Food and Agriculture

The upcoming reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) will be at the heart of the programme of the Belgian Presidency in the field of agriculture. In line with one of the six priority areas of the presidency, the reform of the CAP will have to be considered while taking into account horizontal issues, in particular climate change and water management. The milk issue will also remain very high on the agenda, as the High Level Group is expected to deliver its conclusions in the coming weeks. Another very controversial issue that will come back on the EU agenda is the issue of GMOs: although the Belgian presidency did not touch upon this point in its programme, they will nevertheless have to deal with this hot potato as DG SANCO announced plans to put forward a legislative proposal in the summer to nationalise the decision of Member States to allow the cultivation of GMOs on their territory.

The challenge for the Belgian presidency will be to speak with one voice, as part of the agricultural matters in Belgium are dealt with at regional level whereas others are dealt with at federal level. As a result, the Wallonian and Flemish Ministers will have to share the role of ‘spokeperson’ with the Federal Minister. Another challenge in this respect will be in the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty in the very sensitive field of agriculture. These issues will be addressed on several occasions. There will be no fewer than five Agriculture Council meetings under the Belgian presidency. These will be complemented by an informal meeting on 19-21 September 2010.

In the field of food and nutrition, the agenda of the Belgian presidency will also be very busy with several legislative proposals to be discussed or even adopted under its mandate. This is the case of the proposal for a regulation on the provision of food information to consumers (food labelling) on which the Parliament recently adopted its first reading position. The Council common position is therefore expected under the Belgian Presidency.  Specifically, it is expected to give a boost to never-ending discussions within the Council working party. The completion of the second reading stage on the Novel Foods proposal will also fall under the remit of the Belgian residency, and that will have to ensure a smooth agreement between the three institutions on the sensitive issue of cloning. The debate might also start on the revision of the Directive for dietetic products (Parnuts), although most of the legislative work will very likely be incumbent to the Hungarian presidency.

A strong focus will also be put on the issue of health determinants like nutrition. As the Commission has started evaluating the work of the Platform for Action on Diet and Physical Activity, the Belgian presidency will address the question of the efficiency and effectiveness of the EU and national measures that are aimed at combating obesity.

Key Dates

• Conference on food safety and self testing [17 November 2010]
• Conference on nanotechnologies with EFSA [24 November 2010]
• Conference on obesity and nutrition [2-3 December 2010]