Agrifood Brief

This week, EURACTIV speaks about the latest developments on the CAP and the timeline for this year, we explore the news that the Czech Republic is on its way to introduce a protectionist food law despite warnings that this could be in violation of the EU’s free movement of goods, and we speak with Green MEP Eleonora Evi about the differences between the EU Parliament and Commission when it comes to genetically modified crops.

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team speaks with Paul Kelly, director of Food Drink Ireland, about the impact of Brexit on the sector so far and what he sees as the key concerns for the future, and we explore what's on the menu for 2021, including the finalisation of the CAP and hashing out the details of the Brexit agreement.

This week is EURACTIV's last podcast of 2020 - and what a year it has been. Here, we take a look at the agrifood highlights of 2020, including the unveiling of the long-awaited Farm to Fork strategy, the EU's flagship food policy, a re-CAP of the final CAP-down, and EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski's tweets.

This week, EURACTIV takes a look at the debate over live animal transport in the EU as the UK moves to ban the practice, we hear from Aneta Zachová from EURACTIV Czech Republic about the latest news on the allegations of fraud surrounding Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and the agricultural company Agrofert, and we speak with Joan Calabuig Rull, regional secretary for the EU of the Government of Valencia, to hear the Committee of the Regions opinion on the EU's flagship food policy, the Farm to Fork strategy.

In this special edition of the agrifood podcast, EURACTIV’s agrifood team delves deeper into all aspects of EU agrifood trade - why it's is so important in the context of the general EU’s trade policy, what makes EU foodstuff and the European Single Market so different for trade partners, as well as the social, political consequences that come from closer trade relations. To bring you the nitty-gritty of the EU’s agrifood trade policy, we speak with a range of experts, from lawmakers to academics and NGOs.

This week, EURACTIV spoke with our very own digital editor, Sam Stolton, about digitalisation in agriculture, including the challenges involved with rolling out broadband to rural areas and concerns over data protection, we speak on the issue of food products using the term "natural", which is not legally defined by the EU, and we discuss the resolution of the latest CAP scrap.

This week, EURACTIV spoke with Daniel Azevedo, Commodities and Trade Director of EU farmers association COPA-COGECA, about their recent report on the impact of COVID on the farming sector, and EURACTIV's very own Transport Editor, Sam Morgan, about transporting the EU's agrifood products via train and his musings about Greta Thunberg and scrapping the CAP.

This week, EURACTIV hears about the reaction of the US farming community to the news of Joe Biden's win from Jonathan Ahl of St. Louis Public Radio, we speak about the EU taxonomy regulation and its implications for agriculture, and we explore the results from FoodDrinkEurope's annual report on the latest data and trends in the food and drinks industry with their director of communications, Will Surman.

This week, EURACTIV gets you up to speed about the latest goings-on of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), including what to expect from the trilogue, which started this week, and we speak about the ailing EU honey sector, which is struggling on the back of severe climatic conditions.

This week EURACTIV explores a new study which found that policymakers' failure to understand farmers' underlying motivations may be detrimental to the environmental ambitions of the CAP, how the recent cases of avian flu found in the Netherlands might impact trade, and how stakeholders are calling for agrifood SMEs to be given an extra helping hand in the COVID-19 recovery period.

This week, EURACTIV gives a rundown of the main points to come out of last weeks marathon on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), including what happened with the infamous veggie burger ban, and we learn more about the news that the EU Commission may be looking to ban the production and export of pesticides which are not permitted in the EU.

This week was a turning point for the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with proposals presented for its reform by both the EU Parliament and the Council. But what exactly has been decided this week and what's next for the CAP? Here, EURACTIV gets you up to speed with the latest news on the policy and talks to a number of key stakeholders, including the chair of the ENVI Committee of the EU Parliament, Pascal Canfin, and the agriculture coordinator of the EPP, Herbert Dorfmann.

This week is all about the Common Agricultural Policy in the run up to the European Parliament’s plenary vote next week where decision makers will hash out negotiations on the reform of the policy, and EURACTIV talks you through several key developments to do with pesticides, from a ruling from the EU's highest court, to a call to halt the export of banned pesticides.

This week, we discuss the news that French lawmakers have approved a draft bill allowing sugar beet growers to use neonicotinoid pesticides, we explore the outcomes of the European Parliament Plenary and talk about a ruling from Europe's highest court which concluded that national measures requiring mandatory labelling of foodstuffs are allowed under EU law but need to be justified.

