Strengthen farmers' position in the agri-food supply chain
NAT-VIII/003
Strengthen farmers' position in the agri-food supply chain
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS:
- welcomes the European Commission’s legislative proposals to strengthen farmers’ position in the agri-food supply, however, considers that the proposed measures, while necessary, are not sufficient on their own to ensure a fair and stable income for farmers
- considers therefore that the Regulation establishing a common market organisation of agricultural products (CMO) should be further amended in order to guarantee farmers prices that at least cover production costs
- requests therefore the creation of a tool that allows aid for voluntary reduction in production to be triggered automatically as soon as certain thresholds are crossed
- calls on the Commission to adopt a performance framework within which to place its action in terms of crisis management
welcomes the explicit recognition of the importance of establishing POs specifically for organic producers but considers that allowing the production of different kinds of animals in one organic PO would be a great support for the stability of the organic sector.
- reiterates that it will be impossible to make markets more fair and balanced by marginally reforming the CMO and UTP, while agreeing at the same time to the deregulation of European agricultural markets in the context of international trade agreements
- welcomes the European Commission’s proposal to enhance cross-border enforcement against UTPs and proposes establishing an ‘EU UTPs Platform’ with the presence of all Member States’ designated enforcement authorities, so that they can better coordinate their work and ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the measures established by this Regulation
- looks forward to the revision of the UTP Directive expected by the end of 2025, which should be based on those national approaches which have provided for stricter rules than those provided thus far by the EU framework; in particular, considers it necessary to extend the list of prohibited unfair practices to include resale at a loss, the inclusion of the self-preferencing prohibition, and double-race auctions, and to punish purchases at prices below production costs
- welcomes the European Commission’s legislative proposals to strengthen farmers’ position in the agri-food supply, however, considers that the proposed measures, while necessary, are not sufficient on their own to ensure a fair and stable income for farmers
- considers therefore that the Regulation establishing a common market organisation of agricultural products (CMO) should be further amended in order to guarantee farmers prices that at least cover production costs
- requests therefore the creation of a tool that allows aid for voluntary reduction in production to be triggered automatically as soon as certain thresholds are crossed
- calls on the Commission to adopt a performance framework within which to place its action in terms of crisis management
welcomes the explicit recognition of the importance of establishing POs specifically for organic producers but considers that allowing the production of different kinds of animals in one organic PO would be a great support for the stability of the organic sector.
- reiterates that it will be impossible to make markets more fair and balanced by marginally reforming the CMO and UTP, while agreeing at the same time to the deregulation of European agricultural markets in the context of international trade agreements
- welcomes the European Commission’s proposal to enhance cross-border enforcement against UTPs and proposes establishing an ‘EU UTPs Platform’ with the presence of all Member States’ designated enforcement authorities, so that they can better coordinate their work and ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the measures established by this Regulation
- looks forward to the revision of the UTP Directive expected by the end of 2025, which should be based on those national approaches which have provided for stricter rules than those provided thus far by the EU framework; in particular, considers it necessary to extend the list of prohibited unfair practices to include resale at a loss, the inclusion of the self-preferencing prohibition, and double-race auctions, and to punish purchases at prices below production costs
