Roberto Azevedo has announced that he will step down from the lead of WTO as of the 31 August 2020, a year before his term is due to end. Azevedo has served as the sixth Director General. He underlines that his decision was driven by family decisions and not any professional aims. The selection process normally would have started in December 2020 – but Azevedo wanted to avoid that this procedure overshadows the Ministerial Conference in 2021 in Kazakhstan. In particular the missing continuity for the WTO appellate body is currently blocking WTO operationality, and there is hope that this might get a new push with a new Director General. 

 

Report - Drivers of change of relevance for Europe's environment & sustainability
Sustainability

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published the report entitled “Drivers of change of relevance for Europe's environment & sustainability”, which presents a synthesis of global and European megatrends with illustrations of key emerging trends, wild cards and uncertainties. According to the report, achieving EU’s goals on sustainability may require fundamental change in the economic system, with reduced overall consumption. Authors of the report conclude that “a reconciliation between well-being an environmental goals may not be achievable without a fundamental reconfiguration of the economic system and consumption patterns, as well as a reduction in overall consumption levels.”

 

Newsletter - EU Platform on Food Waste
Sustainability

The EU Platform on Food Loss and Food Waste, to which Europatat is a member, has launched a new monthly newsletter publication to offer an overview of the Platform members’ initiatives in food loss and waste prevention. The April’s version is now available here.

Also, a new section on the Resources Library of the Commission’s food waste website called ‘Food loss and waste prevention during the COVID-19 crisis’ has been created. Under this category, you can find  relevant guidance documents for food loss and waste prevention during the COVID-19 crisis.

 

EU Climate Action - three open consultations
Sustainability

Open public consultation on the European Climate Pact: The European Green Deal sets out how to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Alongside government policies and regulation, there is a role to play for citizens, communities and organisations in all sectors of our society and economy. The European Climate Pact aims to give citizens and stakeholders a voice and role in designing new climate actions, sharing information, launching grassroots activities and showcasing solutions that others can follow. The inputs from the open public consultation will be used to shape the Pact ahead of its launch. The consultation is open until 17 June

Open public consultation on the EU’s 2030 climate ambition increase: As part of the European Green Deal, the Commission will put forward a comprehensive plan to increase the EU’s 2030 climate target in September this year. The plan will propose to increase the EU’s current 2030 target of at least -40% greenhouse gas emission reductions to at least -50% and towards -55%, compared to 1990 emission levels. The Commission invites all stakeholders and citizens to submit views on the EU’s 2030 climate ambition increase and on the action and policy design necessary for deeper greenhouse gas emission reductions (open until 23 June).

Open public consultation on the EU’s strategy on adaptation to climate change: Climate change impacts are here and now. Global and European temperatures have repeatedly broken long-term records in recent years, and the impacts on people, planet and prosperity are already pervasive. The recovery from the current crisis will be an opportunity to make our society more resilient. Through this consultation, the Commission invites all stakeholders and citizens to submit views on the EU’s new strategy on adaptation to climate change (open until 20 August).

 

2020 Research and Innovation Performance report
Research

On 27 May, the European Commission released the latest edition of the report ‘Science, research and innovation performance of the EU 2020’ (SRIP 2020), which analyses how Europe fares in science, technology and innovation in the fast-changing global context. The report presents how research and innovation (R&I) policy needs to adapt to become more transformative and deliver on an ample concept of sustainability (social, environmental and economic) while driving the EU’s competitiveness. The evidence in the SRIP 2020 report leads to 11 policy recommendations that support Europe’s agenda for people, planet and prosperity. These are grouped under three main pillars: R&I for a safe and just space for humanity; R&I for global leadership; and R&I for economic and societal impact. For More Information:

 

Annual Food Fraud 2019 report
Food Policy

The European Commission has published the 2019 annual report of the EU Food Fraud Network and the System for Administrative Assistance and Food Fraud (AAC-AA and AAC-FF). The report highlights examples of EU coordinated cases as well as statistics on suspected cases food fraud through the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation System (the AAC-FF System).