This week, we explore a curious tale about pig tails and take a closer look at EURACTIV's special report on new terminologies in sustainable agriculture, including agroforestry and carbon farming.

This week, EURACTIV spoke with Christiane Lambert, the newly elected President of farmers association Copa, about her priorities for her new role, the fight against the Nutri-Score system as the EU-wide nutrition food label has kicked up a notch with the addition of a new non-paper backed by several member states, and the EU Commission has launched an initiative to improve sustainability in the cocoa sector.

This week, EURACTIV discusses the role agriculture plays in the EU’s carbon-neutral ambitions, European Parliament lawmakers are considering asking the European Commission to step in and help nix any doubts about the terminology used for plant-based meat substitutes, and we take a look at the agenda for the upcoming AGRIFISH council.

This week, EURACTIV takes a closer look at the Commission's announcement of the launch of a public consultation on its future action plan on organic farming and also its proposal to postpone by one year the entry into force of the new organic regulation, we hear what Agriculture CommissionerJanusz Wojciechowski had to say about releasing recovery funds, and we discuss how the appointment of the new EU Trade Commissioner has raised a few eyebrows in the agriculture community.

Welcome back to EURACTIV's agrifood podcast, with your hosts Gerardo Fortuna and Natasha Foote. In this episode, we catch you up on all that you might have missed over the holiday period, offer the latest EU news from this week and also a look-ahead for the most important policy developments coming up in the Autumn. This week also features two special guests, FAO chief economist Maximo Torero and Aurélie Catallo from the campaign organisation Pour Une Autre PAC.

German Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner laid out the German Presidency's agrifood priorities this week, listing CAP negotiations, animal welfare, and digitalisation among her main focuses, young farmers have said that they need a toolbox “as broad as possible” to achieve the goals of the Farm to Fork strategy, and, with soil health high on the EU policy agenda, EURACTIV spoke with US-based farmer Trey Hill, whose innovative approach to farming explores the potential of no-till agriculture, a practice that can contribute to the EU’s sustainability goals.

An EU Commissioner has for the first time suggested the possibility of revising the ambitious targets of the new EU food policy at a later stage, EURACTIV explores the ways in which innovation and a well-balanced regulatory framework can help to cope with the trade-offs of the Farm to Fork strategy, and agriculture stakeholders are calling on the EU Commission to update the sustainable use of pesticides directive to allow the use of drones for aerial spraying of pesticides.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, food security has become the hot topic on everyone's lips, but not everyone is in agreement over the best way to strengthen the EU's food security, farmers have expressed concern that organic targets may could “kill” the sector, and lawmakers agree to delay post-2020 CAP by two years.

Row over veg-meat name heats up in Europe, rekindling the debate about possible consumer deception when it comes to novel food products, the European Parliament approved the setting up of an Inquiry Committee on live transport and Commission’s firm opposition to having an interim two-year period before the next EU farming subsidies programme starts has irritated co-legislators.

In an unprecedented move, a group of German Green MPs and one MEP have backed the use of gene editing technologies in a new paper, lawmakers on the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee reacted angrily as their colleagues on the Environment Committee decided to halt cooperation on the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy file, and EURACTIV takes a closer look at how the hospitality sector will play a vital role in the process of “re-connecting” European citizens socially after the coronavirus pandemic.

New sustainable food policy bears risk of unsustainable imports, ministers have warned this week, major agrifood stakeholders warn that a Brexit no deal could severely disrupt the EU agrifood sector and EU lawmakers have said that any potential reduction of glyphosate in the EU should be preceded by an impact assessment exploring the consequence for farmers.

Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn has said this week that it is very difficult to make the EU’s main farm policy greener when figures on the bottom line are red, a new report exposes the vulnerabilities of the global meat sector, and lawmakers in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee have turned down a section of an aid package proposed by the Commission for wine, fruit and vegetable producers, as it was not ambitious enough to cope with disruption caused by the pandemic.

This week in this special edition of the EURACTIV Agrifood podcast, we spoke to a range of stakeholders and policymakers to hear their reactions to the presentation of the highly anticipated Farm to Fork strategy which, after several delays, was finally presented on the 20 May.

EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has said he will support Poland’s proposal to increase the budget for EU’s farming subsidies by 10%, the excessive use of state aid to bail out struggling farmers during the COVID-19 crisis could be a cause for concern for the single market and fair competition in the member states, and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides has revealed the Farm to Fork strategy will not provide a compulsory EU-wide nutritional food label scheme.

