Document 44996O2dM7Qep8XkbOrLXam9x

From: Sent: To: Subject: m Ref. Ares(2020)2549731 -14/05/2020 jeudi 14 mai 2020 11:10 FW: Farm-to-Fork and Biodiversity Strategy - food security and need for investment From: Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2020 11:09 AM To: Subject: FW: Farm-to-Fork and Biodiversity Strategy - food security and need for investment Dear Please find enclosed an email that I have just sent to Ms Bursi. I forgot to cc you in the message. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience! Best regards, From: Sent: jeudi 14 mai 2020 11:01 To: Camilla.BURSl@ec.europa.eu Subject: Farm-to-Fork and Biodiversity Strategy - food security and need for investment Dear Ms Bursi, I hope you and your family are in good health! I phoned your office number, but I could not reach you. Forgive me for sending this message to you without talking to you first! You are finalising the two Commission communications on Biodiversity Strategy and Farm-to Fork. Some time ago, I was in touch with your team to discuss possible participation of your Commissioner, Mr Sinkevicius in our Copa-Cogeca Praesidia. Unfortunately, Covid-19 changed the timetables fundamentally for March-April for us all. Now, I wanted to ask if the Commissioner was still interested in joining our Copa Praesidium on 18-19th June. This would be video conference with 6 language simultaneous interpretation. I suggest maximum of 2 hours which could consist of an introduction from the Commissioner and then a debate. I would appreciate your insight for this. Knowing that you are putting the final touches to the Biodiversity Strategy and Farm-to-Fork proposals for the next week, I wanted to share with you our thoughts. Both of these proposals will have fundamental impact on agriculture, forestry and aquaculture. Our members, farmers and foresters are supposed to deliver the outcome. I think we both agree that the Commission ambition level for both proposals is very high. Without going too much to the details, I would underline the two particular aspects from your perspective. Covid-19 has undoubtedly brought our attention to the EU food security. Until now, the EU farming sector has managed to supply the consumer markets, but we are facing increasing difficulties. Despite these difficulties, we are very committed to the EU food security. Unlike most other crisis, even Covid-19 with a possible vaccine, potential lack of food has no alternative solutions. Importantly, even our EU heads of state have underlined this in the last agricultural reform. We must ensure stabile, high quality, nutritious and affordable supply of food to the millions of Europeans in the single market. This is a particular responsibility of the EU and the CA P. Secondly, while we also see some opportunities in the upcoming communications, in is important to secure the necessary investments to the proposed sustainability initiatives. Give us the tools, the political certainty to make the necessary investment based on EU internal and external trade. It is not necessarily about EU financial support to the investment, it is about enabling it. Give us the alternative technology, better functioning, fairer food chain and more reliable consumer connection and we can make it. Organic sector is a good example in making the investment on the consumer demand. But if we cannot make that market based investment on farms and relevant industries, there is no hope for achieving the goals of these sustainability initiatives. We desperately need new people, new investment to agriculture and forestry, taking also into account sustainability. You cannot force anyone to invest, it is based on hard economic facts. If you had a few minutes in your busy timetable, I would be happy to share this with you in person. Best regards, Copa-Cogeca Rue de Treves 61 10 o Bruxelles, Belgiqu--=-e-=;.____ Visit our web page: www.copa-cogeca.eu copa '*cogeca european farmers european agri-0>0perati.,-es