(1)

The agricultural sector, in particular farmers, who ensure food security, faces a range of challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic, growing instability in world trade, increasingly extreme weather events and Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine have led to an unprecedented increase of energy-related agricultural input costs and a prolonged period of high inflation, affecting farmers’ costs and food prices. In parallel, farmers continue to make efforts to ensure that their production is more environmentally sustainable. Already dealing with an increased cost of living, many customers have also been increasingly purchasing and consuming less expensive food products. Those factors have further destabilised the way that added value is distributed along the food supply chain and have increased the degree of uncertainty in which farmers, in particular those farming small and medium-sized farms, operate, fuelling protests and mistrust. It is therefore appropriate to adopt measures to tackle those challenges in order to restore fairness and the trust of actors in the food supply chain, to strengthen the position of farmers and to improve their bargaining power, including through producer organisations and cooperatives as creators of added value, as well as to protect farmers’ incomes and to increase young people’s confidence in the farming profession.

(2)

When developing marketing standards concerning the indication of the place of farming and/or origin, particular attention should be paid to the specific context of each product and sector. Those indications should be determined in the light of the need to better meet expectations of transparency, including through country of origin labelling in line with internal market rules, their relevance for consumers and the structure of the supply chain, while taking into consideration the practical implications for operators and the need to avoid unnecessary complexity.

(3)

Various operators within the agricultural and food supply chain, active at different stages of production, processing, marketing, distribution, and retail, have developed schemes and labels to promote commercial modalities that ensure the fair allocation of added value to farmers and the creation and maintenance of short supply chains. Establishing minimum requirements for the use of optional terms to describe those commercial modalities is necessary to increase the transparency and reliability of the use of those terms in the food supply chain, thereby complementing existing food labelling rules, in particular those in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4).

(4)

In the interest of increased trust and fairness along the food supply chain, the terms ‘fair’, ‘equitable’, and terms having an equivalent meaning to those terms, should only be used to designate commercial modalities that ensure stability and transparency in commercial relations between farmers and purchasers and pricing that is considered to be equitable and remunerative by participating farmers, and that support and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including in a manner that is consistent with Annex I to Directive (EU) 2024/1760 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5).

(5)

The term ‘short supply chain’ should only be used to designate commercial modalities where a direct connection exists between farmers and consumers that allows direct exchanges of information on the production process and the product, including by means of distance communication and/or through an intermediary in the supply chain, and consumers can easily identify the holdings of the participating farmers where the raw material was produced. Alternatively, that term could also be used where a close connection exists between farmers and consumers in geographic proximity to one another, including in cross-border contexts. Geographical proximity should be understood, inter alia, as a short distance or short travelling time which takes into account the geographical and demographical specificities of the Member States. Such use of the term ‘short supply chain’ will incentivise consumers to pay prices that fairly remunerate farmers for what they produce, strengthen rural areas and contribute to the development and the revitalisation of those areas and improve transparency regarding the origin and production methods of the products. It should apply to products produced in or placed on the internal market.

(6)

In order to better reflect market conditions, evolving consumer expectations and advances both in marketing standards and in relevant international standards, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) by adding additional optional terms that are equivalent to the term ‘fair’ or ‘equitable’ and specifying conditions for the use of the optional terms designating commercial modalities related to the fair allocation of added value to farmers and the creation and maintenance of short supply chains, taking into account any relevant international standards and related quality schemes. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (7). In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(7)

While Member States may retain or introduce national law setting out supplementary requirements for the use of optional terms for commercial modalities, that law should not hinder, limit or obstruct the use of those terms for products legally produced or legally marketed in another Member State.

(8)

The use of written contracts plays a crucial role in the accountability of operators, raises awareness of the importance of market signals, helps to adapt supply to demand, improves price transmission within the supply chain, enhances transparency and prevents and addresses unfair trading practices. The rules on contractual relations in the milk and milk products sector should therefore be extended to cover products other than raw milk, while ensuring alignment with the rules on contractual relations applicable to other agricultural sectors. However, this Regulation should allow Member States to exempt operators from the obligation to include indicators, indices or methods of calculation of the final price or a revision clause in their written contracts, after consulting the relevant representatives of farmers or the relevant interbranch organisations, provided that the effects of predictability, transparency and price transmission can be achieved by other means or that the obligation to include these elements would not be appropriate or proportionate for other justified reasons.