Backed by the organic food sector, EU lawmakers are pushing the European Commission to delay the coming into force of the reformed organic regulation; after being delayed twice, the European Commission is ready to unveil on 20 May its much-awaited food policy, the Farm to Fork Strategy; and EURACTIV takes a look at how the agritourism sector is struggling during the COVID-19 crisis. This week featuring Matteo Metta from ARC2020, who explains the findings from a recent analysis on the transparency and stakeholder inclusivity of the design process of national Common Agricultural Policy plans.

The European Parliament’s agriculture committee has approved a negotiating mandate for upcoming talks with national ministers on a transitional period for EU farming subsidies, MEPs voice strong reservations about the market measures put forth by the Commission to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, and farmers are noticing an increase in the use of unfair trade practices (UTPs) in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Member states are increasingly considering protectionist measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the European Commission announced exceptional market measures, and stakeholders are calling for urgent action to protect agri-food workers

The current budget for the deployment of market measures is very limited says Commissioner Wojciechowski, the launch date of the highly-anticipated new EU food policy, the Farm to Fork strategy (F2F), is currently under review and MEPs called on reducing volume production in the dairy sector to avoid milk storage or destruction

Due to pressure caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, farmers association COPA-COGECA has backed the further postponement of the Farm to Fork strategy, but this stance has been heavily criticised, agriculture sherpas rubber-stamped a partial negotiating mandate to discuss with MEPs the transition period for EU farming subsidies and we take a look at EFSA's annual report on pesticide residues found in food in the EU.

The lack of agricultural workforce remains a concern for the entire European food supply chain, Parliament's plenary vote on the post-2020 CAP to be hold after the summer break, EPP group called for another postponement of the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy

In this special edition of the agrifood podcast, we explore the consequences of the recent coronavirus outbreak on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), focusing on what this outbreak shows about the EU farming system, how farmers can best be supported during times of crisis, and what effect this crisis will have on the on-going CAP post-2020 negotiations.

EU agriculture ministers have called for further measures to address the difficulties faced by the agri-food sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe’s farming sector could face a dramatic shortfall in workers, and lawmakers in the European Parliament have called on the European Commission to prepare a strategy anticipating the difficulties that might arise in implementing the CAP during the crisis.

The launch of the new EU food policy will be delayed by another month, EU countries have now been offered the option to extend the deadline to submit applications for CAP payments and food supply chain in Germany functions despite COVID-19.

This week: The latest leaked draft of the Farm to Fork strategy features several notable changes from the previous version, how the new circular economy action plan will work alongside the Farm to Fork strategy and EFSA's conclusion that there is currently “no evidence that food is a likely source or route of transmission” of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

This week: the leaked draft of the Farm to Fork strategy says that it will base its mandatory pesticide reduction targets on the controversial Harmonised Risk Indicator 1 and that it envisages setting five targets in the flagship new food policy and EURACTIV takes a look at the concerns surrounding digital farming

This week: Plant-based diets and reducingmeat conusmption in the Farm to Fork strategy, how dergulating gene editing will affect SMEs and young farmers protests in Brussels for fairer CAP funding

This week: The director of EFSA tells EURACTIV about the challenges of regulating innovation, EU honey producers call for an action plan to save the sector, EU Health Commissioner speaks at the Environment Committee about the new Farm-to-Fork strategy

This week: Agriculture Commissioner says that intensive farming should be addressed in the Green deal, which has proved contentious, a French court has ordered the government to apply stricter regulations on new plant breeding techniques and a UK sugar tax has resulted in drinks manufacturers lowering the sugar content in drinks

This week: a new EU Court of Auditors report on pesticides, the latest news on African Swine Fever in the EU and controversy surrounding a potential 'sustainability charge' on meat.

This week: EU Health Commissioner speaks on gene editing and EURACTIV reports on the perspectives of policymakers, MEPs and farmers

Welcome to EURACTIV's Agrifood Brief, where we give you the rundown of all the agricultural news in the EU. This week: the agricultural priorities for the Croatian presidency, agricultural protests in Germany and concerns from EU fishermen over Brexit.

Welcome to the first edition of EURACTIV's Agrifood Brief, where we give you the rundown of all the agricultural news in the EU. This week: The New Green Deal, controversies surrounding the Nutri-Score labelling system and a new farm bill in the UK.