Brussels in Brief Newsletter

Member States representatives in the Appeal Committee did not reach the required qualified majority to accept or reject the approval of glyphosate on 16 November. In line with procedural rules, the Commission is now able to able to proceed under its own powers. The current approval period expires on 15 December 2023. The Commission has stated that it will - based on comprehensive safety assessments carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), together with EU Member States - now proceed with the renewal of the approval of glyphosate for a period of 10 years, subject to certain new conditions and restrictions including a prohibition of pre-harvest use as a desiccant and the need for certain measures to protect non-target organisms.

Find out more here.

The European Parliament has formally rejected the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products. The SUR proposal aimed to cut the use and risk of pesticides by 50% by 2030, as set out in the EU’s flagship Farm to Fork strategy. The Council is still discussing its own position on the SUR and several Member States are known to have reservations, which are now likely to be reinforced by the Parliament’s rejection. If the Council does eventually agree a mandate, this will be considered by the Parliament, but MEPs are under no obligation to accept it. However, if the Council agrees with the European Parliament’s, the proposal will be definitively rejected. In short, it seems highly unlikely that the proposal will be adopted ahead of the European elections and new Commission in mid-2024.

On 22 November, the European Parliament voted to ratify the EU-New Zealand free trade agreement. This is a landmark agreement for the EU, their first which includes binding provisions to ensure that both parties uphold their commitments to environmental sustainability and international labour rights.

Following a new approach to trade and sustainable development (TSD), the EU has a stated aim to enforce multilateral commitments, such as nationally determined contributions to targets in the Paris Agreement. Under the EU/NZ free trade agreement, either party can, as a last resort, apply trade sanctions if the other fails to meet their climate obligations. This ensures consequences in the event that either party breaches their environmental commitments.

The TSD chapter in the EU’s agreement with NZ is similar to that which is included in the UK’s FTA with NZ, thereby setting a standard for like-minded countries in future trade agreements. Find out more here.

The European Parliament has adopted its final report on a proposal to establish the first EU-level certification framework for carbon removals. The Parliament acknowledges that carbon farming is not just sequestration of carbon but also emissions’ reductions from soil, and enteric and manure fermentation. After having finalised their position on the proposal, the European Parliament and the Council are expected to begin informal negotiations in the coming weeks, with the aim of reaching a first reading agreement on the proposal.

Last week, the Commission has published two regulations on marketing standards in the Official Journal. The new regulations will see removal of the 16-week housing restrictions where eggs can no longer be labelled as ‘free-range’ after being housed for 16 weeks. Now, eggs may continue to be marketed as ‘free-range’ when temporary restrictions are imposed following years of lobbying by Copa Cogeca. The new regulations will also remove the ‘sell-by’ date on eggs. The regulations come into force on 28 November 2023.

 A mandatory, national housing order has been introduced in the Netherlands following two cases of highly pathogenic avian flu. Housing orders have been in place since 14 November. Outbreaks have also been reported in Bulgaria (1 case), Denmark (1 case), Hungary (3 cases) and Italy (1 case).  

European Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional political agreement on the proposed EU nature restoration law on 9 November. If adopted, EU countries will have to adopt national restoration plans detailing how they intend to achieve these targets, giving priority to areas located in Natura 2000 sites until 2030. In restoring land used in farming, they will have to put in place measures to achieve a positive trend in two out of three indicators, the grassland butterfly index, the share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features, and the stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soil. The new rules also emphasise the value of restoring drained peatlands requiring Member States to put in place restoration measures for at least 30% of drained peatlands by 2030 and 40% by 2040, with at least a quarter rewetted, rising to 50% by 2050, with at least a third rewetted. However, rewetting will be voluntary for farmers and private landowners.

Last week, the European Parliament’s AGRI Committee adopted its opinion on the Commission’s proposal to update the so-called “Breakfast Directives”. For honey, COMAGRI want to see the mandatory indication of percentages of each origin. They also voted for inclusion of blockchain traceability to trace back the entire honey chain, as well as the deletion of filtered honey and the indication in the label of unheated honey. However, whilst MEPs are supportive of inclusion of % of origin, Member States are concerned about administrative burden. MEPs maintained the Commission’s proposal to increase the minimum fruit content in jams and jellies. They also voted to keep the wording around fruit juices and added sugars.  MEPs in the ENVI Committee (the lead Committee) will vote on 29 November. 

Last week, the Commission approved a €1.7 billion subsidy program to encourage farmers to install solar panels in Italy. €1.1 billion will be allocated from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience fund, which will cover 40% of installation costs. A €560 million tariff system will also be set up once the solar panels are operational, paid over 20 years. The scheme will run until 2024 and projects will be chosen through a selection process.