'Everything on the shelf must meet EU agricultural requirements'

If it is up to Frans Timmermans, all food products sold in the European Union will soon meet the strict European requirements for agricultural products. "A trade war is of no use to us, but a level playing field does," says the Dutch European Commissioner and architect of the so-called Green Deal.

Timmermans was a guest at a webinar by LTO on Tuesday 11 May and said: "If we ask our farmers to meet certain standards, I believe that consumers should be able to count on what is on the store shelves that all meet those standards. satisfies."

Timmermans wants to enter into a dialogue about this with our international trading partners. "A level playing field, so that we also demand the quality requirements we set for our own products from products that come from elsewhere. That is more difficult to organize with agricultural products than with steel or cement, but we will discuss this with our trading partners. Trade agreements are not set in stone."

'Towards a fair price for agricultural products'
Timmermans also talked about the price paid for food. "The price is now so low and people have become so used to it that you can wonder whether that still provides a fair yield for the farmers." One of the European Commissioner's goals in the Green Deal is that a quarter of the European agricultural area will be grown organically by 2030. This does not make products cheaper. 

As far as he is concerned, fiscal measures are therefore necessary to ensure that all people can continue to eat sufficient and healthy. "You have to make sure that a fair price is paid. However, that should not mean that people who already have a small budget can no longer afford decent food. So you have to look at the whole: ensure that the healthy production increases, ensure that people also receive much more production from their own region, but also ensure that the government - and that is not just about Europe - takes the responsibility to ensure that food poverty does not arise through fiscal and other measures."

Low to no rates for healthy products
National politicians should comment on VAT rates, says Timmermans, adding: "But I personally don't think you should work with higher rates for certain products, but simply with very low or no rates for healthy products such as vegetables. and fruits."

Linda van Eekeres

Linda van Eekeres is co-writing editor-in-chief. She mainly focuses on macro-economic developments and the influence of politics on the agricultural sector.

l.vaneekeres@boerenbusiness. Nl

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