Transitional CAP, German protest, Brexit uncertainty

During its mandate, the Croatian EU presidency wants to secure an agreement on transitional regulations that will extend current rules for at least a year, as it is virtually impossible that the CAP reform will be ready before the start of 2021-2027 programming period. EURACTIV’s Gerardo Fortuna sat down with Croatian Agriculture minister Marija Vučković to speak about this and other priorities of the Croatian presidency for farming and fisheries. Read more here.

FRANCE
Abandoning glyphosate and switching to fully mechanical weed control would result in an average additional cost equivalent to 7.1% of the gross surplus of winegrowing farms, according to a recent analysis by INRA. Romain Loury Romain Loury from EURACTIV France’s partner, the Journal de l’environnement, has the story at EURACTIV.fr.

GERMANY

Protests against the German government’s agricultural policy continue. As Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in the Bavarian town of Deggendorf on Wednesday (21 January), she was greeted by a protest of farmers and around 50 tractors. These local farmers feel neglected by federal policies and wanted to attract the Chancellor’s attention to the challenges they face.  (Sarah Lawton | EURACTIV.de)

AUSTRIA

The annual Winter Conference of the Eco-Social Forum began in Vienna on Tuesday (21 January) with a focus on agricultural policy in the face of climate change. In his speech, EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski was critical of the planned cuts to the CAP, which would decrease the subsidies to Austrian farmers by €120 million annually. However, he was quick to emphasise that questions of funding are “all in the hands of the member states.” (Sarah Lawton | EURACTIV.de)

UK

Beef produced in Uganda will have an “honoured place” on the UK’s supermarket shelves post-Brexit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at the UK-Africa investment summit in London on Monday (20 January).  He said this is part of his ambition to build a new future for the UK as a “global free-trading nation” and “intensify and expand trade”.  (Natasha Foote | EURACTIV.com)

IRELAND

Irish MEPs have been urged to reject the EU proposal for a 30-day pre-movement TB test for animals from herds that are over six months tested, with the Irish Farmers’ Association’s (IFA’s) animal health chairman, Pat Farrell, saying that the test is an “unnecessary, anti-competitive measure that impacts disproportionately on Irish farmers”. (Natasha Foote | EURACTIV.com)

ITALY

Italy’s competition authority fined German discount retailer Lidl €1 million for an unfair trade practice, as the company gave misleading information to consumers when some pasta products were branded as Italian even though they did not contain only Italian durum wheat.
(Gerardo Fortuna | EURACTIV.com)

GREECE

Greek olive oil producers have accused the government of lack of support as they sell at a price well below production cost. The island of Crete particularly is facing a critical situation considering that in some areas the price has reached 50% of the production cost. Producers have called on the creation of a national olive oil management body to handle the matter. (Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)

SPAIN

Spanish olive growers have claimed an important victory in a U.S. court, which could help lift some of the duties imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, Spain’s olive exporters’ association said on Tuesday that duties could be lowered to 20% from 35% as a result of the decision. (EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)

POLAND

The government wants to introduce a tax on artificially sweetened drinks after Polish children were found to be at high risk of being overweight. However, a number of leading agricultural organisations oppose the charge, saying it will be harmful to fruit growers, producers, and consumers.  (Łukasz Gadzała | EURACTIV.pl)

BULGARIA

Over the past two months, Bulgarian authorities have seized 170 tonnes of chicken contaminated with salmonella, which was imported from Poland. The latest 50 tonnes of the meat were found before reaching the supermarkets, and the first 100 tonnes was discovered in December. Bulgaria has notified the Polish authorities of the problem. (Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)

ROMANIA

Romania’s Agriculture Ministry will grant temporary permission for using neonicotinoid-treated corn and sugarbeet seeds in emergency cases. However, the ministry won’t allow neonicotinoid-based treatments for sunflower, one of the major honey crops.
(Bogdan Neagu | EURACTIV.ro)

CROATIA

The State veterinary inspection has stepped up control of biosecurity measures on poultry farms in Croatia after eastern Europe recorded an increase in highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N8, with more than 10 reported cases in four EU countries including Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.  (Karla Juničić | EURACTIV.hr)