Parliament gave on Wednesday its green light to a new fisheries agreement with Mauritania, which should strengthen environmental, economic, social and scientific cooperation. With 557 votes to 34 and 31 abstentions, MEPs backed the largest fisheries agreement concluded by the EU with a third country. Valid for six years, it will enable vessels from France, […]
Read More
Pesticides in food: latest report published
EFSA’s latest annual report on pesticide residues in food covers more than 88,000 food samples collected in the European Union in 2020. Analysis of the results shows that 94.9% of samples fell within legally permitted levels. For the subset of 12,077 samples analysed as part of the EU-coordinated control programme (EU MACP), 98.2% were within legal limits. […]
Read More
Fisheries management review: less overfishing, more efforts to protect marine resources
The Commission has published its Communication “Towards more sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2023” giving an annual review of EU’s fisheries management and outlining priorities ahead for 2023. The figures, as assessed by independent scientific agencies, show that conservation efforts are further bearing fruit and the EU fisheries policy […]
Read More
EU agri-food trade shows strong growth in 2022
The total value of EU agri-food trade was 28.3 billion in February 2022, an 18% increase compared to the same month last year. Exports rose by 11% to 16.6 billion, while imports grew by 30% to reach 11.7 billion, reflecting a trade balance of 4.9 billion. This marks an increase of 52% compared to January […]
Read More
Agriculture and Fisheries Council 24 May – Main results
Solidarity with Ukraine and the market situation, especially following the Russian invasion Ministers were briefed by the Commission on the channels of solidarity between the European union (EU) and Ukraine in order to facilitate the export of Ukrainian agricultural products by land to European and world markets. The aim of this action plan is to overcome the […]
Read More
Spain has the largest area for wine in the EU
The total area under vines in the EU was 3.2 million hectares (ha) in 2020, equivalent to 2.0 % of the utilised agricultural area (UAA). In 2020, there were 2.2 million vineyard holdings for wine (hereafter termed ‘vineyard holdings’) in the EU, the vast majority of which were very small; 83.3 % had less than 1 ha of vineyards. Spain, […]
Read More
Increased support for EU farmers through rural development funds
The European Commission proposed an exceptional measure funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) to allow Member States to pay a one-off lump sum to farmers and agri-food businesses affected by significant increases in input costs. Such increases in prices, notably for energy, fertiliser and animal feed, are disrupting the agricultural sector and rural communities, […]
Read More
Spain will reiterate the need for the Commission to allow greater flexibility for the fruit and vegetable sector
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, advocated last Wednesday to carry out a constant monitoring of the European market situation in all fields in order to know the effect of the measures adopted to mitigate the effects of the war in Ukraine, in case the adoption of new measures is necessary. On […]
Read More
Apiculture in the European Union
Honeybee colonies are essential for agriculture and the environment. They ensure plant reproduction by pollination, whilst beekeeping contributes to the development of rural areas. Beekeeping is practised in all EU countries and is characterised by diverse production conditions, yields and beekeeping practices. The EU is the second largest honey producer after China, but the […]
Read More