Max Potterton

When it comes to fertilisers, the 🇪🇺 has the tools to act! Decisive measures are urgently needed to safeguard farm viability and Europe’s food security in an increasingly turbulent geopolitical context. Following the mobilisation of thousands of farmers in Brussels last December calling for urgent action on fertiliser prices, the Praesidia of @COPACOGECA has approved the farming sector’s common position on a comprehensive set of immediate, medium- and long-term measures to deliver relief and restore market stability ahead of the long-awaited Fertiliser Action Plan by @EU_Commission Among other actions, @COPACOGECA calls for: 📛 Suspending the CBAM for fertilisers and mitigating its cost impact 📛Suspending MFN tariffs and anti-dumping measures on fertiliser imports ✅Amending the Nitrates Directive without delay to allow greater flexibility in the use of manure where agronomically justified ✅Authorising the use of digestate above current thresholds 📐Harmonised rules to scale up organic and recycled nutrients that can substitute synthetic nitrogen 📏Aligning RENURE criteria with the Joint Research Centre’s recommendations to ensure full technological neutrality 🔎Reinforcing the Fertiliser Market Observatory and strictly enforcing competition rules 🧐 Closely monitoring the market to provide farmers with reliable information on fertiliser availability and fair pricing The upcoming Fertiliser Action Plan must reflect the agronomic and economic realities on the ground, deliver immediate relief, and set a credible pathway towards sustainable nutrient management. These measures represent the minimum response needed to address a crisis that farmers have been warning about for years, one whose consequences could extend far beyond agriculture and impact the European Union as a whole. Full Position Paper on our website >>> copa-cogeca.eu/publications