Ref. Ares(2021)3604085 - 01/06/2021
·
stated that the food and drink industry is very grateful for the
Commission’s swift and decisive action to protect the internal market. He gave
a
short presentation of the main figures of the industry (4.5 mio direct
jobs, 2.3tn€ revenue), underlining its contribution to the EU economy: In 2015
FDE committed to generating value added growth of 2.5-3.5% per year by
2025, and it’s on track to meet this target.
· The food industry responded well to the test of the
COVID-19 crisis. There
are some outstanding challenges to the Single Market, but progress is being
achieved, not least thanks to the action of Commissioner Breton and his
services. As regards open issues,
mentioned some slowdowns in
particular with raw and packaging
s and difficulties for worker mobility
at some intra-EU borders, in particular CZ-PL, CZ-DE, FR-DE. Conditions
should be eased, in particular with the opening of additional border crossings.
· Pre-crisis, 50% of food and drinks in Europe were consumed at home, 50%
outside. The out-of-home market has collapsed.
Supporting the food
service/HORECA channel will be essential.
·
said that FDE has adopted a 5-year “
Sustainable Food Systems”
plan which is aligned with the objectives of the Green Deal. He mentioned in
particular better energy efficiency, the reduction of waste and of plastic
packaging. He underlined that sustainability can only be achieved if there is
fairness along the supply chain, starting with farmers. Aiming for the lowest
prices for consumers is not always the best strategy and creates difficulties for
the weakest links in the chain. In this respect, it’s crucial to defend the smooth,
seamless functioning of the Single Market, a great European success of which
SMEs benefit proportionally more than larger players.
·
noted that it is clear that the
post-COVID context will not
be business as usual. There are
huge liquidity issues for the food
service/HORECA sector, and the whole industry must invest heavily to
support it. Nestlé has pledged a 500 mio€ support, mainly in the form of free
goods, zero rent on catering equipment, extended credit terms and vouchers
(“
pay now, eat later”). The Member States’ currently developping
uncoordinated response to the resumption of the movement of people and
access to HORECA establishments is a great challenge which can have
considerable repercussions up the supply chain all the way to farmers.
· Mr Settembri indicated also that the industry is supportive of the importance
of a
green recovery and expressed the wish that the
Commission act as a
champion of harmonisation, the Single Market and free circulation.
Goods, people and regulation are all part of the same picture. He mentioned
the
lack of harmonisation of food labelling as a particular cause for
concern in this respect.
·
raised the issue of the
Circular Economy Action Plan. The
food industry is working hard to play its part, but it needs Member States and
the Commission to invest in building a proper waste collection and recycling
infrastructure.
· The industry is following the developments of the
Farm-to-Fork strategy
closely and is particularly concerned by reports concerning the idea of
