After an action-packed 2022 that noticed the EU agrifood sector disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, what can we count on from 2023?
CAP: Now the actual enjoyable begins
With the approval of the Dutch CAP plan on 13 December, after weeks of debate, the brand new EU’s farming subsidies programme is able to enter into drive on 1 January.
For the primary time, we’ll see how this new Widespread Agricultural Coverage (CAP) reform will play out on the bottom and what this actually means for farmers.
As that is the primary time that farmers and EU nations must implement their very own CAP plan, there are more likely to be some teething points – not least as a result of the European Fee is already taking a look at methods to reshape and enhance these plans within the first of the annual updates to those plans.
For the newest on how these plans progress, be sure you observe EURACTIV’s CAP tracker.
Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine despatched shockwaves via world agrifood markets – and that is more likely to stick with it into 2023.
“Within the close to time period, the scenario is especially fraught with a number of challenges dealing with farmers within the coming spring,” a December report from the UN’s Meals and Agriculture Organisation said.
It warned that the “decline in profitability and diminished prospects for earnings era amongst grain producers will considerably influence their potential to domesticate vital cereal crops and different staple meals commodities in 2023”.
In the meantime, an inflow of grain by way of the EU’s solidarity lanes is inflicting rising tensions on the border of Ukraine and the EU.
EU farmers have been ringing alarm bells in regards to the flood of Ukrainian produce, specifically grain and seed oils, disrupting markets in neighbouring nations, together with Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria.
“We have to have a full description of the scenario earlier than taking any political selections,” Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski mentioned, including that the EU govt is watching the scenario in delicate sectors very fastidiously to see whether or not this free commerce scenario will probably be extended
Swedish priorities
Sweden will take its flip on the helm of the rotating EU Council from 1 January.
In response to its just lately revealed presidency priorities, on the agriculture facet of issues, the Swedish presidency will focus available on the market scenario in gentle of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and tendencies within the costs for agricultural inputs, to “preserve a readiness to cope with any disaster or different market disturbances”.
It additionally guarantees to push on strengthening European meals manufacturing, handle trade-related agricultural points and prioritise work on the position and potential of the bioeconomy.
The Swedish presidency can even oversee a variety of key agrifood information, the small print of which may be discovered beneath.
Entrance-of-pack labelling
The European Fee and EU lawmakers will maintain placing collectively all of the items of the complicated front-of-pack meals labelling puzzle throughout the upcoming Swedish EU Council presidency after little progress was reached beneath the Czech one.
Initially pencilled for the top of 2022, the choice on a harmonised EU-wide front-of-pack diet label has been pushed into 2023 – and transferring ahead on the contentious file will probably be a key precedence of the Swedish presidency, in line with their programme.
Count on intense lobbying within the run-up to this proposal with fiery exchanges on all sides.
Pesticides: SURely a key theme
Pesticides will proceed to be a key theme in 2023.
Again in June, the EU govt unveiled its plan to revise the bloc’s plant safety product framework, the sustainable use of pesticides regulation (SUR), the primary car to show into actuality ambitions to slash in half the use and danger of pesticides by 2030.
However these plans haven’t confirmed widespread amongst member states, who formally requested an extra influence evaluation from the EU govt on Monday (19 December) over the plans’ influence on meals safety.
This might “delay or derail” transferring forward with the ambitions, in line with inexperienced teams. The Fee will now need to submit extra info on the newest by six months after its entry into drive.
New genomic methods
The second quarter of 2023 will carry the Fee’s lengthy awaited verdict on whether or not or to not loosen EU guidelines on new genetic methods (or NGTs – see right here for background).
The Fee has already given a number of indications that it’ll again the deregulation of NGTs, together with as a sweetener for a few of its different environmental plans.
In the meantime, the Fee can even put ahead its initiative on defending, sustainably managing, and restoring EU soils across the similar time.
The EU govt can also be anticipated to current a revision of the meals waste and textiles features of the EU waste framework directive across the similar time.
Animal welfare, meals methods regulation
September will see the overhaul of EU animal welfare laws.
Whereas many of the 27 agriculture ministers agree that the laws, which has not been up to date since 2009, is due for a brush-up, many have raised issues about how stricter requirements contained in the EU would have an effect on the competitiveness of the home livestock sector.
It’s subsequently protected to count on extra talks on the extent to which these new guidelines will apply to imported merchandise.
The Fee’s new framework regulation for Sustainable Meals Methods can also be anticipated within the third quarter of 2023.
The regulation goals to create an built-in EU strategy to meals to “promote coverage coherence at EU and nationwide stage, mainstream sustainability in all food-related insurance policies and strengthen the resilience of meals methods”.
REACH for the celebrities
After struggling a variety of delays, the revision of the regulation for evaluating and authorising chemical substances (REACH), introduced as a part of the Fee’s chemical substances technique for sustainability, is formally tabled to return in the direction of the top of 2023.
However, in line with sources aware of the matter the Fee plans to go forward with the presentation of the proposal as and when it’s prepared – that means it could come sooner.
The brand new framework will influence a variety of chemical substances from pesticides to polymers used to create plastic supplies.
After delays, the Fee can also be anticipated to current its built-in nutrient administration motion plan (INMAP) in the direction of the top of 2023.
The INMAP goals to ship on the EU Inexperienced Deal’s targets to cut back nutrient losses by no less than 50% and fertiliser use by no less than 20% by 2030 in Europe and can complement the Zero Air pollution Motion Plan.
[Edited by Gerardo Fortuna/Zoran Radosavljevic]
