Council and Parliament strike a deal on combating cross-border unfair trading practices in the agrifood sector 14:08 Today Council and Parliament reach provisional agreement to[...]

The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional deal on a regulation concerning new rules aimed at combating cross-border unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain.

This regulation aims to improve cooperation between EU authorities responsible for enforcing rules on unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain. It is part of the EU's efforts to support farmers' position in the supply chain.

Main elements of the agreement

The agreement sets up a comprehensive set of rules for cross-border cooperation against unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships within the agricultural and food supply chain. It improves transnational cooperation in cases where suppliers and buyers are located in different member states.

The regulation introduces a mutual assistance mechanism, which would enable national enforcement authorities to ask for and exchange information or to collaborate on investigations related to unfair trading practices. It will also allow them to coordinate enforcement actions and notify other member states about decisions related to unfair trading practices.

Furthermore, the new piece of legislation introduces rules on the covering of costs in cases of mutual assistance, on data protection and confidentiality of information to ensure that suppliers remain safe from retaliation.

The legislation also establishes 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 member state would be designated to coordinate the response.

The regulation contains rules for cooperation between member states in cases of unfair trading practices by buyers from outside the EU, in order to better protect European farmers.

Next steps

The provisional agreement will now be endorsed by the Council and the Parliament, before being formally adopted.

Background

In 2019, the directive on combating unfair trading practices entered into force with the aim of addressing imbalances in bargaining power between suppliers and buyers of agricultural products. In particular, its goal is to protect farmers who, for instance, sell their products to large supermarkets and food processing companies.

Based on the experience gained since then, the Commission considered that the cross-border dimension of unfair trading practices needed to be addressed. In fact, on average, around 20% of agricultural and food products consumed in an EU member state come from another member state.

The Commission published its proposal in December 2024, as part of the EU's efforts to improve farmers' position in the agrifood supply chain. The proposed rules also directly reflect several recommendations of the strategic dialogue on the future of EU agriculture and respond to some of the most pressing challenges that the agricultural sector faces.

• Council negotiating mandate
• Commission proposal
• 2019 directive on combatting unfair trading practices