The European Council and Parliament have reached provisional agreement to give farmers a "stronger negotiating position" in the food supply chain.

The council reached a provisional agreement with the parliament on a targeted amendment of the regulation on the common market organisation of agricultural products (CMO) as well as on the regulations governing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The agreement aims to give farmers a "stronger negotiating position in the agri-food value chain".

The updated framework aims to support more balanced and resilient supply chains, including making written contracts a general rule and reinforces producer organisations.

The proposal also seeks to protect the denominations of meat and certain meat products to ensure consumer transparency and fair competition.

Main elements of the agreement

The amendments to the CMO regulation focus on several key areas to strengthen farmers’ role in the supply chain.

This includes making written contracts between farmers and buyers a general requirement, with strengthened previsions, including a revision clause, to ensure that long-term contracts take account of market developments, cost fluctuations and economic conditions.

It also includes simplifying the rules for the legal recognition of producer organisations, and enabling member states to provide additional financial support to producer organisations and their associations under CAP sectoral interventions.

It also focuses on defining the conditions for using optional marketing terms such as 'fair', 'equitable' and 'short supply chain' to ensure clarity for both producers and consumers.

Meat terms

There is also a focus on establishing rules on the protection of ‘meat’ terms and the following meat-related names: beef; veal; pork; poultry; chicken; turkey; and many more. 

This to "enhance transparency in the internal market and enable well-informed consumer choices".

These terms shall be reserved for meat products only, therefore they cannot be used for products that do not contain meat such as, for instance, cell-cultured.

The provisional agreement will now need to be endorsed by the council and the parliament, before being formally adopted and entering into force.

Agreement welcomed

MEP Ciaran Mullooly has welcomed the agreement reached in Brussels on the new EU rules governing milk supply contracts.

Mullooly said the agreement means that milk purchasers will in principle have to provide a written contract covering milk deliveries, "strengthening the position of dairy farmers in the supply chain through greater transparency and clearer contractual terms".

Mullooly added: "These new EU rules strengthen the position of Irish dairy farmers in the supply chain by ensuring stronger contractual safeguards for milk suppliers, whether they are members of cooperatives or supplying independent processors.

"While the agreement provides for a derogation for dairy cooperatives, this can only apply where the cooperative’s statutes or internal rules contain safeguards equivalent to those required under EU law and ensure that the interests of milk suppliers are protected.

"The agreement also allows member states to opt out of certain provisions relating to price indicators in contracts where variable pricing systems are used, as well as from mandatory contract revision clauses.

"The minister must ensure that any use of these opt-outs does not undermine the rights and protections that Irish dairy farmers should benefit from under the new EU rules."

Welcoming the agreement, Mullooly said the new framework "represents an important step towards improving fairness and transparency" in the dairy supply chain.