(9)

In order to reflect market developments while also maintaining effective competition in the dairy market, it is appropriate to increase the quantitative limits applicable to the volume of raw milk covered by collective contractual negotiations by recognised producer organisations expressed as a percentage of total Union production and of total volumes produced and delivered in a Member State.

(10)

In order to increase flexibility for Member States and simplify the procedure for the recognition of producer organisations, thereby reducing transaction costs and improving efficiency, the applicable rules should allow for their recognition following a single request covering multiple sectors or products, rather than the current requirement of a single request covering one specific sector, provided that the producer organisation fulfils the conditions applicable to each specific sector for which it seeks recognition. Moreover, organic producers are able to use the existing possibility for the establishment and recognition of producer organisations to enhance their collaboration. The criteria for the recognition of producer organisations and their statutes should also require that producer organisations be established at the initiative of farmers producing agricultural products of the soil, irrespective of whether the production methods use soil or other growing media, for example in greenhouses, or of stockfarming, and that the producer organisations be controlled in accordance with rules that enable those farmer members to democratically scrutinise their organisation and its decisions. Member States should also be allowed to decide that such democratic scrutiny can be carried out not only directly by the farmers but by their associations, including those in the form of cooperatives, provided that those associations are controlled by farmers. This should not preclude other producers that are not farmers producing agricultural products of the soil or stockfarming, such as first-stage processors or non-producers, from joining producer organisations.

(11)

To promote further sustainable development, which is a core principle of the Treaties and a priority objective for the policies of the Union, and to ensure transparency, stability and fairness in commercial relations between farmers and purchasers throughout the supply chain, Member States should be able to recognise producer organisations that pursue specific aims by using optional terms for commercial modalities, such as ‘fair’ or ‘equitable’, or terms having an equivalent meaning to those terms, and the term ‘short supply chain’.

(12)

To ensure a fair standard of living for farmers, to enhance their bargaining position vis-à-vis processors and other actors in the supply chain and to provide for a fairer distribution of added value along the supply chain, the possibility of negotiating contract terms on behalf of their members, for some or all of their production, should be extended to non-recognised producer organisations, including cooperatives or other equivalent legal forms recognised by national law, provided that they comply with the recognition criteria laid down at Union level and engage in the activities set out in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, including concentrating supply and placing their members’ products on the market. To ensure equal treatment of members of recognised and non-recognised producer organisations, that possibility should be subject to appropriate limits. In particular, it should only be extended to non-recognised producer organisations that have submitted an application for recognition to a Member State, within four months of the lodging of that application, or, if no decision is taken within that period by that Member State, within five years of the date of submission of their application, unless the Member State refuses recognition in the meantime.

(13)

To strengthen the negotiating position of recognised producer organisations and to ensure the viable development of agricultural production, recognised associations of producer organisations should be allowed to negotiate contract terms on behalf of their members, including price, for the products produced by some or all of their members even if they are not genuinely exercising an economic activity themselves provided that their members are genuinely exercising an economic activity. That possibility should be allowed, subject to the safeguard that the organisations that are members of those associations are not also members of another association of producer organisations and the volume of the product covered by the activities of those associations does not exceed 36 % of the total national production of that product in the Member State concerned. Furthermore, in order to maintain effective competition on the market, recognised associations of producer organisations should also not be allowed to negotiate contract terms where those associations include non-recognised producer organisations.

(14)

The statutes of producer organisations require their members to limit membership to one producer organisation for any given product in order to create stability for the producer organisation, to prevent opportunistic behaviour by members by limiting the possibility for them to freely place their quantities with different producer organisations, and to maintain coherence in the representation of their members. At the same time, it should be possible for a producer to be a member of different producer organisations if the product concerned is a different product of the holding. It is therefore appropriate to clarify that multiple memberships are possible in duly justified cases, provided that the products are sufficiently distinct, with regard, inter alia, to their specific characteristics or the differentiated intended final uses.

(15)

To prevent purchasers from undermining the bargaining position of producer organisations, appropriate safeguards should be established for contacts between purchasers and members of such producer organisations. While purchasers may contact members of producer organisations, making contact with those members should not undermine the objectives of the producer organisations, or the concentration of supply and placing of products on the market, in particular, where such direct contact with members of producer organisations is used to circumvent the joint strategy of producer organisations.

(16)

In order to reinforce the position of dairy farmers, in particular by strengthening their producer organisations, it is appropriate to align the rules on the statutes of producer organisations and to extend the application of those rules to producer organisations in the dairy sector, thereby enhancing democratic functioning and transparency.

