Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski on behalf of the European Commission
11.3.2022
1. The Commission welcomes Member States’ initiatives to promote the sustainable development of agri-food supply chains, organic farming as well as quality products. While the EU is one of the largest net exporters of food products in the world, there are some commodities and products for which we depend on imports (plant proteins, fish, tropical commodities, food and feed additives). The Commission aims to map risks and vulnerabilities and discuss ways to improve resilience in the context of the expert group on the European Food Security Crisis preparedness and response Mechanism[1] (EFSCM) that will start its work in March 2022. As concerns standards, the Commission is preparing a report on the legal and technical feasibility of applying health and environmental standards, including animal welfare and process and production methods, to imported products, which is supposed to be adopted in June 2022. To inform this work, t he Commission recently launched a ‘Call for Evidence[2]’.
2. The Commission recognises the strategic importance of geographical indications (GIs), this is why it has launched a revision of the GI system to strengthen it and increase the uptake of GIs across the EU to benefit the rural economy. The up-coming legislative proposal will provide clear benefits for GI producers, notably by improved protection and enforcement, visibility of sustainability endeavours, better management of the GI assets through producer groups, shorter GI registration time and increased transparency of the Union register.
The Commission encourages the protection and promotion of GIs at EU level and in third countries. The EU promotion policy[3] maintains a specific topic of the annual work programme 2022 to co-fund the promotion of EU quality schemes.
- [1] https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/market-measures/agri-food-supply-chain/contingency-plan_en
- [2] https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13371-Imports-of-agricultural-and-food-products-applying-EU-health-and-environmental-standards-report-_en
- [3] Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products implemented in the internal market and in third countries and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 3/2008, OJ L 317, 4.11.2014, p. 56.