With the European elections approaching, it's a critical time to determine the legacy of the European Green Deal for agricultural and food policy, as lawmakers strive to salvage climate protection credentials in this legislative term, according to an analysis by Euractiv.

Shadows Over EU Policies

The EU elections in June 2024 are already casting shadows over EU policy-making: any directive or regulation not adopted before then faces an uncertain future under a new Parliament and Commission.

Therefore, time pressure is already being felt in EU agricultural and food policy, where delays or promotion of laws have turned into a political tool.

Meanwhile, as EU party groups enter campaign mode, food and agriculture issues are becoming increasingly politicized.

What Does This Mean for the Current Spanish Presidency of the EU Council, and What Can We Expect After the Summer Break? EURACTIV takes a look at the busy semester ahead.

Do Green Deal Initiatives Still Have a Chance?

Among the proposals already on the table – but still going through the legislative process – are several key files from the Green Deal, the EU's flagship policy for environmental sustainability.

The much-debated Nature Restoration Law (NRL), which recently faced controversy in the EU legislative process, includes several provisions relevant to restoring agricultural systems, including compensation measures for landowners and the use of the EU agricultural subsidies budget for restoration efforts.

After the center-right European People's Party (EPP) led a campaign against the law, its fate hung in the balance, but the European Parliament supported the law in a mid-July vote.

Subsequently, Parliament initiated interinstitutional discussions with EU ministers on July 19. While these can often be drawn out, an agreement could be reached soon in this case as Parliament has already come closer to the Council's position in the plenary vote.

Meanwhile, time is running out for another key proposal belonging to the Green Deal bloc, the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (SUP) regulation, in which the Commission proposed halving the use and risk of pesticides by 2030.

The contentious law, which was already proposed several months later than initially planned, has faced further delays, behind which environmental activists and Green MEPs suspect a tactical maneuver to delay an agreement until it's too late.

Considering that parliamentary committee votes were rejected several months ago, and the Council only recently received an additional impact assessment it requested from the Commission, there are reasons to believe the law may not be ratified in time before the elections.

What Happens with the IED Directive?

The Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) is still pending, in which the Commission aims to reduce harmful emissions from industrial installations, including large animal farms.

After MEPs recently passed their mandate vote, negotiations between Parliament and Council have already begun. However, the Commission is concerned that their proposal could be significantly watered down by both legislators – especially when it comes to agricultural emission thresholds, as well as the inclusion of bovine emissions.

The EU executive is also expected to present its proposal for a Sustainable Food Systems Act in the third quarter of 2023. Initially announced as the overarching legislation for the Farm to Fork strategy – the agri-food component of the Green Deal – environmental campaigners fear the proposal could shift its focus more towards food security.

The task of saving the Green Deal's initial ambition could be harder with the likely departure of its staunchest defender, Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, after he threw his hat into the Dutch election race.

Some EU agriculture ministers remain unconvinced by the EU's goals of reducing plant protection products and banning pesticides following a new impact assessment by the European Commission, while other countries have urged them to stop stalling negotiations.

Gene Editing and "Sustainable Use of Resources"

In early July, the Commission proposed easing EU rules on new genomic techniques (NGTs), a term used for scientific methods to modify specific crop traits. However, it's unlikely this controversial initiative will conclude before the elections.

Even though the issue is a priority for the Spanish Presidency, some opposition has come from European Greens from several countries as well as from the EU's environmental sector, and many involved do not seem to expect an agreement before the end of the current term.

The NGT proposal was part of a broader package presented by the Commission, alongside, among other things, a soil monitoring law and a revision of the seed marketing framework, both of which now face equally tight schedules.

However, an agreement on the soil monitoring initiative may be easier to reach, as the EU executive's project is already much less ambitious compared to what the "soil health law" originally envisioned.

As part of a review of the EU Waste Framework Directive, the Commission has also put forward a proposal that includes legally binding national targets to reduce food waste by 2030 in households, restaurants, and shops, as well as in the production and processing of food.

Despite being the first proposal of its kind, campaign groups have warned that the EU executive's ambitions still do not bite, as they do not meet the reduction targets set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Animal Welfare and Food Labeling: Will They or Won't They?

After successfully passing the first stage in revising animal welfare rules – the Regulatory Scrutiny Board's quality control – the EU executive is confident that new legislation will be proposed by the end of the year.

However, there is still a long road ahead to negotiate the text that the Commission will propose – and the prelude to the European elections in June 2024 could prove to be a game-changer, according to Green and Socialist MEPs.

Another much-awaited but still pending Commission proposal is the revision of EU food labeling rules. However, while initially the initiative was scheduled to be submitted before the end of 2022 and then postponed to this spring, there has been no movement yet, and it remains to be seen if it will be submitted at all. At least the German government seems to have given up on the proposal.

Impact assessment on the review of animal welfare rules has received approval from the Regulatory Scrutiny Board of the European Commission, according to sources, as the EU executive insists that the review remains a "high priority," despite recent reactions on environmental files.

Autumn and Beyond

As the EU's current approval for glyphosate expires in December, the question of whether to reapprove the bloc's most used herbicide is on the agenda – with a decision expected in the autumn, according to a recently leaked draft report.

Earlier this month, the EU Food Safety Authority EFSA concluded that the use of glyphosate as an active substance in herbicides does not raise "critical concerns," while the full report was published on Wednesday (26 July). The verdict could help pave the way for reapproval.

Another issue that should be on the agenda after the summer is related to the promotion policy, the EU's funding program for promoting European food products domestically and abroad.

The framework is contested for promoting food products that the EU otherwise aims to reduce, such as red meat or alcohol. According to a Commission source, a proposal to revise this policy, which has been absent from the agenda for several years, can be expected in the autumn.

The Commission will also attempt to introduce a mechanism to stop the production of unauthorized chemical pesticides in the EU and those still produced for export. The initiative is scheduled to decline by the end of the current legislative term, as it is expected to be unveiled in January 2024, EU sources confirmed to EURACTIV.