Ms Maria Dunne:

I thank the members of the committee for the opportunity to appear before them to discuss the European Commission's proposal for a regulation on co-operation among enforcement authorities responsible for the UTP directive, and the European Commission's proposal to amend the CMO regulation with regard to strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain. I welcome the committee's engagement on these two important matters.

I am the assistant secretary general in the Department with responsibility for agrifood sectoral policy and strategy development. Mr. Waldron is the principal officer in the meat and milk policy division with responsibility for policy relating to the livestock sector, which includes relevant elements of the CMO regulation, and Mr. Ward works with Mr. Waldron. Ms Robinson is principal officer in the food industry development division with responsibility for the UTP directive.

I wish to give the committee a very brief overview of the current position of both proposals. Starting with proposed regulation No. 576 of 2024 concerning a proposal on co-operation among enforcement authorities responsible for the enforcement of the UTP directive, the UTP directive covers unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain. This legislation has been in place in Ireland since 2021, and since 2023, the UTP enforcement authority function is performed by the Agri-Food Regulator. The UTP directive required the enforcement authorities to co-operate effectively with one another and the Commission and to provide one another with mutual assistance in investigations that had a cross-border dimension. Following consultation by the European Commission, however, it was found that the experience of enforcement authorities was that gathering information, finding infringements and imposing and enforcing penalties could be difficult when the buyer was in another member state.

The proposed regulation aims to improve and increase co-operation between enforcement authorities. Specifically, the proposed rules aim to ensure that a legal basis is provided to enable exchanges of information and requests for enforcement measures between member states. By providing tools to enable enforcement authorities to gather information and investigate non-compliances against buyers located in another member state, the proposed powers will help to further protect suppliers in the agricultural and food supply chain against unfair trading practices.

The Department, in close consultation with the Agri-Food Regulator, engaged with the EU Presidency, the European Commission and other member states on the draft text of the proposals to ensure that the provisions would work well, from an Irish perspective. On 7 April 2025, the special committee on agriculture approved the Council's negotiating mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament. The negotiations are expected to commence the plenary stage in September 2025.

Turning to the proposal to amend the CMO regulation, Regulation 1308/2013, in December 2024 the Commission published a proposal to amend this regulation. The proposal responds to the Commission's March 2024 non-paper and recommendations from the strategic dialogue on the future on EU agriculture, published in September 2024. The Commission proposal and subsequent amendments are aimed at strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain. The key elements include strengthening EU-level provisions on contracts involving farmers with other actors in the supply chain, including food industry and retail, across all sectors covered by the CMO and strengthening producer organisations to allow farmers to co-operate and act collectively in a more effective way. The Department also consulted key stakeholders on the proposals, following which it engaged with the EU Presidency, the European Commission and other member states on the draft text of the proposal. The Council is now ready to start negotiations with the European Parliament, once the latter adopts its position. The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development is expected to vote on its report in September, while approval of the mandate and plenary session is expected to take place in October.

I conclude by stressing that the Department is focused on ensuring that Ireland's position is reflected in EU legislation, while acknowledging that generally, a compromise text will emerge. We start that process by consulting key stakeholders to ensure a cohesive, informed position. We have done that in relation to both the proposals being discussed today. We are happy to take any questions on the details of the two proposals.