Luis Planas meets the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety in Brussels

The acting Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has met in Brussels with the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety to discuss aspects related to the dossiers on which the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union is working during this six-month period, as well as other matters concerning the Spanish agri-food sector.

The Spanish presidency is working to make progress on the proposal for the sustainable use of plant protection products (SUR) and the legislation on plants produced using New Genomic Techniques (NGT), among other legislative dossiers.

The EU as a whole is in a good position to meet the target of a 50% reduction in the use and risk of plant protection products by 2030. However, the situation varies widely from one Member State to another.

Both proposals constitute one of the main legislative developments of the European Farm to Fork Strategy in the field of ensuring sustainable food production.

With regard to the proposal for a regulation on NGTs, which was discussed at the Informal Council of Agriculture Ministers held in Cordoba, Planas hopes to gather as much support as possible from the Member States in order to present a text with the conclusions of the Spanish presidency at the end of the presidency, coinciding with the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers in December.

This meeting concludes the minister's intense work agenda this week with the European institutions.

Non official translation