Copa-Cogeca

Copa-Cogeca welcomes the European Commissions initiative to reopen Regulation (EU) 2018/848 with the aim of amending selected provisions of the EU organic framework. We recognise the importance of ensuring a swift and seamless legislative process to safeguard the integrity and credibility of the European organic system, and as such support an adoption of the proposal by the end of 2026.

Reducing food waste is a global imperative and essential for securing a sustainable future. Its inclusion in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals underscores the urgency of addressing it, with a view to ensuring responsible resource utilisation and mitigating climate change.

Copa and Cogeca welcome the Commission proposal to fix reduction targets for Member States, however, this process needs to follow a carefully designed and incremental plan as set in Directive 851/2018/EC amending Directive 2008/99/EC on waste. Furthermore, the imbalances of power in the food value chain need to be taken into account as to ensure a fair repartition of responsibility between all actors.

EU agriculture and forestry are among the most efficient and advanced in the world in terms of their commitment to the climate and the environment. As professionals in the field, we are and will be the first to be affected by climate change.

Copa and Cogeca generally welcome the Commission’s objectives for the revision of EU marketing standards for agricultural products. As rightfully underlined in the Commission IIA, it is extremely important to adapt, where it is necessary and convenient, marketing standards to new market realities, stakeholders’ needs, consumer preferences and available technologies.

Copa and Cogeca and their member organizations support the overall ambition to act on climate change and find it essential that the agricultural and forestry sector contributes to the debate on climate action. European farmers, forest owners and their cooperatives have been successful in reducing green-house gas emissions and increasing the carbon sink significantly in past three decades and in contributing…

1. Delegation of power to EUIPO Copa and Cogeca believe that shifting competencies away from DG AGRI and towards an agency specialised in intellectual property rights and without the necessary knowledge of the specificities of the agricultural sector and the nature of GIs puts at risk this successful policy.

Copa and Cogeca welcome the revision launched by the European Commission that covers Geographical Indication (GI) systems in agricultural products and foodstuffs, wines and spirit drinks. Geographical Indications (GIs) help to preserve and boost rural communities through their tradition, history and taste. They are also an important tool when exporting high-quality products to third countries.

Copa and Cogeca generally welcome the policy proposals and would like to comment on the following aspects: - We welcome the streamlining of the process to create new categories/functional groups that can reflect the new benefits of feed additives and provide suitable efficacy criteria. - If the definition of feed additives is reviewed, it should not be to the detriment of feed materials.

We welcome the possibility to contribute to the ongoing evaluation and would hereby like to offer some context on the links between health, taxation and outcomes. First and foremost, it is critical to distinguish between use and abuse and recognise that harmful alcohol consumption has been steadily declining in the EU in the past decade.

Copa-Cogeca welcomes the commissions initiative: COM(2023) 178, for EU type-approval for NRMM (non-road mobile machinery). The preliminary work has been followed closely by Copa-Cogeca in the three NRMM workshops held since 2019. 1. Overall comments to the new regulation Copa-Cogeca welcome common European EU-type approval on NRMM.

Copa and Cogeca welcome the initiative to remove the obligation to record plant protection products in the Geospatial Aid Application. This has been a key demand of Copa and Cogeca from the very start of discussions on the Implementing Regulation 2022/1173. This change will bring the much-needed simplification to aid application and management.