The European Commission (EC) has proposed to postpone the entry into force of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to 30 December 2025 (2026 for smaller businesses). The proposal to revise the regulation, which should be soon formally accepted by the Council and the European Parliament, is available here. The EC is giving itself six months of additional time (by June 2025) to establish the classification of countries according to the risk that their products are the result of deforestation.

After months of talks between the 29 members selected to represent stakeholders in the agri-food sector, the final report of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture was submitted in September to Ursula von der Leyen .

The strategic dialogue lists several recommendations, including a paradigm shift for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the agricultural component of the Green Deal and the EU’s trade policy.

This document will feed into von der Leyen’s vision for agriculture and food, which should be presented in the first 100 days of her new mandate.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission published a report in July entitled “Towards sustainable food systems: an analysis of EU policy measures setting environmental sustainability requirements.”

This report explores the current state and the environmental impacts of the EU food system. It critically examines the effectiveness of existing EU policy measures in promoting environmental sustainability within the food sector.

ESA participated to the Annual Garden Party organised by the European Parliamentary Association (APE) in Strasbourg on Wednesday 17 July.

In attendance of around 300 invitees, with more than 150 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and staffers, we had the opportunity to present, discuss and taste some of the latest product innovations in the world of savoury snacks and catch-up with both returning and new MEPs.

Please check our LinkedIn account to see some pictures of the event.

The third ESA monitoring report to the EU Code of Conduct has been published on the European Commission website.

The first section mainly consists in demonstrating how the organisation raised members’ awareness about the Code in the past year. The second section includes some concrete examples from members, with a special focus this year on objective 7 of the Code in relation to sustainable sourcing in food supply chains.

Many thanks to members for their valuable contribution!