EU Member States' representatives in the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) have approved the European Council's negotiating mandate on a regulation on new rules to combat unfair cross-border trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain.

The proposal aims to establish a comprehensive set of rules for cross-border cooperation against unfair trading practices in business-to-business relations in the agricultural and food supply chain. The aim is to improve transnational cooperation in cases where suppliers and buyers are located in different Member States.

The proposed regulation introduces a mutual assistance mechanism, which would allow national supervisory authorities to request and exchange information and to request another supervisory authority to take action on their behalf. It also introduces a mechanism for coordinated action in cases of large-scale cross-border unfair trading practices involving at least three EU countries. In such cases, a coordinator would be designated to facilitate the response.

The Council supports the main elements of the Commission's proposal, but suggests a number of improvements in its negotiating mandate, agreeing, first, that the regulation should contain rules for cooperation between Member States in cases of unfair trading practices by buyers from third countries, in order to better protect European farmers.

Furthermore, the Council mandate introduces rules on the coverage of costs incurred in mutual assistance cases. The Member State requesting information or requesting investigative or enforcement measures would cover the necessary costs incurred by the Member State that carried out the investigation or enforcement. In addition, any fines collected may be used to cover these costs.

The mandate also clarifies the rules under which Member States can refuse to comply with a request for information from another Member State's national authority or refuse to participate in enforcement measures. Data protection and confidentiality rules are also clarified. With this agreement, the Presidency is ready to start negotiations with the European Parliament, once the latter has reached its position.

"Our farmers deserve to earn a fair standard of living from their work. With these rules, we will better protect them from unfair cross-border trading practices and strengthen their position in the food supply chain," said Czesław Siekierski , Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Attached is the full text of the negotiating mandate approved today by the European Council.