The EU proposes contingency plan for food supply and food security

The EU intends to step up coordination at European level to ensure citizens do not face food shortages during crises.

The COVID-19 crisis has shown the resilience of the agricultural, fisheries, aquaculture, and food sectors, avoiding that the health crisis also resulted in a food security crisis. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), for instance, provided tools to counter market imbalances or producers' cash flow issues. To ensure the movement of goods and of essential workers in the single market, the Commission established green lanes and published guidelines that enabled close coordination between Member States for smooth border crossings.

The Commission will establish a European Food Security Crisis preparedness and response Mechanism (EFSCM), a group of food supply chain experts. The EFSCM will rely on a group of experts, combining Member States and some non-EU countries representatives and actors from all stages of the food chain.

It will focus on specific activities and a set of actions to be completed between mid-2022 and 2024:

• foresight, risk assessment and monitoring: improve preparedness by making use of available data (including on weather, climate, markets); further analysis of vulnerabilities and critical infrastructure of the food supply chain;
• coordination, cooperation and communication: sharing information, best practices, national contingency plans; development of recommendations to address crises; coordination and cooperation with the international community.

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12770-EU-food-supply-and-food-security-contingency-plan_en

Contact: Anna Boulova, aboulova@frucom.eu