Agrifood Brief

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.