Debate: Availability of fertilisers in the EU
Date: THURSDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Janusz Wojciechowski
Language: EN

First, you asked what further measures the Commission is planning to take to open up international fertiliser markets and to ensure the availability of fertilisers. As for the current market situation, despite a decline in recent months, fertiliser prices are still historically very high, which may lead to a lower use in 2023. The Commission Communication in November outlined several measures to ensure the continued availability of fertilisers, including financial support to farmers and the fertiliser industry. For example, the temporary crisis framework for state aid enables Member States to provide such support. But not all Member States have taken this option. Just over EUR 917 million was spent by four Member States to set up specific schemes for the purchase of fertilisers. This is Poland with a budget of EUR 836 million, Greece with EUR 60 million, Slovenia with EUR 15 million and Malta with EUR 6.5 million. Also, Spain has recently allocated EUR 300 million for state aid to compensate farmers for the increased costs of fertilisers as a decision under a national generic state aid scheme open to all sectors and approved under the temporary crisis framework. In relation to fertiliser markets, let me also remind you, in December of last year, the Council adopted the decision to remove tariffs for non-Russian and non-Belorussian urea and ammonia until June 2023. Furthermore, the market observatory for fertilisers will be launched this year to share improved data on production, use, prices and trade. So, to conclude on this question, there are a number of measures which are either being implemented, soon to be implemented or open to implementation by Member States. For these reasons, the Commission does not foresee additional measures at this moment in time. However, we will continue to closely monitor the situation.  Turning now to your second question. How does the Commission intend to pursue long-term EU self-sufficiency in fertilisers? Firstly, it is essential to ensure viable and sustainable production based in the EU. The Commission underlines the need to rapidly develop a market for renewable, low-carbon and fossil-free hydrogen-based fertilisers produced in the EU, such as, for example, green ammonia and organic fertilisers recycled from waste streams. This is crucial to reduce the dependency of our fertiliser industry on imported fossil fuel feedstock and increase the security of supply in line with our climate objectives. Secondly, self-sufficiency requires greater efficiency in fertiliser consumption. To this end, the 28 CAP strategic plans include 122 interventions directed at improving nutrient management, 58 eco-schemes and sub-schemes and 64 agro-environment climate commitments. The most relevant practices supported are improving soil cover, crop diversification and rotation, and the use of catch crops. To encourage more efficient fertiliser use, six Member States support precision farming through eco-schemes, while many more support investment in technology. The Commission is ready to support Member States to increase the ambition of such actions in future revisions of the CAP strategic plans. We are also inviting EUR 180 million under Horizon Europe towards projects focused on developing alternative fertilising products, as well as more efficient and nature-based solutions for nutrient management.  Finally, let me address your first question about how the Commission intends to ensure that adequate advice and tools on improving soil fertility and fertiliser management are available for farmers. Under the new CAP, we will see an expansion of farm advisory services with concrete indicators to assess the number of farmers receiving training and advice. The Commission will use these indicators to monitor how Member States are implementing their advisory services. Furthermore, the Commission will work with Member States to ensure that more sustainable farming practices can be widely adopted by farmers. For instance, we will oversee the implementation of the farm sustainability tool, a new digital tool that provides support for a more efficient use of fertilisers. Finally, the Commission is also going to put forward a proposal for a soil health law, which will aim to ensure that by 2050 all the European Union soil ecosystems are in healthy condition and are thus more resilient. In that context, the Commission is also assessing measures that can contribute to achieving the objective of the reduction of nutrient losses by at least 50 %.  I will conclude here, but I am happy to discuss all of these points in greater detail. To summarise, the Commission has provided a number of measures to address the fertiliser challenge in our short-term emergency actions in the CAP legislation and in our long-term strategies. It is now up to Member States to implement these measures. In this, they have the full support of the Commission.