The European agricultural umbrella organization Copa-Cogeca has urged EU Energy Ministers to monitor the food supply. At an emergency meeting in Brussels, they will discuss the energy crisis caused by high energy and raw material costs, as a result of the Russian war against Ukraine.
The federation of Farmers and Cooperatives Associations calls on the EU for lower energy prices and priority for food companies in the event of an impending gas shortage. A large part of fertiliser production has already come to a halt. Increasingly more agricultural businesses in the food chain are struggling with extremely high gas and electricity prices.
Energy prices have risen enormously this year due to Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, with Russia reducing gas flows to the continent as retaliation for Western sanctions.
Copa-Cogeca and FoodDrink Europe point out that they have previously requested support and subsidies for food companies. "The recent rises in energy prices threaten the continuity of agri-food production cycles," they said in a statement ahead of the EU Energy Ministers' meeting in Brussels.
As temporary EU chair, the Czech Republic is now indicating that it intends to declare food security the top priority for the coming half year. Czech Agriculture Minister Zdenek Nekula has prepared a discussion paper on his priorities for the upcoming half year for the informal Agriculture Council on September 16 in Prague.
Nekula is a member of the Czech Christian Democratic Union (KDU-CSL), which is affiliated with the European People's Party in the European Parliament. Earlier this year, as newly appointed minister, he had said he would make rural development and small farms key topics of his EU presidency and aimed to establish a new national strategic plan.
Due to the Russian war, disrupted food exports, and soaring energy prices in Europe, he now believes EU countries should primarily focus on food security and greater independence from Russia, according to sources at his ministry in Prague.