Advancing plans for a standardised animal welfare label is among the priorities for the Germany presidency of the European Council.

Germany began its six-month presidency on 1 July and will spearhead member states' input into European policy until the end of the year.

Outlining the priorities for agriculture, German federal minister of food, agriculture and consumer protection Julia Kloeckner said: “We want to set the foundation for a standardised European animal welfare label because more and more countries are interested in that.”

She said the wider topic animal welfare would be highlighted.

Labelling

There are also plans to expand a uniform nutritional labelling format in all European countries. Minister Kloeckner acknowledged there was much debate about what the format should be, but she insisted it was important for it to be universal across the EU.

Germany will oversee the work of the Council at a crucial time in CAP reforms. Heads of state are meeting this week to agree the EU’s budget for the next seven years, with CAP one of the big-ticket items.

CAP

Minister Kloeckner also hopes that she can secure agreement among EU agricultural ministers on their position for the reform of the CAP by October. This would allow the final leg of negotiations to begin with the European Commission and European Parliament.

Agricultural ministers are meeting on Monday to discuss the environmental elements of the CAP. It will be new Minister for Agriculture Dara Calleary’s first official event.

Minister Kloeckner believed there was a need for a greener CAP, but added that new requirements should not over-burden farmers.

With the new CAP set to be delayed, the most important agreement she must secure is on transitional regulations. The European Parliament is insisting that two years will be required, while the Commission wants to limit the delay to one year.

Under the Croatian presidency which ended earlier this month, the Council had sided with the Parliament on a two-year delay which would see the new CAP begin in January 2023.