EU agricultural council finds organic plan ambitious

Minister Carola Schouten of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (CU) informed the House of Representatives of the results of the last Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels. The most striking outcome is that the Council endorses the action plan for organic farming, but at the same time calls it very ambitious.  

The council conclusions on the EU action plan for organic farming received unanimous support from the council, Schouten writes in a statement. letter about the results of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council to the House. The Netherlands and a number of other EU Member States are calling for attention to be paid to a good balance between supply and demand in organic farming. Some of the member states also find the EU target of 25% organic farming by 2030 very ambitious.

Member States consider it important that the different starting positions are taken into account. They also emphasize the importance of innovation and research in the transition to more organic farming.

trade policy
Another hot topic that was discussed during the agricultural council is the negotiations on various international trade agreements. Many Member States emphasize the importance of a good balance between offensive and defensive interests in the trade agreements. In their view, sufficient attention is needed for the level playing field and the competitiveness of the European agricultural sector against the background of the higher sustainability requirements that the sector must meet here. Furthermore, the countries are satisfied with the outcome of the EU-US summit, especially with the 5-year suspension of the trade barriers introduced after the Airbus-Boeing dispute.

Jurphaas Lugtenburg

He is a market specialist in grains and other agricultural commodities at DCA Market Intelligence. He also focuses on onions, potatoes, and roughage. Jurphaas also runs an arable farm in Voorne-Putten (South Holland).

j.lugtenburg @boerenbusiness. Nl

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