(17)

Interbranch organisations play an important role in facilitating dialogue between actors in the supply chain, and in promoting best practices, market transparency, stability and fairness in commercial relations between farmers and purchasers throughout the supply chain. It is therefore appropriate to include the promotion of initiatives for the inclusion of optional terms for commercial modalities, such as ‘fair’, ‘equitable’ or terms having an equivalent meaning to those terms, and the term ‘short supply chain’ in the list of objectives that a recognised interbranch organisation can pursue.

(18)

Certain Member States require that all deliveries of agricultural products in their territory be covered by written contracts between the relevant parties. Where a Member State does not make use of that possibility, farmers, producer organisations or associations of producer organisations can request the use of written contracts. However, due to their weaker bargaining position and the fear of commercial retaliation by purchasers, it can be difficult for farmers and their associations to make such a request. To increase trust, transparency and efficiency within the supply chain, farmers working at the very beginning of the agricultural food supply chain and their associations, producer organisations and associations of producer organisations should have the benefit of written contracts. Therefore, written contracts should be required when deliveries of agricultural products are made by farmers producing the products of the soil, irrespective of whether their production methods involve the use of soil or other growing media, for example in greenhouses, or of stockfarming on their holdings and when they process those primary agricultural products. Deliveries of such products made by farmers’ associations, producer organisations or associations of producer organisations that process or market such products for farmers should also be covered by a written contract.

(19)

In order to take better account of market signals and to improve price transmission, Member States should be able to require the use of written contracts for the delivery of agricultural products, including deliveries by or to other operators in the food supply chain, and to require that purchasers make use of written offers for contracts for the delivery of agricultural products.

(20)

For the sake of simplicity and reduction of transaction costs, this Regulation should include certain derogations from the required use of written contracts or written offers for contracts, and allow Member States to exempt certain deliveries from the required use of written contracts or written offers for contracts. Farmers and their associations should however retain the right to request a written contract or a written offer for a contract where there is no such obligation. To preserve the role of producer organisations and cooperatives in promoting collective approaches and maximising added value for their members, thereby strengthening the position of farmers in the supply chain, a written contract should not be required for the deliveries by members to their producer organisation or cooperative, provided that the statutes of the producer organisation or cooperative concerned provide for transparent and predictable rules on price transmission, taking into account the impact on the remuneration of farmers.

(21)

In order to afford Member States the possibility to take into account national or regional practices, this Regulation should allow Member States to exempt products subject to seasonal supply or demand fluctuations or perishability and products that are subject to specific traditional or customary selling practices from the required use of written contracts or written offers for contracts. In addition, Member States should be allowed to exempt certain products other than milk and milk products from the obligation to be the subject of written contracts, after consulting the relevant representatives of farmers or the relevant interbranch organisations, provided that the effects of predictability, transparency and price transmission are achieved by other means for the products concerned or that the obligation that those products be the subject of written contracts or written offers for contracts would not be appropriate or proportionate for those products for other justified reasons. That possibility to exempt certain products from the obligation to be the subject of written contracts should also include the possibility to exempt certain products from certain mandatory elements for such written contracts. In order to protect farmers, the cases in which such exemptions can be granted should be clearly specified.

(22)

The required use of written contracts for the delivery of agricultural products and the basic conditions for their use should be laid down at Union level, while ensuring that the right of the parties to negotiate all elements of their contracts is not restricted beyond what is strictly necessary. Nevertheless, Member States should not be prevented from adopting measures to combat unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain negatively impacting the living standards of the agricultural community, provided that such measures are appropriate and proportionate for securing attainment of the objective pursued and are compatible with Directive (EU) 2019/633 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8), including its Article 9.

(23)

To encourage parties to reach an amicable settlement in the case of disputes over the conclusion or review of a written contract, Member States should ensure that mediation or comparable mechanisms are available to the parties. Such mechanisms could include existing mechanisms or new mechanisms which are established for that purpose. They could include, inter alia, organisations representing farmers, interbranch organisations, accredited private mediation services or other independent dispute-resolution bodies. Those mechanisms should be impartial and their use should be voluntary for the contracting parties. Member States should inform the Commission about the mechanisms in place in their territory.

