The Single Market in Danger

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both consuMers And industries beneFit FroM the eu sinGle MArKet; thAt’s Why We Are concerned About diVerse nAtionAl initiAtiVes APPeArinG in seVerAl MeMber stAtes. the Green trAnsition led by the euroPeAn coMMission Must becoMe An oPPortunity to re-AliGn All MeMber stAtes on coMMon, hArMonised rules to AVoid FrAGMentAtion oF the sinGle MArKet, ensure consuMer trust in it And suPPort industry coMPetitiVeness.

MellA FreWen

United in diversity“ is a motto rightly cherished in the European Union. We are „united“ in a common space without borders, with free movement of people and goods at its core, and „diverse“ in the languages we speak, in the cultures to which we belong, and in the food we eat – to mention just a few. The Single Market, established nearly 30 years ago, is the corner stone of the European Union. Food and drink products can travel throughout the EU freely, bringing a diversity of culinary tastes and traditions to the tables of all Europeans, wherever they may be in the region. Enabling regional products from every corner of Europe to be enjoyed at any time in all parts of the Union highlights the cultural dimension of the Single Market: it is not a mere economy-driven mechanism, it enables Europeans to discover one another and brings them closer together. The Single Market also enables micro, small and medium enterprises to access a market of 450 million consumers, well beyond the borders of the country in which they operate. It is by far the EU food and drink industry’s main market, accounting for around 90 % of its turnover.

It is therefore very concerning to see increasing fragmentation of the Single Market due to national, sometimes protectionist, measures. Take these three examples:

Origin labelling: a tool for gastro

nationalism? There are a growing number of national obligations to indicate the origin of products and ingredients on packaging. Often this reflects the importance of that specific product for the national economy and consumers’ inclinations to prefer ingredients from their own country. However, complying with multiple different national requirements entails complex and costly operations that are difficult to manage, especially for small and medium sized enterprises. On the other hand, if harmonised rules at EU level were to be established for origin indication, this would trigger renationalisation or segregation of supply chains and thereby have a distorting effect in the European Single Market.

Packaging labelling and recycling: patchworking instead of uniting?

Food and drink businesses face similar challenges in relation to labelling provisions on packaging waste management. Be it a national interpretation of the Single-Use Plastics Directive or a decree imposing the use of country-specific logos to provide instructions on sorting of packaging, varying national rules require the production and use of specific packaging for a particular country. This is obviously burdensome for the food manufacturing sector and its almost 290,000 SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprise) in Europe, but it can also add to consumer confusion, and indeed to more waste! Additionally, this legislative puzzle does not address a key issue which is the lack of harmonised infrastructure for the collection, sorting and recycling of packaging in the first place – a major obstacle for the use of recycled content in packaging.

Nutritional information: confusion

ahead of transparency? A multitude of national initiatives have appeared on nutritional information. As complex as it can be to find a common EU-wide position on these matters, it is vital for the sector to have science-based and consumer-friendly labelling requirements that apply equally across the Single Market. Even though we are seeing political tensions over various schemes, we should not forget that the focus is on consumers and on providing them with one unique tool that is sound, accurate and easy to understand. Each of these regulatory areas will be further developed by the implementation of the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Green Deal. This represents an opportunity to avoid Single Market fragmentation and to re-align Member States’ requirements to produce, place on the market and consume food and drink products, while transitioning to more sustainable systems. By the end of this Commission’s mandate, there will be more food and drink regulation to comply with. Policymakers must prevent the proliferation of diverging national initiatives and interpretations, and instead use the initiatives under the EU Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy to bring alignment within the Single Market. This will reduce the costs of complying with different national provisions, it will support the growth and recovery of the food sector’s 291,000 companies and 4.6 million employees, it will give consumers clarity and transparency and it will reinforce the competitiveness of food and drink SMEs, while maintaining smooth cross-country operations for the whole industry. Crucially, when we unite behind the Single Market, we can allow consumers to access Europe’s full diversity of safe, high-quality, affordable and sustainable food and drink products.

About FoodDrinkEurope

Director General of FoodDrinkEurope since July 2007, Mella Frewen manages the organisation, its various institutions (Board, General Assembly, Liaison Committee etc.) and supervises the work of the different departments. She also represents the organisation both externally and towards its members. FoodDrinkEurope is a Food Industry confederation in the EU. Registered as an international association under Belgian law, it represents the interests of food and drink companies, national food and drink federations, and specific sectoral associations based in Europe. The food and drink industry is committed to achieving more sustainable Mella Frewen, Director General at FoodDrinkEurope

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food systems by focusing on the triple challenge to deliver on economic, social and environmental sustainability. FoodDrinkEurope’s role is to help the industry, policy-makers and civil society work together towards these goals.We want all consumers to enjoy a safe, sustainable and healthy diet. So we promote the ideas and policies that enable the European food and drink industry to make products that are not only safe but also contribute to a greener planet, healthier living and a thriving economy.