EU Biodiversity and Farm to Fork strategies postponed

In the current context due to COVID-19, the European Commission will focus its activities on a limited number of files in the coming weeks. On March 18, 2020, the European Commission published a list of most urgent points to be discussed in the coming weeks.

According to this new calendar, the publication of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Farm to Fork Strategy, initially expected for March, would be postponed at least to the end of April 2020 – a date which is still to be confirmed by the European Commission. This delay occurs in a period where daily work is affected by the lockdown in several EU countries, including for EU institutions, and due to limitative measures, which cannot ensure the execution of consultation with relevant stakeholders. Norbert Lins, President of the Agriculture and Rural Development Commission of the European Parliament, welcomed the European Commission’s decision to postpone the Farm to Fork Strategy to enable the consultation of stakeholders, including farmers.

The Report on the Impact of Demographic Change, prepared by Commissioner Dubravka Suíça, is however still planed for April 2020 as it will present European demographic trends and does not require any consultative process.

Euromontana will keep you informed of any other changes in the coming weeks. For a global overview of the work expected this year, please read our article on the 2020 work programme of the European Commission (for members only) – which we will update to include the recent changes.