There was an increase in the number of requests for administrative assistance concerning suspicion of food fraud, from 234 in 2018 to 292 in 2019. The steady increase in the number of requests for administrative assistance within the Food Fraud Network confirms that, over years, cooperation in Europe between Member States has strengthened. Many investigations have ended successfully, with arrests and confiscation of goods prohibited on the EU market.

The EU Food Fraud Network is also engaged in Operation OPSON - a joint Europol/Interpol initiative targeting trafficking in fake and substandard food and beverages, which is coordinated by Europol’s Intellectual Property Crime Coordinated Coalition and Interpol.

For more information:

 

Report on front-of-pack nutrition labelling
Food Policy

On 20 May 2020, the Commission adopted the Report to the European Parliament and the Council regarding the use of additional forms of expression and presentation of the nutrition declaration, which presents the main front-of-pack nutrition labelling schemes currently implemented or being developed at EU level, as well as some of the schemes implemented at international level. The report looks into consumer understanding and impacts of the schemes, including on purchasing behaviour, food reformulation and the internal market. It also addresses the positions of Member States and stakeholders and the question of possible EU harmonisation. In the report, the Commission concludes that it seems appropriate to introduce a harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling at EU-level. This conclusion is also reflected in the Farm to Fork Strategy adopted by the Commission on 20 May 2020. As part of the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Commission is proposing actions to empower consumers to make healthy food choices, including the introduction of a mandatory front-of-pack nutrition label. However, both in its report and in the F2F strategy, the Commission does not recommend any specific type of front-of-pack scheme. As announced in the Farm to Fork Strategy, the related initiative to be launched by the Commission will require further and thorough discussion with all stakeholders and an impact assessment on different options for front-of-pack nutrition labelling. As indicated in the Farm to Fork action plan, the Commission intends to adopt a proposal by the end of 2022.

There are currently six front-of-pack schemes developed or endorsed by the public sector which are present on the EU market (see picture below). Besides public schemes, some private schemes are present on the EU market such as the Reference Intakes Label or the Healthy Choice logo.

 

Rabobank report: 6 tips for innovation in the food chain after the coronavirus pandemic
Food Policy

The food industry faces rising pressure to tackle food insecurity in the wake of COVID-19. According to the first-quarter report from FoodBytes by Rabobank, there are six areas with the potential to drive change in a new economy after the coronavirus pandemic:

  1. Functional ingredientes: The virus has made immunity top of mind, and consumers are seeking added health benefits in products they regularly use.
  2. Accelerating online delivery: Shoppers who normally buy groceries in-store are adopting e-commerce to get products delivered to their door. While the long-term shift in e-commerce is still unknown, it’s likely that the channel will continue to be in high demand.
  3. Local sourcing gets consumer backing: With larger food delivery operations becoming paralyzed by delays and now, worker strikes, there has been an uptick in demand for locally-produced food, with smaller farmers pivoting to direct-to-consumer deliveries and pickups.
  4. Affordable packaging solutions: Pre-coronavirus, the food industry was struggling to keep up with the massive shift in consumer attitudes to plastic packaging. The pandemic has however put the safety and waste benefits that packaging delivers in the spotlight. On the back of increased e-commerce sales and demand for shelf-stable food, the industry is developing a growing need for cartons, containerboard, and single-use-plastics
  5. Food hygiene is imperative: Although there is no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted by food, it can survive on surfaces for several days. In an industry with products and ingredients changing hands countless times in a matter of days, pathogen testing remains integral in the food supply chain process.
  6. Ag tech for supply chain efficiency: Labor shortages are not new to the field, but one this sudden and massive could force an alternative: on-farm automation.

