MEPs urge the Commission to secure fertiliser supplies, take measures to lower prices and increase the EU’s strategic autonomy on fertilisers.
Parliament calls for a long-term EU strategy for fertilisers and another for soil nutrients by June 2023, in a resolution adopted by show of hands on Thursday.
Russian gas, used in fertiliser production, contributes to the financing of the war in Ukraine and they call for “sufficient resources to be allocated as soon as possible to end dependence on this gas”.
MEPs also recognise that being self-sufficient in mineral fertilisers is “not realistic” in the medium term and that the raw materials used to produce fertilisers often come from autocratic regimes. The EU “must not replace one dependency with another” and must increase its strategic autonomy in fertilisers.
To increase the availability of fertilisers for farmers and stabilise prices, MEPs propose to use part of the 2023 agriculture budget to provide immediate support to farmers and to extend the temporary suspension of import duties to all mineral fertilisers except those from Russia and Belarus as a short-term measure. They also call on the Commission to look into a joint fertiliser purchasing mechanism at EU level and how bottlenecks in the fertiliser market can be reduced. In the longer term, MEPs recommend accelerating the decarbonisation process and using fossil-free and recycled nutrients for fertiliser production.
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The rapporteur and Chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, Mr Norbert Lins (EPP, DE), said: “We urgently need to secure an adequate supply of fertilisers for our farmers and we need more action to bring down their prices. Fertilisers are essential for food security. Replacing and complementing mineral fertilisers with nutrients from organic sources would widen the toolbox for farmers significantly and make European agriculture less dependent on fertiliser imports from third countries.”
Background
Following the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the prices of fertilisers and energy increased sharply, having an impact on the cost of food. Prices for nitrogen fertilisers increased by 149% in September 2022, with the largest fertiliser manufactures registering record profits.
Source: European Parliament
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