Farmers’ position in food supply chain a top priority for new EU coalition

Strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain is set to be a top priority for the three “centrist” political groups forming the new majority coalition at the European Parliament, according to draft documents seen by Euractiv.

Though the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), European People’s Party (EPP) and Renew Europe have divergent views on the sustainability ambitions of agricultural policy, they all advocate for fair remuneration for farmers and addressing unfair trading practices.

These demands are part of a longer list of key topics for the next five years that the pro-EU coalition groups are pushing for, as outlined in three different documents obtained by Euractiv. The priorities are currently under discussion and may be subject to change.

The centre-right EPP calls for a “full-scale inquiry” into “why farmers are not receiving a fair price for their products.” It also seeks a revision of the unfair trading practices directive (UTPs), a possibility that the European Commission has been considering since last March, especially for cross-border transactions.

Adopted in 2019, the UTPs directive bans certain abusive behaviours by large buyers (food industry and retailers) against farmers and food SMEs.

Nevertheless, the issue of strengthening the weak bargaining power of farmers towards the other players of the food supply chain is back, part of the demands of the tractors’ rallies that dotted the continent in the first semester of 2024.

The EPP also calls for amending the Common Markets Organisation Regulation (CMO) to reinforce farmers’ position in the supply chain. The Commission had previously announced it would present changes to the CMO regulation. 

While the S&D also hints at reforming the rules against UTPs and ensuring better prices for agricultural producers, they want increased market intervention “to tackle inflation and stabilise prices.”

In Renew there is appetite for a similar measure, expecting the Commission to propose updated rules for unfair trading practices to address the “overwhelming weight of purchasing centres.”

According to EU sources, the Commission is set to release a proposal to ensure cross-border enforcement of the UTPs directive after the summer, targeting multinational food and retail companies that attempt to bypass the rules by relocating their purchasing centres to countries with less stringent national legislation.

The liberal group also emphasises reinforcing farmers’ positions in supply chains, particularly through an EU law “that redresses the balance of power between producers and retailers.”

Clashes on sustainability

However, the three political groups diverge on the sustainability front, with S&D and Renew being more ambitious, notably on reducing pesticide use – a goal absent from the EPP’s priorities.

Renew Europe aims to revive plans to halve pesticide use by 2030, a target of the Farm to Fork strategy, the Commission’s flagship agri-food blueprint.

The sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR), a controversial proposal to achieve this ambition, was rejected by Parliament last November and officially withdrawn by the Commission in February.

To reach this target, Renew suggests accelerating the authorisation process for biocontrol products and using new gene-editing techniques (NGTs) as alternatives to traditional chemical pesticides.

The socialists do not specify a pesticide reduction target but insist cuts must remain “a key objective” and lead to new legislation in the next term. 

S&D also wants to bring back a proposal for a sustainable food systems law, another missing piece of the Farm to Fork strategy aimed at mainstreaming sustainability into all food-related policies at both national and EU levels.

Both liberals and socialists call for improving animal welfare, with Renew demanding new legislation after the EU executive failed to table a promised overhaul of the current rules. 

Meanwhile, the EPP urges to revise the status of wolves and bears, which they say “threaten traditional pastoralism,” a proposal gaining traction among EU countries.

Agrifood trade

The socialists and the liberals also stress the need to ensure “fair” competition in international trade, a key demand in the recent wave of farmers’ protests across the EU. 

The demands by S&D include the integration of the so-called “mirror clauses”, which would require products from third countries to meet the same production requirements as those in the EU. 

Renew also calls for “reciprocity measures” and urges greater efforts to ensure that products entering the single market comply with the EU’s environmental and climate standards. 

“We strongly support a EU dedicated border force to control this compliance for our food and for our industry,” reads the document.

The EPP document, however, does not address the issue of reciprocity of standards at the international level, but instead calls on the EU to conclude negotiations on the long-delayed trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc.

While the EU reached a political agreement on the final shape of the text in 2019, its ratification has been stalled due to environmental concerns and fears over its potential impact on the EU’s agricultural sector.

*Aurélie Pugnet contributed to this reporting

[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Rajnish Singh]

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