 

New EU’s budget proposal and recovery plan after the outbreak of COVID-19
Other

The current difficult economic situation caused by COVID-19 has pressured the European Commission to present a revamped proposal on the multiannual financial framework (MFF), including a recovery plan for the next years. Out of the €1.85 trillion for the 2021-2027 EU’s budget, the Commission is proposing a €750 billion for the “Next generation EU”, the new recovery instrument which will raise money by temporarily lifting the own resources ceiling to 2.00% of EU Gross National Income. This additional funding will be channelled through EU programmes and repaid over a long period of time throughout future EU budgets – not before 2028 and not after 2058. In order to make funds available as soon as possible to respond to the most pressing needs, the Commission also proposes to amend the current multiannual financial framework 2014-2020 to make an additional €11.5 billion in funding available already in 2020.

The money raised for Next Generation EU will be invested across three pillars:

  1. Support to Member States with investments and reforms, including: a €15 billion reinforcement for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (see article on EU’s agriculture budget at the beginning of this Circular); a new Recovery and Resilience Facility of €560 billion that will offer financial support for investments and reforms  (incl. in relation to the green and digital transitions); a €55 billion top-up of the current cohesion policy programmes between now and 2022 under the new REACT-EU initiative; and a proposal to strenghten the Just Transition Fund up to €40 billion to assist Member States in accelerating the transition towards climate neutrality.
  2. Kick-starting the EU economy by incentivising private investments, including: a new Solvency Support Instrument that will mobilise private resources to urgently support viable European companies in the sectors, regions and countries most affected; an upgrade InvestEU to a level of €15.3 billion to mobilise private investment in projects across the Union; and a new Strategic Investment Facility to generate investments of up to €150 billion in boosting the resilience of strategic sectors, notably those linked to the green and digital transition.
  3. Addressing the lessons of the crisis, including, among others, an amount of €94.4 billion for Horizon Europe, which will be reinforced to fund vital research in health, resilience and the green and digital transitions (this represents an increase in total spending plans for R&I by €13.5 billion according to Commission’s officials).

However, even with its recovery plans, the Commission is forecasting a dire economic outlook. In documents supporting its budget request, it says the current quarter “marks the trough of a deep recession” with GDP dropping 7.4 per cent, and it forecasts “only a partial recovery” in 2021.

Next steps: According to the Commission, reaching a rapid political agreement on Next Generation EU and the overall EU budget for 2021-2027 at the level of the European Council by July is “necessary to give new dynamism to the recovery and equip the EU with a powerful tool to get the economy back on its feet and build for the future”. Parliament and Council will discuss the new proposals and decide on their final shape in upcoming negotiations. The Commission will then work closely with the European Parliament and the Council to finalise an agreement on the future framework and the accompanying sectoral programmes. Completing this work in the early autumn would mean that the new long-term budget could be up and running on 1 January 2021.

 

Employment in food supply across EU regions - new Eurostat figures
Other

According to the latest information published by Eurostat, in 2019, 15.9 million people aged over 15 were employed in the food supply sector (excluding people employed in bars and restaurants) in the European Union, representing 8% of total employment. Almost half of people employed in the food supply sector worked in crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities (46%). Meanwhile, jobs in the manufacture of food products accounted for 26% of employment of this sector, followed by jobs in: retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores (15%), wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco (8%), manufacture of beverages (3%), wholesale of agricultural raw materials and live animals (2%) and fishing and aquaculture (1%). The majority of food supply workers were men (59%) although the gender distribution varied with the activities: fishing and aquaculture recorded 88% of men while retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco registered 63% of women. As regards the distribution by age groups, over one-third (38%) of people employed in the food supply sector in the EU were aged 35 to 49, while people aged 50 or above accounted for 34% and those aged 15-34 for 28%.

Spotlight on food supply workers in EU regions: With the exception of Spanish region of Murcia (24%), the highest shares of food supply workers were generally recorded in regions of Greece, Poland and Romania:

 

  
 

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.

EUROPEAN UNION OF THE POTATO TRADE A.I.S.B.L.

Rue de Trèves 49-51 bte 8 • 1040 Brussels • Belgium • Tel: +32 2 777 15 85 • Fax: +32 2 777 15 86
e-mail: secretariat@europatat.eu • www.europatat.eu