Industry lobbyists urge Danish presidency to bin food taxes and tighten up trade

FoodDrinkEurope wants the Danish Presidency to focus squarely on the food and drink industry, which it maintains is a pillar of the EU economy. Denmark holds the post from 1 January until 31 July this year.

The trade group is urging the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Ukraine and the maintenance of a strong rules-based multilateral trade system, citing the fact that the EU food and beverage manufacturing sector exports €65.3bn worth of products to third countries, generating a positive trade balance of around €9.8bn.

Food taxes​

FoodDrinkEurope, echoing previous statements, claims that additional levies on food and drink products are regressive and urges the Presidency not to endorse such an approach.

Last week saw French lawmakers approve legislation for the proposed tax on sugar sweetened beverages in the country – effective from this month. The duty, originally proposed last year​, will form part of French austerity measures passed to help battle the debt crisis. The tax is expected to generate around €120m in revenue for the French government.

The legislation is part of a growing trend in Europe to impose so called ‘sin taxes’ on food and drinks associated with poor health and obesity. Last year Hungary introduced a "fat tax" on goods with high fat, sugar and salt content, including soft drinks. Denmark and several other European countries also have soda taxes.

Last week saw French lawmakers approve legislation for the proposed tax on sugar sweetened beverages in the country – effective from this month. The duty, originally proposed last year​, will form part of French austerity measures passed to help battle the debt crisis. The tax is expected to generate around €120m in revenue for the French government.

The legislation is part of a growing trend in Europe to impose so called ‘sin taxes’ on food and drinks associated with poor health and obesity. Last year Hungary introduced a "fat tax" on goods with high fat, sugar and salt content, including soft drinks. Denmark and several other European countries also have soda taxes.

“In the absence of science-based evidence to support such measures with public health objectives, FoodDrinkEurope urges the Danish Presidency and other member states not to resort to additional taxes on food and drink products given their regressive nature and negative impact on lower income consumers." ​

Commodity volatility ​

Following the publication of the new 2020 proposals, FoodDrinkEurope said it is also urging more security of supply, sustainability and market orientation in the future CAP.

The trade body stressed that it wants the Danish Presidency to work towards well-functioning and more transparent agricultural commodity derivatives markets when reacting to the Commission proposal on Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID).

In addition, the group is demanding that the Presidency create a mechanism to finance regional research infrastructure and, through its Better Regulation Initiative, it is requesting that the Danish incumbent “simplify existing legislation and reduce administrative burdens for the 310,000 food and drink companies in Europe, 99.1% of which are SMEs.”​

Novel foods legislation ​

The EU trade body also said it continues to regret the failure to reach an agreement on the novel foods regulation in March last year, claiming a detrimental impact on industry innovation as a result. The industry representatives are urging the Presidency to encourage the Commission to come forward with a new proposal without delay.

Novel processes are also on the agenda of the Brussels-based group, which continues to seek a definition of nanotechnology. ​

“The food and drink industry is still at the R&D stages and the decision to use these and other new technologies will always be based on scientific research, regulatory compliance and consumer acceptance. ​FoodDrinkEurope finds it important that the definition as now included in the Consumer Information legislation will be included in the expected novel food revision,”​ added the food industry lobbyists.

The trade body said the new Presidency should promote energy efficiency during its tenure, incentivizing energy efficient technologies such as combined heat and power.