Belgian Presidency conclusions on the future of agriculture in the EU

The last Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting of the Belgian Presidency on 24 June approved a set of presidency conclusions setting out a vision for the future of agriculture in the EU. Member States were unable to reach a consensus on the conclusions, but the presidency conclusions were supported by a wide majority of Member States.

On the matter of trade, the Presidency Conclusions emphasised the imperative of conducting a well-balanced management of trade instruments, especially as regards tariff-rate quotas to ensure fair and sustainable trade and to take into account the interests of domestic agricultural producers and consumers.

Mirror clauses were also put under the spotlight, with the Presidency recalling the conclusion of the 2022 Report of the Commission on the application of EU health and environmental standards to imported agricultural and agri-food products, that “there is some scope to extend to imported products EU production standards provided this is done in full respect of the relevant WTO rules”. The Presidency also called on the Commission to continue to monitor and report on the situation of agricultural markets in the Union and to regularly update and further develop the assessment of the cumulative impact of free trade agreements on the agricultural sector.

More information : https://belgian-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/news/presidency-publishes-conclusions-on-the-future-of-agriculture-in-the-eu/

Contact: Lebo Mofolo, lmofolo@frucom.eu