The 2020 EU Agricultural Outlook conference took place on 16 and 17 December 2020. This annual event has become a successful for broad exchanges among stakeholders on the market prospects, including the political framework and uncertainties surrounding market developments in the next ten years.

This year’s edition reflected on the lessons learnt from the Covid-19 crisis and look at pathways to a green recovery. It also offered an opportunity to present and discuss the results of the foresight study on the “Farmers of the future”.

The second day was devoted to the EU agricultural outlook 2020-2030. The European Commissión has produced a report that reflected on current agricultural and trade policies.

The President von der Leyen said that the European Commission will be presenting their governance framework for the food industry next year. The EC also are launching initiatives on labeling to help consumers make healthy and sustainable choices.

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Extract of a speech President von der Leyen:

“The policies we create together, strongly affect the food we will all get on our plates, its safety, quality and its sustainability. And a lot is at stake for our nature and our planet. Farmers have indeed a huge role in protecting nature, fighting climate change, and preserving biodiversity and our beautiful European landscapes” (…).

Our farmers live in the heart of our societies. They are central for achieving our climate goals. But they are not the only ones who have to adapt. The fight against climate change calls for action for all actors in the agri-food value chain. Next year we will be presenting our governance framework for the food industry. And we are launching initiatives on labelling to help consumers make healthy and sustainable choices. We also work with Members States.

They know their rural communities best. This is why we now invite Member States to come up with their CAP strategic plans. With these plans, Member States should tell us how they want to make best use of the resources of the CAP. At the same time, we want to know, how they are going to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal. In the next days, the Commission will send out recommendations to help Member States preparing these plans. Because only together we can deliver on our environmental ambitions…”.

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More information

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The 2020 EU Agricultural Outlook conference website

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Speech President von der Leyen

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