(24)

To facilitate the functioning of price transmission mechanisms, where the final price payable for the delivery of agricultural products is calculated by combining various factors set out in the contract, those factors should include objective indicators, indices or methods of calculation that are easily understandable by the parties. To avoid farmers being forced to sell systematically below their production costs, the indicators, indices and methods of calculation of the final price should reflect changes in market conditions and changes in relevant elements of production costs of the agricultural products delivered which impact the remuneration of farmers.

(25)

Considering the vulnerable negotiating position of farmers and their organisations, recent cases of significant volatility in agricultural input costs and market prices, and the need for more efficient price transmission within the supply chain, contracts in the dairy sector with a duration of more than six months, and contracts with a duration of more than 12 months in other agricultural sectors, should include a revision clause that farmers or their organisations can trigger, for example in the event of unforeseen circumstances, such as extreme weather events, animal disease outbreaks, geopolitical tensions, or for any other reason. Such a clause should allow farmers to request, at any time after the first 6 or 12 months, as relevant, a revision of its elements and allow them to end it where no agreement can be reached. This should be without prejudice to the right of the parties to negotiate other possibilities for the revision of the contract.

(26)

To enhance contractual transparency and contribute to fairer trading practices, Member States should be able to require the registration of written contracts for the delivery of agricultural products.

(27)

Certain vertical and horizontal cooperation initiatives concerning agricultural and food products that aim to apply requirements that are more stringent than the mandatory requirements can have positive effects on the common agricultural policy objective of ensuring a fair standard of living for the agricultural community and on the objective of ensuring the sustainable development of the Union. Therefore, in specific cases, such initiatives should not be subject to the application of Article 101(1) TFEU.

(28)

In periods of severe market imbalance, specific categories of collective action by private operators can contribute to stabilising the sectors concerned. Such collective action by private operators might, for example, consist of market withdrawal or free distribution of their products, including by giving them to charity organisations. With a view to ensuring that private operators have the necessary resources to implement those actions, the Commission should be able to make Union resources from the agricultural reserve available to support those actions. Member States should also be able to allocate additional national resources without delay.

(29)

In its Communication of 19 February 2025 entitled ‘A Vision for Agriculture and Food’, the Commission recalls that livestock is an essential part of the Union’s agricultural sector, competitiveness and cohesion. Sustainable livestock systems are crucial for the Union economy, for the viability of rural areas and for the preservation of the environment and rural landscapes. The Union livestock sector is particularly vulnerable to various shocks and global competition and is required to meet high production standards that are not always rewarded by the market. In that context, it is necessary, in the interests of both Union producers and consumers, to acknowledge the natural composition of meat and meat products. Meat-related terms often carry cultural and historical significance. It is therefore appropriate to protect meat-related terms to enhance transparency in the internal market as regards the composition of food and its nutritional content, and to ensure that consumers can make well-informed choices. Such clarity is particularly important for consumers seeking a specific nutritional content traditionally associated with meat products. Therefore, for the purposes and within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, ‘meat’ should mean the edible parts of animals.

(30)

Furthermore, as regards agricultural products listed in Annex I to the TFEU as well as food products not listed in that Annex, certain terms should be reserved for products derived from meat, without prejudice to technological processes used in the production which do not aim to replace in whole or in part meat or any meat constituent, or for products that have a name in which those terms are used in association with a word or words to designate the animal species from which an agricultural product originates, without prejudice to the use of these terms for fishery and aquaculture products as defined in Union legislative acts on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products. In order to take into account that there are certain products not derived from meat, whose exact nature is clear due to an established long-term use and does not cause any possible confusion to the consumer, an empowerment for the Commission should be added to Article 78(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 to draw up a list of names, which would be allowed to be used alone or in association with other words, and which takes into account how the terms are used in different languages.

(31)

To enable sugar beet growers to benefit from enhanced contractual clarity and to ensure a harmonised contractual framework while taking account of the specificity of the sugar beet sector, purchase terms in contracts for the delivery of sugar beet should be aligned with the conditions for the use of written contracts in other agricultural sectors.

(32)

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(33)

To strengthen the position of farmers in the food supply chain, certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9) should be amended as regards the types of intervention that exist in certain sectors. These amendments aim to provide an incentive for farmers to become or to remain members of producer organisations or associations of producer organisations recognised under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, in view of the positive role producer organisations and associations of producer organisations play in strengthening the bargaining power of producers. Moreover, to ensure a more efficient and targeted support of producer organisations through strategic plans drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy (CAP Strategic Plans), the possibility of an increase in Union financial assistance to operational programmes in certain sectors should be provided for.

