Ref. Ares(2020)2643693 - 20/05/2020
STELLA KYRIAKIDES
Rue de la Loi, 200
MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
B-1049 Brussels – Berl 10/380
HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY
@ec.europa.eu
Brussels,
Dear Minister,
European food is famous for being safe, nutritious and of high quality. Our goal is to make it
also a global gold standard for sustainability. The Commission has just adopted the ‘Farm to
Fork’ strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system, aiming to reduce
the environmental and climate footprint of the food system, lead a global transition towards
competitive sustainability from farm to fork and tap into new growth opportunities.
Citizens and economic players across value chains, both inside and outside the EU, will play
a key role in transforming our food systems. In particular, efforts will be needed to reduce
the use and risk of synthetic chemical pesticides, the use of antimicrobials in livestock
farming and aquaculture and to ensure high standards of animal welfare.
The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly brought to the fore the importance of a
robust and
resilient food system that continues to function in all circumstances, capable of ensuring
access to a sufficient supply of affordable food for citizens. It has also made us realise the
interrelations between our health, ecosystems, supply chains, consumption patterns and
planetary boundaries.
Farmers, fishers, food processors, transporters, retailers and other food chain actors are
playing a key role in ensuring that food supply disruptions are minimal in this period of
crisis. However, the pandemic also highlights the dependence of our food chain on a well-
functioning regulatory and policy framework and effective EU-wide coordination, in
particular for the management of borders, the internal market, transport and labour.
In this context, the importance of the proper implementation and enforcement of EU law
could not be overstated, and I would like to confirm our determination to take decisive legal
action in case of systematic non-compliance. There are a number of critical issues directly
linked to the ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy in relation to plant protection products, the sustainable
use of pesticides and animal welfare where insufficient enforcement in Spain is a matter of
serious concern to the Commission, and where I count on your personal support and
commitment to their resolution.
Dr Luis Planas Puchades
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Paseo de Infanta Isabel, 1
28071 Madrid,
Spain
Ensuring the safety of plant protection products and controls on their use is integral to
sustainable food production. The Commission is very concerned that Member States are not
respecting the deadlines set out in EU rules for completing the assessment procedures for the
approval or renewal of active substances and authorisation of plant protection products.
This situation results in repeated, unjustified extensions of approvals, which are increasingly
criticised by the European Parliament and some Member States as potentially unsafe
substances and products can stay longer on the market. Furthermore, this situation delays the
availability of new and safer products to farmers and also delays the withdrawal of unsafe
products from the market. This situation is unsustainable and immediate action must be
taken to address it. I would therefore call on you to ensure that the competent authorities have
the necessary resources and expertise to complete their tasks on time; the Regulation on plant
protection products explicitly provides that Member States can charge fees to applicants to
recover all the costs related to the resources they need. Our evaluation shows that, in general,
fees are not being sufficiently used to finance the relevant competent authorities’ work.
We see much room for improvement also as regards the implementation of our rules on the
sustainable use of pesticides. Our assessment of Member States’ national action plans,
findings from audits to Member States, web-based surveys and other sources of information,
demonstrate that, despite the progress made by Member States, there are still gaps in many
areas of their national action plans, as well as serious weaknesses in the implementation of
the Sustainable Use Directive.
In relation to this area, the main issues in Spain are that:
x In all autonomous communities, systems in place for training and certification of
professional operators need to include additional training so that they get up-to-date
knowledge of proper handling of pesticides so as not to cause risks to the human
health and the environment.
x Effective controls on the implementation of the general principles of integrated pest
management need to be in place for all types of professional users of plant protection
products.
x Measures in place for minimising or prohibiting the use of plant protection products
in specific areas need to be verified during official controls.
x Measures for the protection of water courses and aquatic organisms need to be
strengthened and effectively verified by official controls.
x Measures in place for handling and storage of plant protection products, their empty
packaging and remnants need to be sufficiently verified by official controls.
Animal welfare is another priority area for the Farm to Fork strategy, which is absolutely
vital for the sustainability of food systems.
In relation to animal welfare, the main issues in Spain are the following:
x Tail docking of pigs is a routine practice, although this is prohibited as a routine
measure by EU rules. The percentage of pigs reared with intact tails has barely
changed since 2016 and conditions on farm must improve if the number of tail-
docked pigs is to start to decrease.
x Actions have not been effective to prevent the transport of unfit animals to
slaughterhouses.
x The approval and inspection of livestock vessels does not guarantee the compliance of
the ship with the requirements in Regulation 1/2005 and therefore does not adequately
minimise the risks for the welfare of the animals.
We are aware that often in cases where Member States fail to enforce legislation properly,
this is often linked to resources and/or a lack of political commitment, particularly where
enforcement imposes, or is seen to impose, costs on producers, as for example, in the case of
animal welfare. It is critical, therefore, that Spain devotes adequate resources to
implementing EU rules in the above areas. There are recurrent requests to further EU
legislation in the area of animal welfare, both from stakeholders and Member States, it is
therefore essential that the existing legislation is fully implemented and enforced.
I ask therefore for your strong commitment to expedite the necessary actions to ensure
immediate and full compliance with EU requirements in these areas. My services will
closely monitor the issue and will be in contact with your services to follow up that the
necessary actions are taken.
The Commission will also play a strong role in supporting Member States through audits
and training programmes on these topics.
It is important that Spain makes the best possible use of all the tools available to support the
objectives of the Farm to Fork strategy. Among others, the national strategic plans under the
proposed new Common Agricultural Policy should make full use of the range of tools
available, and they will be assessed and approved by the Commission on this basis.
I look forward to our continued and close cooperation on these matters, which are of
increasing importance for our citizens.
Yours sincerely,
Stella Kyriakides
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