Food and Drink Industry
Priorities for the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union JULY-DECEMBER 2014
choice
sustainability
diversity
convenience
innovation
enjoyment
About FoodDrinkEurope FoodDrinkEurope is the representative body at EU level for Europe’s food and drink industry. Our membership includes 25 national federations, 25 sectoral associations and 17 companies. FoodDrinkEurope seeks to promote the creation of an environment in which all food and drink companies, whatever their size, can meet changing consumer demands while competing for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. FoodDrinkEurope also works closely with its social partners1 to better connect the worlds of business and education, and exploit the potential of new technologies to drive up qualifications and foster innovation. As the voice of Europe’s food and drink manufacturers, we ask the Italian Presidency to help us deliver on our priorities and to help maintain the global competitiveness of the food and drink industry as Europe’s largest manufacturing sector.
Europe’s food and drink industry in brief… The food and drink industry is the European Union’s largest manufacturing sector in terms of turnover
€1,048
billion
4.24
employment
€ 206
and value million jobs added directly
billion
The industry is highly fragmented, comprising in excess of
286,000
companies
over 99.1% of which are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). In addition, Europe is the world’s leading exporter and the second largest importer of food and drink products with
16% 14%
a global export market share of and
a global import market share of
For a comprehensive picture of the structure and economics of Europe’s food and drink industry, please see FoodDrinkEurope’s Data and Trends 2013-2014 Report2. 1 As part of the ‘EU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee’ of the food and drink industry 2 http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/S=0/publication/data-trends-of-the-european-food-and-drink-industry-2013-2014/
Promoting a competitive food and drink industry Industry competitiveness FoodDrinkEurope encourages the Italian Presidency to support the development and implementation of an integrated EU Industrial Policy for food and drink1, which is of critical importance to the competitiveness of our sector both in Europe and worldwide. We also hope that the Italian Presidency will support the High Level Forum for a Better Functioning Food Supply Chain2 of which FoodDrinkEurope is a member and whose mandate is to assist the Commission in supporting sustainable competitiveness and growth in the European agro-food supply chain.
Trade We urge the Italian Presidency to advocate for a strong, rules-based multilateral trade system which will lead to trade opportunities for Europe’s food and drink products, particularly in view of the recent breakthrough achieved at the ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali.
We also encourage the Italian Presidency to support the on-going negotiations for an EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Europe’s food and drink manufacturers are expected to benefit the most from greater regulatory coherence and the reduction of excessive administrative burdens and costs. In addition, we look forward to further progress in trade talks with India, Vietnam, Thailand and other third countries.
Biofuels FoodDrinkEurope3 asks the Italian Presidency to ensure that the use of food crops in the manufacture of conventional biofuels is limited and to encourage greater market penetration of advanced biofuels. Agricultural raw materials and their availability for food production should be at the center of discussions with the European Parliament on the Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) proposal.
Bilateral trade agreements We call upon the Italian Presidency to support the conclusion of both the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement, both of which have the potential to drive growth and facilitate access to major export markets, thereby generating new opportunities for Europe’s food and drink industry.
1 http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/uploads/publications_documents/Promoting_an_EU_industrial_policy_for_food_and_drink.pdf 2 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/food/competitiveness/forum_food/index_en.htm 3 CEFS (Comité Européen des Fabricants de Sucre) does not support the position of FoodDrinkEurope. ANIA (Association Nationale des Industries Alimentaires) did not reach a consensus on this position.
Encouraging balanced diets and healthy lifestyles
Ensuring a science-based approach
Helping consumers make healthy choices
Novel Foods Regulation
We ask the Italian Presidency to support the work of the EU platform for action on diet, physical activity and health1. A founding member of the Platform, FoodDrinkEurope and its members have developed, supported and encouraged initiatives and commitments in areas such as reformulation, consumer information, responsible marketing and promoting healthier lifestyles, and this work is on-going. FoodDrinkEurope’s commitments account for almost half of the total commitments submitted under the Platform. FoodDrinkEurope also urges the Italian Presidency and Member States to refrain from introducing measures such as discriminatory taxes on specific food and drink products or on individual nutrients at either European or national level.
