7.3 EU Policy Developments

7.3 EU Policy Developments

Overview During 2022, France and the Czech Republic shared the role of the President of the Council of the European Union - France from January to June and the Czech Republic from July to December. The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and its impact on agricultural markets and global food security, became a key issue which was considered at Agrifish Council throughout 2022 under both Presidencies.

Environmental issues were also a strong feature of Council Discussions. While the ENVI Council was the designated lead Council for many items, the Agrifish Council also considered these issues including:

The revision of the Land Use and Land Use Change and Forestry Regulation (LULUCF), M

The Regulation on making available on the Union market, as well as export from the Union, M of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation,

The proposal for a Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR) and M

The Commission report on possible reciprocal environmental and health production M standards for products imported from third countries and carbon farming.

During 2023 the Presidency will be held by Sweden (January to June) and by Spain (July – December). The Swedish Presidency will prioritise the progress of a number of policy areas which, although under the remit of the Envi Council, will have significant impacts on the agriculture sector. These include the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive and the Nature Restoration Law.

In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the market situation has been a key feature of European debate and was regularly discussed at Agrifish Council meetings held in 2022 and 2023. This also generated a broader debate on European Food Security. In response to the impact of the illegal invasion by Russia of Ukraine in March 2022, the Commission introduced measures under the Common Market including financial support for emergency measures to address the impact on farmers. Ireland was allocated €15.8 million to support farmers under this measure. The Commission also proposed to derogate from some of the conditionality requirements for Direct Payments in order to facilitate the increase of European cereal production. Costs of inputs were a strong concern throughout 2022 and the Commission also introduced a Communication on a Fertiliser Strategy. To further assist Member States wishing to provide necessary emergency support for the agriculture sector, a Temporary Crisis Framework for State Aid in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was introduced, which allowed for a flexible response to allow Member States provide liquidity to the agrifood sector.

Organic Action Plan Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR) This proposal was published by the Commission on 22nd June 2022. The proposed regulation provides a legal basis for the Farm to Fork pesticide reduction targets, to reduce the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% and the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50% by 2030. It also proposes additional requirements for the use, storage, sale and disposal of plant protection products (PPPs), pesticide application equipment (PAE), training, awareness raising and for implementation of integrated pest management (IPM). The negotiations began during the Czech Republic’s presidency. Consideration of this proposal has continued throughout 2022 and into 2023. However, Member States have asked the Commission to assess further the impacts of this proposal on food security as the original impact assessment relating to the proposal was completed before the invasion of Ukraine. Further work is expected in this area.

Fitness Check of EU Animal Welfare Legislation In October 2022, the Commission published its fitness check on Animal Welfare Legislation. While concluding that EU animal welfare legislation has improved animal welfare, despite the progress made, problems remain. Increasing societal expectations, scientific and technological developments and future sustainability challenges are not fully reflected in current rules. Hence, the current EU animal welfare legislation is considered by the Commission as not fully fit to meet current and future needs. It is expected that the Commission will put forward new legislative proposals during 2023.

Farm Sustainability Data Network As part of the Farm to Fork strategy, the European Commission announced a proposal to convert the farm accountancy data network (FADN) into a farm sustainability data network (FSDN), with a view to collect farm level data addressing the sustainability targets and indicators. The proposal for a conversion of the FADN into FSDN was published in June 2022 and envisages to consider the environmental and social dimensions of the farming sector next to the economic one. The Commission hopes that the new rules can be implemented in 2023, to allow for the collection of the first sustainability data in 2025 and the publication of these statistics from 2026-27.

This aligns well with Ireland’s agri-food strategy, Food Vision 2030. In Ireland, Teagasc already collect sustainability data, including some of the extra data that will be required under the new FSDN, and they produce an annual “Sustainability Report” to supplement the main National Farm Survey.

Industrial Emissions Directive In April 2022, the Commission put forward proposals to update the rules on industrial emissions, extending the rules for preventing and controlling emissions to large cattle farms. Discussion on this proposal continued throughout 2022 under the remit of the ENVI Council. A Council General approach was agreed in March 2023. The next stage of the process will be trilogue discussions between the Council and the European Parliament.

Nature Restoration Law The proposed Nature Restoration Law was formally adopted by the European Commission in late June 2022. Discussions on the proposal commenced in July 2022. The proposed Nature Restoration Law arises from a commitment in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (published, May 2020). The Biodiversity Strategy is a core component of the European Green Deal. The Strategy sets targets to protect nature, reverse degradation of ecosystems and put Europe’s Biodiversity on a path to recovery by:

expanding protected areas to cover 30% of land and seas in the EU area, and M

restoring nature through a commitment to developing legally binding restoration targets. M

The proposed Regulation provides an opportunity for transformative change in relation to achieving nature restoration in Ireland and the EU as a whole. Healthy ecosystems also provide food and food security, clean water, carbon sinks and protection against natural disasters caused by climate change. However, planning and achieving the legally binding targets set out within the timescales given will be challenging. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government leads on this proposal which is under the remit of the ENVI Council. DAFM is part of the Intergovernmental Group formulating Ireland’s national position.