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DG AGRI Outlook Conference “Sustainability from Farm to Fork” The 2019 edition of the Agricultural Outlook

Conference (10-11 December 2019 in Brussels)

will be opened by EU Commissioners Janusz

Wojciechowski and Stella Kyriakides.

Both incoming EU Commissioners will share the

strategy “towards sustainability from farm to

fork” ►see draft programme. Our EDA Board

member Riitta Brandt (Valio) will present the

perspectives from the dairy sector.

In preparation of this conference, DG AGRI C.2

hosted the Outlook workshop in Brussels last

week, where EDA secretary general Alexander

Anton discussed the status of the dairy outlook

2030 with Andrea Čapkovičová (DG

Agriculture and Rural Development), George

Morrison (Arla Foods) and Charlie Hyland

(INTL FCStone), and a scenario setting of a

100% GM-feed-free EU dairy, presented by

Christian Elleby (EU Commission Joint

Research Centre).

T h e l a t e s t n e w s a b o u t t h e w o r l d o f d a i r y

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European Dairy Association

Medium Term #EU_AgriOutlook Workshop of

@EUAGRI today in #Brussels EDA secretary general

@dairyanton chairing the Milk & Dairy Markets'

session and discussion on GMO feed-free EU dairy

scenario with @1GeorgeMorrison @Arla_Foods,

Andrea Capkovicova, Sophie Helaine...

E urope & New Zealand: leading the dairy sustainability agenda

This week, New Zealand Ambassador David

Taylor and his team members Frances Brockie and

Chris Carson exchanged on the future dairy

sustainability agenda.

“It is good to see that Europe and New Zealand fully

support the COP21 Paris agreement. The NZ dairy

has been a very active member of ► our European

Dairy Product Environmental Footprint project,

that we, as EDA, conducted for DG Environment

over the past years. The Dairy-PEF gives us a valuable

tool to monitor our sustainability progress as a whole

sector but also at individual dairy level, not only

when it comes to greenhouse gas, but for a total of 17

indicators, including water use, land use or fossil

resource use. The cooperation between the EU and

NZ dairy on this vital topic for our industry is an

excellent example for our shared interests”,

concluded EDA secretary general Alexander Anton.

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#16 / 2019

DG AGRI workshop this week European Retail Alliances and the agri-food supply chain

AgeCore, AMS, Coopernic, EMD, Eurelec,

Horizon...the highly concentrated European retail

sector further strengthens its dominant position

in the agri-food chain, setting up a joint ‘Retailer

Alliances’ at European level. Following the

request of the European Parliament in March

2019 to carry out an in-depth analysis on the

extent and effects of these buying alliances, DG

AGRI hosted a workshop this week on the topic.

DG AGRI Director Michael Scannell underlined

the key role of retailers in the agri-food chain

and the potential impact of EU-wide buying

alliances on the agri-food chain in Europe.

“While the share of the added value of food retail

increased to a significant extent over the last

years, the part of the food industry and the

farming sector decreased. The phenomenon of EU

buying alliances between the big players in the

retail industry will further fuel this trend”, stated

EDA secretary general Alexander Anton in his

speech.

C o n n e c t t o t h e w o r l d o f d a i r y

European Dairy Academix Students from the AgroSupDijon University on a

study visit in Brussels - under the theme

“Agricultural Policy and Europe”: 40 students

discussed with EDA secretary general Alexander

Anton the future CAP and the transformation of

European agriculture in a climate neutral Europe.

#Brexit: last chance to get things right! We as EDA welcomed the latest Brexit extension,

but we realise that this is the last chance to get

things right... The ongoing Brexit saga and the

uncertainty it brings has already done enough

damage to corporate and consumer interests. This

is true for the EU 27 as well as for the United

Kingdom. The planned 2-year transition period

following this latest extension should now be

sufficient time to secure an arrangement allowing

for the free movement of milk and dairy products

between the EU and the UK with no tariffs nor

quotas from either side while limiting non-tariff

barriers to trade (SPS/TBT) as much as possible. We

trust that our ► joint EDA – DairyUK paper “The

Future EU-UK Dairy Framework” will be a helpful

tool within this process.

EDA just published ► a new factsheet on the Dairy Product Environmental

Footprint (PEF), now defined as the reference methodology assessing the

environmental footprint of dairy products during their full life cycle, by the

successful vote of the European Commission and Member States in 2018. It is

a concrete example of the proactive Dairy approach in terms of environmental

and climate action. The project has now entered the transition phase, aimed at

assessing its future policy applications.