Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski on behalf of the European Commission
10.5.2022
The Commission Communication ‘Safeguarding food security and reinforcing the resilience of food systems’[1] announced short-term measures to support food security and agriculture, including through temporary derogations to use fallow land for food and feed production and by means of a EUR 500 million support package for affected EU farmers.
The Commission also adopted a Temporary Crisis Framework for State Aid, providing space for further financial support to the sector[2] to alleviate immediately the situation.
The ‘REPowerEU Communication’[3] announced actions to address the crisis by mitigating retail prices, supporting business and ensuring sufficient storage for next winter as well as reducing the EU’s energy dependency on fossil fuels from Russia.
The communication notes that Member States can set regulated prices to help protect consumers and can consider temporary measures on windfall profits to capture a part of these returns for redistribution to consumers.
Ensuring long-term food system resilience depends on its environmental, social and economic sustainability, as recognised and integrated in the European Green Deal[4], the Farm to Fork[5] and the Biodiversity[6] Strategies, as well as the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)[7].
In line with the further analysis in the said Communication on food security, Member States’ CAP Strategic Plans will, as from 2023, play a key role to strengthen the resilience of the EU agricultural sector and foster its adaptation.
- [1] COM(2022)133 final
- [2] Communication from the Commission Temporary Crisis Framework for State Aid measures to support the economy following the aggression against Ukraine by Russia, OJ 24.03.2022, C 131I, p. 1, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_22_1949
- [3] COM(2022)108 final
- [4] COM(2019)640 final
- [5] COM(2020)381 final
- [6] COM(2020)380 final
- [7] Regulation (EU) 2021/2115