Informing consumers The Regulation on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers (EU) No. 1169/2011 will enter into force on 13 December. We ask for the Italian Presidency’s support in ensuring that industry preparations for required label changes can be undertaken as smoothly as possible. We furthermore encourage the Italian Presidency to ensure that industry is duly consulted during the implementation of the Regulation, in particular with regard to any implementing measures which will have a direct impact on food and drink manufacturing and to ensure that such measures do not lead to the fragmentation of the Single Market or disruption of the food supply chain. We encourage the Italian Presidency to take note of the Guidance on Food Information to Consumers2, developed jointly by FoodDrinkEurope and EuroCommerce, which advises food business operators on how to comply with the Regulation.
Nutrition and health claims Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 provides clarity for both consumers and food business operators by providing a list of authorised health claims. However, several claims are still ‘on hold’ and we look forward to receiving more clarity on those claims during the Italian Presidency. 1 http://ec.europa.eu/health/nutrition_physical_activity/platform/index_en.htm 2 http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/uploads/publications_documents/FDE_Guidance_WEB.pdf
We ask the Italian Presidency to drive forward discussions in the Council on the proposed Novel Foods Regulation. This new proposal should take into consideration those elements where consensus in a previous draft has already been reached. It should also include a clarification on the scope and the definition of novel food products.
Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT) FoodDrinkEurope calls on the Italian Presidency and Member States to ensure that this initiative will help simplify existing legislation and reduce administrative burdens for food and drink companies in Europe. We ask the Italian Presidency to focus on the outcome of the stakeholder survey on the functioning of the general food law (Regulation (EC) 178/2002).
Official Food & Feed Regulation FoodDrinkEurope urges the Italian Presidency to drive forward discussions in the Council to ensure that a common position can be agreed in the Council.
Hygiene Package revision The expected proposal for a Hygiene Package Regulation would consolidate Hygiene Regulations 852 and 853/2004 and set out new rules on composite products, revise meat inspection rules and also align the current Hygiene legislation with the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty. This revision is of major importance for the food and drink industry, given that any definition changes might have an impact on food and drink manufacturers. Since this proposal is expected to be presented during the Italian Presidency, we are looking forward to constructive discussions.
Fostering a more sustainable business model Sustainability of food systems
Waste management
In view of the upcoming Commission Communication on the sustainability of food systems, we call on the Italian Presidency to facilitate future actions to ensure industry can deliver on its ‘Environmental Sustainability Vision Towards 2030’1. We furthermore encourage the Italian Presidency to support a more cohesive approach to safeguarding the sustainability of food systems for future generations.2
We welcome and share the ambition to move towards a resource efficient economy and are pleased to provide expert input6 to the European Commission’s ongoing revision process of the EU Waste Acquis, while asking the Italian Presidency to support these efforts.
Food wastage We ask the Italian Presidency to support FoodDrinkEurope and our food chain partners in our efforts to tackle the major societal problem of food wastage. In particular, we ask the Presidency to support us in the implementation of the commitments contained in the Joint Declaration on Food Wastage ‘Every Crumb Counts’3.
Climate and energy policy FoodDrinkEurope asks the Italian Presidency to drive forward discussions on the EU 2030 Framework on Climate and Energy Policy. Food manufacturers seek a long-term legal framework which will encourage investment in the industry. We also encourage the Italian Presidency to play an active role in moving forward negotiations ahead of COP 207, for an ambitious, binding international agreement which addresses climate change and food security, and provide incentives for investment while guaranteeing legal certainty for food and drink companies.
Sustainable consumption and production FoodDrinkEurope urges the Italian Presidency to progress on the implementation of the European Commission’s Roadmap for a Resource Efficient Europe. We encourage the Italian Presidency to promote the implementation at Member State level of the ‘Envifood Protocol’4, a harmonised framework methodology to assess the environmental impact of food products which lays the ground for the upcoming Commission Environmental Footprint methodology pilots for food and drink products. We further ask the Italian Presidency to support the work of the European Food Sustainable Consumption and Production Round Table5 of which FoodDrinkEurope is a member.
1 2 3 4 5 6
http://sustainability.fooddrinkeurope.eu/ http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/uploads/press releases_documents/Declaration_Sustainability_of_Food_System.pdf http://everycrumbcounts.eu http://www.food-scp.eu/files/consultation4/ENVIFOOD_Protocol_November_2012.pdf http://www.food-scp.eu/ http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/uploads/press-releases_documents/FoodDrinkEurope_preliminary_ recommendations_-_revison_of_EU_Waste_Acquis_Feb_14.pdf 7 20th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 20), in Peru, December 2014
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