Today the official documents for the European Union to become a member of the Geneva Act were deposited at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva. This is the last step for the EU to become a member of the Geneva Act, a multilateral treaty for the protection of geographical indications (GIs) managed by the WIPO.
The European Commission publishes today its report on the implementation of national beekeeping programmes benefiting from €33 million annually from the EU budget. Analysing the way Member States implement the various support measures for beekeepers within the Common Agricultural Policy framework over the years 2013 to 2015, the report shows that the number of beehives is continuously increasing in the European Union. Member States reported in total 15.7 million hives which represents 12% more than the previous programming period (2011-13).
Important stocks at EU level and consecutive good harvests have created an imbalance between supply and demand on the EU olive oil market, resulting in a price decrease. In view of this particularly difficult market situation, the European Commission adopted today private storage aid for virgin olive oils.
With the start of a new school year, the EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme will resume in participating EU countries for 2019-2020.
The EU school scheme aims at promoting healthy eating and balanced diets through the distribution of fruit, vegetables and milk products while also proposing educational programmes on agriculture and good nutrition.
The European Commission is offering support to farmers faced with the waves of drought afflicting Europe. Firstly, farmers will be able to receive a higher percentage of their direct and rural development payments in advance. Secondly, to be able to feed their animals, they will be granted greater flexibility to use land that would normally not be used for production.
EU exports of pork, beef, olive oil and dairy products are expected to continue increasing in 2019. Pork exports are especially driven by Chinese demand, while production is expected to stabilise. These are among the main findings of the latest short-term outlook report for EU agricultural markets, published on 3 July 2019 by the European Commission.
The European Commission released its market brief on fertiliserstoday. Focussing on the economic and environmental impact of fertilisers, the brief found that their use in the EU has stabilised in recent years. However, the adoption of precision farming technologies offers potential for more efficient usage.
The Commission published the results of a pan-European testing campaign of food products showing that some products are identically or similarly branded while having a different composition.
The European Commission will provide €120 million to the EU's beekeeping sector over the next three years to support its essential role in agriculture and the environment. This represents an increase of €12 million compared to the support provided for the period from 2017 to 2019.
The Commission shared today with Member States the successful outcome of the negotiations to review the functioning of an existing quota to import hormone-free beef into the EU.