(34)

In certain Member States, the value of the production of fruit and vegetables marketed by producer organisations compared to the total value of the fruit and vegetable production remains far below the Union average. Among the financial incentives available, Member States can already provide national financial assistance under Article 53 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 to producer organisations located in certain regions where the degree to which producers are organised is significantly below the Union average. With a view to enhancing competitiveness, strengthening the position of farmers in the value chain and setting up new producer organisations, a financial incentive consisting of an increase of 10 % of Union financial assistance should be granted to producer organisations in Member States where the degree to which producers are organised is below 10 % for three consecutive years preceding the implementation of the relevant operational programme.

(35)

With a view to facilitating generational renewal in the farming sector and to encouraging new producers to join producer organisations in the fruit and vegetables sector and in other sectors referred to in Article 42, point (f), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, an incentive should be granted to young farmers and new farmers who join a producer organisation recognised under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. In particular, it should be possible to increase the Union financial assistance for expenditure related to investments made at the premises of young farmers or new farmers who join a recognised producer organisation for the first time by 20 percentage points.

(36)

Given the recurrence of adverse climatic events, natural disasters, plant diseases and pest infestations in recent years, it has proved to be useful for producer organisations and associations of producer organisations to be able to redirect funds, including Union financial assistance within the operational fund, to interventions required to address the consequences of such events. It is therefore necessary to provide for the possibility of increasing the Union financial assistance laid down in Article 52(1), Article 62, Article 65(1) and Article 68 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 from 50 % to 70 % of the actual expenditure incurred, subject to certain conditions.

(37)

In order to support the setting up of types of intervention in the other sectors referred to in Article 42, point (f), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, Member States should be allowed, from 1 January 2025, additional flexibility in the adjustment of the allocation of funds to those sectors. Member States should therefore be able to use up to 6 % of their allocations for direct payments, after assessing the consequences for the level of income support.

(38)

Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(39)

With a view to ensuring that Union resources from the agricultural reserve can be made available to the Member States in order to support collective actions by private operators in periods of severe market imbalance, the possibility to use the agricultural reserve should be extended to the support of collective actions where the Commission decides that competition rules do not apply to those actions.

(40)

Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10) should therefore be amended accordingly.

(41)

In order to give the market operators the necessary time to adapt and to allow the Commission to assess existing national schemes and practices, the application of the rules relating to the reservation of the optional terms ‘fair’ and ‘equitable’ and terms having an equivalent meaning to those terms, and the term ‘short supply chains’, should be deferred until two years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation. Similarly, in order for operators to adapt their contractual relations to the new rules on written contracts and for producer organisations in the milk sector to adjust their statutes, the application of those rules should be deferred until two years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation. Furthermore, in order to allow market operators to adapt and adjust their marketing strategies, the application of the definitions and reserved designations for meat and meat products should be deferred until three years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation. Products that have been produced or imported in accordance with the rules applicable before the date on which the new rules start to apply should, however, be allowed to continue to be marketed for a maximum period of six years from the date of entry into force of this Regulation or until the date of the exhaustion of stocks, whichever is earlier,

(1)

in Article 75(3), point (j) is replaced by the following:

;

(2)

Article 78 is amended as follows:

(3)

in Part II, Title II, Chapter I, Section 1, the following subsection is inserted:

(4)

Article 148 is replaced by the following:

(5)

in Article 149(2), point (c) is replaced by the following:

;

(6)

Article 152 is amended as follows:

(7)

Article 153 is amended as follows:

(8)

in Article 157(1), point (c), the following point is added:

;

(9)

Article 168 is replaced by the following:

(10)

Article 210a is amended as follows:

(11)

in Article 222, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

(12)

in Article 222a, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

(13)

in Annex VII, the following part is inserted:

‘PART Ia

Meat and meat products designations

(*2)  Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on novel foods, amending Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1852/2001 (OJ L 327, 11.12.2015, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2015/2283/oj).’;"

(14)

Annex X is amended as follows:

(1)

Article 52 is amended as follows:

(2)

in Article 62, the following paragraph is added:

(3)

in Article 65(1), the following point is added:

;

(4)

in Article 68, the following paragraph is inserted:

(5)

in Article 88, paragraph 7 is replaced by the following:

‘(b)

exceptional measures under Articles 219, 220, 221 and 222 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.’.