Activities of Jordi CAÑAS related to 2020/2260(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on a Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system
Amendments (41)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the trade aspects of the Farm to Fork Strategy in order to ensure consistency of the EU trade policy with the requirements placed on EU producers in terms of traceability, animal welfare and sustainable development; Stresses that EU trade policy has a major role to play in the transition towards more sustainable and resilient agri-food systems, in line with the Paris Agreement and, the European Green Deal; and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); Insists on the importance of multilateral dialogue in achieving those objectives by establishing a sound governance framework for fair and sustainable trade and ensuring nobody is left behind;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Underlines that the objectives and development of the Farm to Fork Strategy should be built on a science-based approach focused on coherent and evidence-based policy instruments; ; notes in this regard that its implementation must take into account the needs of the outermost regions1a to allow them to compete in a level-playing field; __________________ 1a Article 349 TFEU
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Points out the economic and social added value of food in the EU, which not only entails providing citizens with a sufficient supply of healthy and affordable food and improved lifestyles, but also allows business opportunities, employment and growth; highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has made us acutely aware of the interrelations between our health, supply chains, consumption patterns and production capacity, which evidence the importance of strengthening the resilience and overall sustainability of food production in the EU;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Calls on the Commission to adopt a holistic and comprehensive approach and carefully assess the short-term and long-term global impact of the Farm to Fork Strategy and its targets on the functioning of the Single Market, as well as of each legislative proposal, including the consequences for the supply and demand balance, price fluctuations and consumers’ affordability, producers’ profitability, competitiveness performance and cost-effectiveness analysis of the transition, among others; stresses that, as regards production methods and the goal of increased organic production, demand must be equally stimulated to take up production growth and market realities must be considered together with the overall environmental performance, in order to foster a seamlessly functioning of the organic market in the EU;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the EU internal market is the world’s biggest importer and exporter of agri-food products; is convinced that the EU should use this position to set and acknowledges the well-established international reputation of EU agri-food quality and standards; is convinced that the EU should use this position to set, with the help of its Promotion Policy including all EU agricultural products but also of its GIs policy, the benchmark in terms of standards for sustainable food systems, based on fair competition, the precautionary principle, environmental protection and animal welfarethe respect of human rights and international labour standards, environmental protection and animal welfare, as a way to steer international standards towards European ambitious goals;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that promoting healthy and sustainable food consumption calls for changes to diets, production systems and internal tradeoherent and innovative policies that guarantee the access, affordability and diversity of high-quality and fresh products available to consumers, intra EU-trade and the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the different production systems;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the EU internal market is the world’s biggest importer and exporter of agri-food products; is convinced that the EU should use this position to set the benchmark in terms of aiming at negotiated and equivalent standards for sustainable food systems, based on the precautionary principle, environmental protection and animal welfare;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Highlights the utmost importance of fostering the engagement and cooperation of all actors in the food supply chain, as well as in the assessment, implementation and monitoring of this Strategy, for effective collective action towards a just transition; stresses that this process should entail a more equal redistribution of value among all operators in the food supply chain, strengthening farmers’ bargaining power and particularly improving the marketing relations between small businesses and producers with wholesale and retail companies, while also addressing unfair trading practices;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses that in the process towards food sustainability it is crucial to secure product quality at source, with the objective of preventing distortions in the Single Market; calls on the Commission in this regard to further simplify and harmonize the raw material production standards and rules in the EU and to better implement the current legislation as a means to address unfair competition and reduce administrative burdens for companies of all sizes;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Highlights the utmost importance of fostering the multilateral engagement and international cooperation of all EU food operators and trade partners for an effective just transition towards an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable global food system that allows for a level playing field;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to not only step up its support for regional food systems and short supply chains, which act as a source of fresh, sustainable and better quality producshort supply chains, whenever it is possible and in full respect of the freedoms of the Single Market, but also to increase its effor consumersts to achieve further integration of food markets across the EU; takes the view that legislation on European public procurement should be revised in order to foster local, high-qualitysustainable food supply systems, together with the use of EU funding opportunities to support innovation in national and local public food procurement policies;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that sustainable productionility should become a key characteristic of EU agri- food products, ensuring competitiveness and a sustained income to EU producers and expanding the concept of quality to social and environmental aspects;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges the Commission to promote alternative and existing business models, such as consumer-friendly cooperative schemes; that are able to advance sustainability and compete in the most efficient manner according to market realities, in full respect of the freedom of association of producers1a; acknowledges the role that producers associations and organisations in the form of partnerships, agricultural processing companies or agri-food cooperatives may play in ensuring a sustainable food chain, a fair share for farmers and fostering the competitiveness of rural areas; __________________ 1aRegulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that sustainable and resilient production should become a key characteristic of EU agri-food products, expanding the concept of quality to social and environmental aspects;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Recalls that the EU food sector is characterised by a very high presence of SMEs, which despite their efforts face many barriers to improve their sustainability performance, such as lack of information, access to financial resources or technical skills; calls therefore on the Commission to ensure that all actions in the Farm to Fork Strategy enable a transition that creates real opportunities and a level playing- field, gives enough flexibility and further reduces and simplifies administrative burdens for micro and small food businesses, as well as for social economy enterprises; stresses in this regard the utmost importance of providing concrete measures for the just transition, such as further support in the management of EU funding, improving capacity building and delivering significant resources for the effective use of innovative and digital solutions, in order to strengthen their competitive position in the EU food system;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Welcomes the work on agri-food research, innovation and education made by the European Commission through initiatives