Spain fully supports the
F2F Strategy, agrees with its objectives and follows it with a special
interest being a large agricultural producer. Spain’s main concerns relate to the need for impact
assessments and the legal aspects. According to the Minister, farmers should be helped to
understand how they can benefit from the F2F objectives instead of centrally imposing stricter
measures on them. The Minister explained that Spain had already made significant progress in
some areas highlighted in the Strategy (e.g. 9.6% of the agricultural land is under organic
production) but admitted that improvements are necessary in several other areas. The Minister
appreciates the good working relations between the ministry of agriculture and DG SANTE and
hopes to build on this in the future.
Commissioner Kyriakides stressed that Spain is a key partner in achieving the Green Deal/F2F
objectives. With regard to the risks linked to pesticides, recent indicators show encouraging
results in Spain (e.g. in relation to the implementation of the sustainable use of pesticides
directive (SUD) and the decreasing number of emergency authorisations) The Commissioner
thanked Spain for its constructive approach during the discussions on the revision of the SUD in
the Council. She explained that health and food safety is linked and should hence be looked at
jointly. The current COVID crisis has also brought opportunities and - with the sensitivity of
citizens now to the importance of health - these could be used to bring citizens on board to
recognise the relevance of a wider approach.
The Minister explained that since his appointment in June 2018 the number of
emergency
authorisations decreased by half in Spain. He confirmed the importance of Green Deal/F2F
objectives for Spain but underlined that the same standards should also be imposed on
imports. He mentioned pesticides as an area where reciprocity with third country producers
would be needed to ensure competitiveness of EU agriculture. The Minister explained that
while Spain considers it important to have common F2F objectives, flexibility in application
needs to be provided for the different MS and regions because of their individual
characteristics. The Commissioner agreed on the importance of reciprocity in relation to trade.
Spain closely follows the latest developments on
African swine fever, being the second biggest
producer of pig meat in the EU. Spain fully supports measures taken by the Commission and
other MS. The Minister stressed that more efforts are needed to make trade partners accept
the EU zoning measures in order to limit the negative trade impact. The Commissioner
underlined that African swine fever is a priority issue for the Commission. She recalled the
Commission’s efforts in reaching out to trade partners to promote the acceptance of the EU
zoning measures.
In relation to
new genomic techniques, the Minister asked for a practical and science-based
approach. In his view, it is important to ensure legal clarity on the use of new genomic
techniques. Spain is interested in progress on developing new techniques but safety must be
ensured. The position of Spain is close to the NL position. The Commissioner agreed with the
need for science-based decision on new genomic techniques and referred to the ongoing study
(expected April 2021). She stressed that any future policy action will be based on the outcome
of the study.
The Commissioner raised the issue of
front-of-pack nutrition (FOP) labelling and informed the
Minister that the Commission will launch an impact assessment on the different possible
options based on the available schemes already developed in the EU. She clarified that the
Commission is in favour of a mandatory harmonised scheme and plans to present its proposal
in the next two years. The Commissioner asked for Spain’s support in this area (particularly
given that the Nutri-Score scheme will be mandatory in Spain from 2021) and invited Spain’s
opinion on the need for any derogation or adjustment to known schemes. The Minister
confirmed Spain’s support to the Commission’s position on front-of-pack nutrition labelling. In
his view, a mandatory FOP labelling is the best way to provide clarity to citizens. The Minister
explained that the Spanish government opted for a national scheme after several food groups
started to organise their own schemes. The Minister offered support to the Commission on this
file. In Spain, the Ministry dealing with Consumer Affairs is on lead on this file with the Ministry
of Agriculture associated.
Both sides agreed to continue the constructive relationship on the different topics.
END.