The European Commission has published its Vision for Agriculture and Food, which outlines a common vision that will guide the work of the Commission through 2040, affecting all policy areas that have an impact on agriculture and food.

According to the Vision, a “non-negotiable element” of the EU’s policy on imports is food and feed safety. To ensure that relevant food safety legislation is properly implemented and enforced, a dedicated task force will be established, pulling expertise and forces from the Commission and Member States. The goal of the task force is to significantly strengthen import controls and controls “on the ground.”

The Commission also intends to more strictly enforce EU production standards for imported products, especially related to standards on pesticides and animal welfare. The Vision states that the Commission will establish a principle prohibiting entry into the EU products that introduce hazardous, banned pesticides. To achieve this objective, the Commission will launch an assessment in 2025 that will consider the impacts of such a principle on the EU’s competitive position and the international implications and, if appropriate, will propose amendments to the applicable legal framework. Similarly, the Commission will assess the issue of the export of hazardous chemicals, including pesticides, that are banned in the EU.

Moreover, part of the Vision is to accelerate the access to biopesticides in the EU, for which the Commission will put forward a proposal in 2025. The proposal will provide a definition of biocontrol active substances, will introduce the possibility for Member States to grant provisional authorizations for plant protection products containing such biocontrol active substances while their evaluation is still ongoing, and will create a fast-track procedure for their approval and authorization. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will be given resources to expedite risk assessment for biocontrol active substances.

Additionally, in the near future, the Commission intends to share a Water Resilience Strategy that will outline the Commission’s plan for more efficient water use, reducing water pollution, and addressing challenges related to over-abstraction of water resources.