such as the EIT Food, established by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology, which helps to identify promising and innovative solutions for a more sustainable food products and bring together a food community with the diverse food sectors partners, entrepreneurs, SMEs and consumers, which drive innovation across Europe;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Supports the establishment of a governance framework and a code of conduct for food and retail businesses, in order to make them accountable and aware of the importance of sustainability and healthresponsible business and marketing practices for food and retail businesses, in order to raise awareness of the importance of sustainability and health; considers that these initiatives should be sufficiently and properly defined, adjusted to the size and type of businesses and recognise the existing best practices and commitments already achieved by European companies; welcomes the Commission’s steps to particularly support the implementation of sustainable business practices by SMEs and develop both initiatives with all relevant stakeholders;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Underlines the relevance of harmonised EU marketing standards which serve the purpose of taking into account consumer expectations and helping to improve the quality and economic conditions for producing and marketing agricultural products; supports the improvement and development of coherent, consistent and effective EU marketing standards which better address the new needs and contribute to the further integration of the Single Market; stresses that strengthening consumer education is fundamental to raise awareness of the benefits of updated marketing standards, ensure correct consumer understanding and encourage critical and responsible consumption; calls on all actors involved in food supply chain management to step up transparency in the overall food supply chain and to increase consumer information in order to enable consumers to make fully-informed choices about available products and to act accordingly;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Recognizes in this regard the role that consumers can play in the implementation of the Farm to Fork Strategy and how innovation can help them; underlines that the strategy should remain inclusive for consumers in order for them to support the improvement for more healthy and sustainable food products;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to promote healthier diets by introducing nutritional profiles, accompanied by mandatory and harmonised labelling of the nutritional value of foods on the front of packaging; considers that any such measure has to take into account the impacts on the Single Market and especially avoid any burden for micro, small and medium enterprises, by devising appropriate consumer-friendly schemes and product and sector-tailored, based on the most up-to-date scientific research data, with the aim of securing and promoting the competitiveness of all actors involved;
Amendment 109 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Considers that any type of labelling must not lead to unjustified distinctions between foodstuffs and should provide clear, non-misleading, understandable, unambiguous and comprehensive information, as well as take into consideration the needs of the most vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities and the elderly;
Amendment 112 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Asks the Commission to explore the necessity to apply specific conditions to and exemptions for certain food categories or foodstuffs, such as olive oil, or for those covered by Protected Designations of Origin, Protected Geographical Indications or Traditional Specialities Guaranteed, as well as for single ingredient products; highlights the need for suitable and tailored measures to support micro, small, medium and social economy enterprises when implementing such labelling;
Amendment 118 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Regards it as essential, further, to keep consumers better informed by introducing mandatory origin labelling of foodabout healthy and sustainable food dietary choices; calls on the Commission to further investigate and carefully assess the impact, needs and options for the harmonisation and extension of mandatory origin and provenance indications to certain products, which wshould be broadened to cover animal welfare, sustainability and pesticide residue leclear, easily understandable, verifiable, traceable and not result in trade barriers within the Single Market; asks therefore the Commission to work in close cooperation with the European Food Safety Authority for this purpose and thoroughly analyse the economic, environmental and social impact on the Single Market, consumer benefits, price aspects and the associated consumer behaviour changes of these initiativels;
Amendment 124 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the risk of putting the EU agri-food sector at a competitive disadvantage in the absence of global convergence of standards, and of leading to increased costs for consumers; calls on the Commission to build on a science-based approach and present a comprehensive global impact assessment of the targets envisaged in the Strategy and of each legislative proposal, as well as proportionate measures to maintain the competitiveness of the EU agri-food sector and ensure reciprocity of standards;
Amendment 133 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Considers that additional labelling schemes could be incentivized for certain products of added value and cover animal welfare, sustainability, carbon footprint and social aspects of food products such as the share of value going to farmers, with the objective of empowering consumers to make informed, healthy and sustainable food choices, and especially for maintaining their competitiveness from both environmental and health points of view;
Amendment 136 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Amendment 140 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Stresses the key role that research, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and secured access to the most advanced technologies play in the global transition towards a more sustainable food system, while ensuring the competitiveness, profitability and food production in the EU; urges the Commission to create an encouraging policy and regulatory environment that fosters further investment in innovation, the development and usage of technologies and the improvement of existing ones, including a common agriculture data space and the promotion of precision farming and knowledge-based farming, with a view to bringing benefits to consumers, workers and society as a whole;
Amendment 144 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Underlines that a coordinated and harmonised approach as regards unfair competition practices and the need for equivalent food standards, with due regard to the precautionary principle, is of vital importance in view of ensuring both an uninterrupted flow of supplies of foodstuffs in all Member States and effective and efficient security and customs checks;
Amendment 145 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Insists that the Commission ensures that custom controls throughout the EU follow the same standards, by means of a direct unified customs control mechanism, incoordination with Member States and in full compliance with the principle of subsidiarity, thereby respecting a high standard of security checks that can detect and prevent sanitary, phytosanitary and biologic risks from third country imports;
Amendment 147 #
6d. Calls for the structural agronomic and trade constraints of the outermost regions referred to in Article 349 TFEU to be systematically taken into account during the implementation of the Farm to Fork Strategy and in its subsequent legislative proposals, to allow them to compete in a level playing field and ensure the availability of viable alternative solutions to the agri-food sectors in these regions if their means of production and trade flows are restricted;
Amendment 148 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the proposed new initiative on climateenvironment and trade at the WTO and u; calls on the Commission to use this framework to raise the importance of developing comprehensive sustainable agri-food systems, based on common and ambitious standards and standards of production; Urges the Commission to continue to develop an ambitious, WTO- compatible sustainable trade policy, and urges to tend towards more agri-food diplomacy -no longer making agri-food products the adjustment variable or collateral victims of trade conflicts- which would make it easier to avoid situations such as the one between Airbus and Boeing.
