JOINT STATEMENT: Call for an ambitious simplification agenda to secure the future and competitiveness of the European Agri-Food chain

Agriculture and food have always been central to the European project, a cornerstone of our economy, our security, and our way of life.

Every day, Europe’s agri-food chain provides safe, high-quality and nutritious food to citizens across the continent and beyond. In a world marked by geopolitical instability, conflict, and growing uncertainty, Europe’s farmers, pre-farm and agri-food actors remain a stabilising force — a strategic asset for food security, peace, resilience and sustainability.

Yet the chain is under growing pressure. Legal uncertainty, increasingly regulatory complexity, outdated provisions that block innovations and rising administrative burdens are putting the future of entire value chains at risk. These hurdles hold back essential investments to boost sustainability and ensure long-term resilience, implementation, hamper innovation, and slow the transitions society is asking for.

The signatory organisations of the agri-food chain therefore welcome the European Commission’s 2024–2029 commitment to improve competitiveness, reducing administrative burdens, streamlining and modernising legislation.

As highlighted in the European Commission’s Vision for Agriculture and Food, achieving the Vision’s objectives requires real simplification for farmers, food processors and every actor in the agri-food value chain, supported by innovation that delivers practical solutions.

In this context, the European Commission is expected to present a cross-cutting legislative simplification package that delivers meaningful improvements beyond the CAP, notably in all policy areas affecting farmers, food and feed businesses and administrations. Our expectations for the Environment and Food & Feed Omnibus are extremely high. The Commission must urgently streamline existing rules and avoid piling on new rules. This cannot be achieved by focussing solely on administrative burdens. It requires broadening the perspective so that the omnibus packages integrally address the regulatory, administrative, legal, practical and reporting burdens that agri-food operators are facing, which are major obstacles to investment in sustainability and productivity.

We therefore call on the European Commission to act boldly by presenting ambitious Environment and Food & Feed Omnibus packages capable of genuinely simplifying the lives of millions of farmers, agri-cooperatives, and hundreds of thousands of agri-food supply chain processors and operators, providing businesses the certainty they need to operate and invest while reinforcing consumers’ confidence. Simplification and modernisation efforts for agri-food actors should be put at the centre of both the Environmental and Food & Feed omnibus. Cosmetic changes are not enough to ensure the future of a competitive agri-food chain in the EU. We need better regulation and call for the upcoming omnibus packages to also modernize legislation that is currently hampering permitting, innovation and circularity in agriculture and food.

The October European Council reaffirmed the urgent need for an ambitious, horizontally driven simplification and better-regulation agenda at EU, national and regional levels — across all policy areas — to safeguard Europe’s competitiveness.

It is now essential to align EU rules with the realities faced by farmers and economic operators on the ground. This must include enabling interoperable and innovative solutions that support farms and agri-food actors without creating new burdens. This can only be achieved by presenting ambitious omnibus packages for environment, food and feed that does not shy away from making legislative changes where it impacts agri-food operators the most. Simplification should be a thorough and staged process, with successive Omnibus packages proposed whenever necessary.

The time to deliver is now! We hope the European Commission will listen to the call of the agri-food chain and deliver concrete results that secure the future and competitiveness of the entire sector.

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On behalf of the following associations:

AVEC -The voice of Europe’s poultry meat sector

Animal Health Europe – The voice of the animal medicines industry

CEETTAR – European Organisation of Agricultural, Rural and Forestry Contractors

CEFS – European Association of Sugar Manufacturers

CELCAA – European Liaison Committee for Agricultural and Agri-Food Trade

CEMA – European Agricultural Machinery Association

CEPM – European Confederation of Maize Production

CIBE – International Confederation of European Beet Growers

CLITRAVI – Liaison Centre for the Meat Processing Industry in the European Union

Coceral – European association of trade in cereals, oilseeds, rice, pulses, olive oil, oils and fats, animal feed and agrosupply

Copa Cogeca – The United Voice of Farmers and their Cooperatives in the European Union

CropLife Europe – European organisation that represents the crop protection sector

EFFAB – European Forum of Farm Animal Breeders

ELO – European Landowners’ Organization

ePure – European Renewable Ethanol

Euro Foie Gras – European Federation of Foie Gras

EuropaBio -The industry association for biotechnology in Europe

Europatat – European Potato Trade Association

ERA – European Rabbit Association

Euroseeds – The voice of the European seed sector.

ESA – European Spice Association

FEFAC – European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation

FEFANA – EU Specialty Feed Ingredients Industry

Food Drink Europe – Food and drink is the biggest manufacturing industry in Europe

IBMA – International Biocontrol Manufacturers Associaton

PFP – Primary Food Processors, association for the European primary food processing industry

Spirits Europe – Representative body for producers of spirit drinks

Tomato Europe – Represents the tomato processing industry from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and France, covering around 95% of the European Industry

UECBV – European Livestock and Meat Trades Union