Our demands for the new EU Vision on Agriculture and Food
The EU Commission will publish the new EU Vision on Agriculture and Food 19th February. The new EU Commission will present its proposals for policies for farmers and the food sector, to make them competitive and more sustainable, in line with climate goals. The Commission will integrate recommendations of the Strategic Dialogue into its new Vision.
In January, TAPP Coalition sent a letter to EU Commissioner Hansen (DG Agri) and Hoekstra (DG Clima) with recommendations for the new EU Vision on Agriculture and Food. Here we asked to include a downstream Agri-ETS in this new vision, to combine EU competition goals with the EU climate targets for 2040 and 2050. We did this also on behalf of signatories of a similar letter we sent to Ursula von der Leyen in April and in September 2024. This letter was co signed by Caring Farmers, the European Alliance of Plant-based Foods, Youth and Environment Europe (YEE), Ecopreneur.eu, European Vegetarian Union, Proveg International, Green Impact, Compassion in World Farming EU, Federazione Nazionale Pro Natura, Questionmark, Real Food Systems, Deutsche Stiftung Meeresschutz, TransiTerra (France), Union Vegetariana Espanola and Food Transition Coalition (Transitie Coalitie Voedsel Netherlands).
On 17th of February, TAPP Coalition is organising a conference in Brussels about Agri-ETS as a climate solution for the agri-food sector. We organise this event together with Rabobank and FoodDrinkEurope. The EU Commission will open the debate in the person of Valeria Forlin (Head of Unit, DG Clima).
TAPP Coalition is a partner of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). They also wrote a report on the importance of an Agri-ETS to implement the polluter pays principle in agriculture.
TAPP Coalition is also a partner of Climate Action Network Europe (CAN EU). Last friday they sent a letter to the EU Commissioners for Agriculture and Climate (Hansen en Hoekstra) with demands suggested by TAPP Coalition: implementation of the 'polluter pays principle' in a socially just way, a VAT reform on food products and an EU Action Plan for Plant-based Foods. See items 4-6 in the text below:
"4. Ensure fair prices for farmers and consumers in a socially-just way by addressing unfair trading practices and making the sustainable, less emission-intense choice the easy one for consumers, like encouraging MS to differentiate VAT (e.g. plant-based, organic, locally sourced products 0%, unhealthy, less sustainable foot highest VAT), while avoiding adverse cost of living impacts on low- and middle-income population segments.
5. Move to a policy framework that ensures emission reductions across the food chain as an all-actor task, including by implementing supporting policies including:
● revising the Public Procurement directive,
● addressing and reducing food waste,
● developing an EU Action Plan for Plant-based Foods.
6. We support the application of the polluter pays principle in the agriculture sector. Therefore, options for socially-just carbon pricing should also be considered within a wider policy-mix, while practices that have a positive impact on climate and the environment are rewarded".
