EU lawmakers urge calorie content labels to cover alcohol

Brussels | Reuters — European beer, wine and spirits makers should inform consumers about the amount of calories in their drinks via clear labelling, EU lawmakers said Wednesday. Most foods and drinks are subject to legislation mandating labels with nutritional and ingredient information, but alcoholic drinks are exempt. The European Parliament voted in favour of […] Read more

EU lifts wheat, barley, rapeseed yield outlook

Paris | Reuters — The European Union’s crop monitoring service on Monday lifted its yield forecasts for this year’s soft wheat, barley and rapeseed harvests with growing conditions remaining mostly favourable despite a recent dry spell. Yields will stay below levels seen in 2014, when the EU posted record production in several crops, but exceed […] Read more





France says EU orders repayment of $1.5B in ag subsidies

Paris | Reuters — The European Commission has asked France to repay 1.1 billion euros (C$1.54 billion) of farm subsidies dating back to 2008-2012, the French agriculture ministry said Tuesday. The Commission’s claim, which mainly relates to inaccurate declarations of farm area, initially amounted to around 3.5 billion euros before being negotiated down by France, […] Read more

Refiners urge EU to rethink renewables policy after oil collapse

Antwerp | Reuters –– European oil refiners urged the European Union on Monday to review laws calling for increased biodiesel content in road fuel because the cost of such renewables will counter the recent plunge in crude prices and weigh on the refining sector. “Governments should not inflict extra burden on the public by increasing […] Read more

Food issues won’t block EU-U.S. trade deal, German minister says

Berlin | Reuters — Disagreements about food safety and farming are not likely to stand in the way of a free-trade agreement between the European Union and the U.S., Germany’s farm minister told Reuters on Monday. The two sides are grappling with how to integrate Europe’s food production and farm animal welfare standards into the […] Read more



(Europa.eu)

Germany to press EU for national right to ban GMOs before 2015 harvest

Berlin | Reuters — Germany is pressing the European Commission to allow individual EU countries to ban cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) before the 2015 harvest. German farm minister minister Christian Schmidt said “social-economic reasons” should be taken into account to allow a European Union country to ban GMO crops even when […] Read more