Amendment 148 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls, with a view to protecting consumers, for full enforcement of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 25 July 2018 in Case C-528/16, Confédération paysanne, which stipulates that food crops modified by genome editing armay be subject to the requirements of GMO legislation, including risk assessment, traceability and labelling; calls on the European Commission to take note of the latest developments in this regard and study the feasibility of a new legislative framework of new genetic modification techniques, based on scientific evidence, that provides sufficient predictability, flexibility and proportionality to respond to rapid technological and scientific developments in this field; acknowledges in this context the importance to build on the scientific advice of the European Food and Safe Authority and underlines its continuous contribution to ensuring the safety of the EU food chain and a high level of consumer protection;
Amendment 153 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Highlights that tax incentives and levies and any other measures related to food packaging should contribute to the transition to a more sustainable EU food system and encourage healthy dietary choices, whilst at the same time allowing for consumer-friendly and commercially viable and competitive solutions which preserve the competitiveness of all actors in the Single Market; points out that further financing and promotion of research on renewable and recyclable packaging is needed for this purpose;
Amendment 156 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls for consistency and coherence between the measures of the Farm to Fork Strategy, EU trade policies and the Customs Union Action plan, as well as other related EU Policies and Strategies, in full respect of the WTO rules;
Amendment 157 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Asks the Commission to explore the necessity to apply specific conditions to and exemptions for certain food categories or foodstuffs, such as olive oil, and for those covered by Protected Geographical Indications, in the assessment of a harmonised nutritional labelling, considering their key role in our trade agreements and protecting local value at global level;
Amendment 162 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission to clarify and further harmonise the current legislation on use-by dates, in order to reduce food waste and provide more clarity, consistency and understanding among consumers, in order to reduce food waste; notes that measures envisaged for this purpose and waste management should not entail disproportionate costs and administrative burdens that smaller businesses are not able to comply with;
Amendment 166 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Supports the Commission in its efforts to combat food fraud, which misleads consumers and distorts competition in the internal market, and regards it as essential to make the penalties imposed on fraudsters more dissuasive and, to earmark sufficient resources so that checks can be stepped upeffective and efficient checks can be stepped up, to properly staff market surveillance and customs authorities and to continue strengthening exchanges of information in the Single Market;
Amendment 173 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses that the large amount of divergences in controls of products from third countries and in customs procedures and sanctions policies at the EU’s points of entry into the Customs Union often result, not only in food supply chains distortions, but also in large health and safety risks for consumers in the Single market; underlines that a coordinated and harmonised approach as regards unfair competition practices and the need for equivalent food standards, with due regard to the precautionary principle, is of vital importance in view of ensuring an uninterrupted flow of supplies of foodstuffs in all Member States, whilst respecting a high standard of security checks that can detect and prevent sanitary, phytosanitary and biologic risks from third country imports;
Amendment 176 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Insists that the Commission ensures that custom controls throughout the EU follow the same standards, by means of a direct unified customs control mechanism, in coordination with Member States and in full compliance with the principle of subsidiarity; furthermore, urges the Commission to increase, at EU and international level, cooperation between consumer protection, market surveillance and customs authorities and other relevant competent authorities so as to guarantee harmonised and uniform controls at all points of entry into the Union and thus secure the traceability of all food products;
Amendment 178 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Member States for more effective implementation of Directive 2005/29/EC1 , in order to better address the problem of misleading environmental claims in food.and the timely and correct transposition of Directive 2019/633/EC2a, as well as to better address the problem of misleading environmental claims in food; believes that when clarifying competition rules, the Commission must create the conditions for a more efficient food market that enables consumers to benefit from a wide range of quality products at competitive prices, while ensuring that primary producers have the incentives to invest and innovate; __________________ 1 Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to- consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22. 2aDirective (EU) No 2019/633 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain.