Agrifood Brief

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team explains the latest on glyphosate and why the Commission is expected to unilaterally extend the approval for the controversial herbicide for one more year, EURACTIV's agrifood editor Gerardo Fortuna speaks with the previous EU agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan, to hear his take on the roll out of this Common Agricultural Policy reform and reflections on his part in this, and Paula Andrés what happened at the COP27 when it comes to agriculture.

This week, EURACTIV’s Natasha Foote speaks to EU agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski in an exclusive interview detailing his vision for the future of the Common Agricultural Policy and EURACTIV’s agrifood team takes a look at what is involved in the Commission’s new fertilisers communication and the reactions to this.

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team speaks with Damien O'Connor, minister of agriculture of New Zealand and co-chair of the OECD agriculture ministerial meeting, about the OECD declaration and EU-New Zealand relations, including thoughts on the EU's farming subsidy programme and the recently signed Free Trade Agreement, and EURACTIV France's Hugo Struna joins us to explain the controversy over a water reservoir in Western France.

This week, to get into the ‘spirit’ of Halloween, EURACTIV’s agrifood team spoke to EU stakeholders about their biggest fears about the future of farming and food production. From sleepwalking like zombies into a dark and scary future, to rural areas turning into ghost towns, it’s time to eat, drink, and be scary as we take a look at the nightmares that haunt the EU’s agrifood sector.

Featuring contributions from: Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius; Diana Lenzi, president of young farmers’ association CEJA; Gina Geală, Cătălina Rogozan and Elena Ion from rural Romanian consultancy Highclere Consulting; Morgan Ody from the European Coordination Via Campesina; CropLife Europe’s Anika Gatt Seretny; centre-right MEP Herbert Dorfmann; Green MEP Tilly Metz; European Consumer Organisation BEUC’s Camille Perrin; Celia Nyssens-James, senior policy officer for food and agriculture at green campaign group the European Environmental Bureau; Eric Gall, deputy director for EU organic’s association IFOAM; and DG MARE’s Charlina Vitchcova.

This week, EURACTIV’s agrifood team explores the main aspects of the current reform of geographical indications (GIs), the EU’s food quality scheme.

We spoke to the key players in the reform on a range of pending issues, from online protection for GIs to the simplification of registration procedures, not to mention the increased role of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). We discussed the nitty-gritty of the reform with the help of Amandine Legros representing oriGIn EU - the association of GI producers – as well as Paolo De Castro, rapporteur on the dossier for the European Parliament, to conclude with a long interview with Christian Archambeau, EUIPO’s executive director.

This week, EURACTIV’s agrifood team talks about the Commission’s reluctance to commit to a timeline for the EU chemicals regulation, REACH, and how changes in the temporary state aid framework will impact farmers. We also explore the launch of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) network and what this means in practice with the help of its newly appointed team leader, David Lamb, as well as David Armellini, in charge of the rural agenda in the French national agency of territorial cohesion. We also speak to Santeri Rahkamaa about the most pessimistic town in Finland and how one innovative rural project has turned this pessimism into a positive marketing tool.

This week, EURACTIV’s agrifood team brings you the latest on the Commission’s plans for a fertilisers communication, and why this falls short of the strategy called for by stakeholders and we explore how the EU’s plans to relax green measures in farming fell short of expectations. We also take a deep dive into what is going on in the Netherlands, where farmers continue to protest, with the help of Dutch farmer Iris Bouwers, BirdLife Europe’s Ariel Brunner and associate professor of food and agricultural policy, Jeroen Candel. 

This week, EURACTIV’s original agrifood duo reunite to bring you the latest on gas supply prioritisation and how member states’ decisions may impact the agrifood sector. We also give you the rundown on the backlash from EU countries over the EU’s ambitions to slash the use and risk of pesticides, and EURACTIV’s Agrifood Editor Gerardo Fortuna travels to Italy to learn all about the world of biostimulants.

This week, EURACTIV’s agrifood team discusses the agenda of the EU agriculture ministers’ meeting in Brussels, including industrial emissions and carnivores - and what this has to do with Ursula von der Leyen’s pony. Yaroslave Bukhta also reports from on the ground at the EU’s newly introduced organic awards, and our flavour of the week is a very special traditional Ukrainian bread called korovai. 

This week, EURACTIV’s agrifood team comments on the agri-food parts of the State of the Union address delivered by Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and we question agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski about the current crisis in the European fertilisers supplies with agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski. We are also joined by Green MEP Thomas Waitz to dig into the nitty-gritty of the recent vote at the European Parliament on agriculture imports linked to deforestation.