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President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen has issued a Mission Letter to the Commissioner-designate for Health and Animal Welfare requiring him to focus on “the accelerated use of bio-controls”.
On 17 September, Ursula von der Leyen revealed the goals for each of the Commissioner-designates and their portfolios. In particular, accelerating biocontrol and delivering the recommendations from the Strategic Dialogue are mentioned:
- Commissioner-designate for Health and Animal Welfare (linked to DG SANTE), Olivier Valheri (Hungary, Patriots for Europe) – His Mission Letter includes “You will work to improve the sustainability, safety and affordability of food production and consumption across the food chain, including through organic production and the accelerated use of bio-controls” (p.6)
- Commissioner-designate for Agriculture and Food (linked to DG AGRI), Christophe Hansen (Luxembourg, EPP) – His priorities include developing a Vision for Agriculture and Food building on the recommendations of the Strategic Dialogue which calls on the European Commission to enable a robust legislative framework for biocontrol products and approaches by 2025
What this means for biocontrol
- IBMA advocacy work has been heard by the European Commission President. The need for biocontrol was also a clear output in the Strategic Dialogue for Agriculture supported by farmers.
- The political environment is even more favorable and committed to biocontrol. We are seeing biocontrol elements from the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR) incorporated into the mission letters for the new Commission. This is great news as it allows us to build on the good work within the SUR.
- Now biocontrol is important for both the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food (linked to the work of DG AGRI) and the European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare (linked to the work of DG SANTE). This marks a shift from the previous European Commission, where biocontrol was only handled by DG SANTE.
- The role of biocontrol in the effective implementation of organic agriculture is acknowledged in the mission letter. This matters because learnings here can be transferred to all agricultural systems and programmes.
Next Steps
European Commissioners-designate will go through the hearings process in the European Parliament to confirm or not their appointment. IBMA will work to ensure that Members of the European Parliament pose several questions during the hearings, including:
- How the European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare plans to accelerate biocontrol.
- How the European Commission for Agriculture and Food’s plans to implement the biocontrol recommendations from the Strategic Dialogue report
- How the two Commissioners will collaborate to support farmers and the green biocontrol industry in order to keep innovation and investments in Europe.
Questions may also be directed to other European Commissioners, such as those responsible for Industry or the Environment.
In closing, it remains to be seen how the Directorate-Generals of the European Commission (including DG SANTE and DG AGRI) are restructured and what files fall under each, notably PPPs.
Meanwhile, IBMA will continue to advocate for a biocontrol definition, fast track in the immediate term and ultimately a new regulation.