Today’s State of the Union put competitiveness, innovation and resilience at the heart of Europe’s future and made one message particularly clear: speed matters.
That message matters just as much for agriculture.
Europe’s farmers are facing more frequent drought, crop losses and growing climate pressures. Strengthening Europe’s food security and resilience means ensuring that farmers have timely access to the innovations they need to adapt.
The President’s specific recognition of precision agriculture, and of agri-food as an area where Europe can lead on innovation, is particularly welcomed. Farmers need the full innovation toolbox, from crop protection products and biological solutions to new genomic techniques, digital technologies and precision farming. Yet too often, innovative solutions face lengthy regulatory pathways before they can reach farms in Europe. If Europe wants to be competitive, resilient and innovative, its regulatory system must enable innovation to reach farmers in a timely way, while maintaining Europe’s high standards of safety. It must also work consistently across the Single Market, avoiding unnecessary duplication and national gold-plating.
The Food and Feed Safety Omnibus is an important and immediate test of this ambition. Simplifying procedures, reducing unnecessary administrative burdens and improving regulatory predictability can help reduce time to market and turn innovation into practical solutions for farmers.
At a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty, climate pressure and global competition, Europe has a clear opportunity to turn its ambition for speed and simplification into action for farmers.
A more competitive and resilient Europe needs a regulatory system that allows innovation to move from the laboratory to the field and to be deployed effectively across the Single Market, without unnecessary delay.
Olivier de Matos, CropLife Europe’s Director General commented: “President von der Leyen is right: speed matters. For Europe’s farmers, it can make the difference between having the tools to respond to new challenges and being left waiting for solutions that already exist elsewhere. If Europe is serious about competitiveness, resilience and food security, it needs a regulatory system that enables safe innovation to reach farmers faster and work effectively across the Single Market.”