Kyiv.Ukraine.Ukraine Gate – November 13,2021- The European Commission has adopted an emergency action plan to maintain the food supply system and ensure food security in case of crisis.
“As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, the European Union intends to increase coordination at the European level to prevent food shortages for citizens in times of crisis. The Emergency Plan adopted today identifies existing shortcomings and proposes measures to increase preparedness at the EU level. To this end, the European Commission will establish a Crisis Preparedness and Response Mechanism European Food Security (EFSCM). It will be a group of experts in the field of sustainability of food supply units, which will be coordinated by the European Commission and will share data and best practices.”
The EU’s contingency plan for food security takes into account the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation on food production, as well as the risks associated with the health system, cyber threats or geopolitical shifts that could threaten the stability of supply food.
A key tool for improving the EU’s preparedness for food crises is to establish synergies between all public and private entities that are part of a single food supply network. In the private sector, this includes farms, fisheries and aquaculture enterprises, the food industry, retail chains, means of transport and logistics. The plan envisages the involvement of relevant structures at the EU level, as well as at the level of national and regional authorities in the member states in the organization of a stable food safety network.
The EFSCM, coordinated by the European Commission, will include experts from Member States, as well as from some third countries, to cover all links in the food supply chain and to work out procedures and rules for their interaction in times of crisis. The members of this structure will hold periodic meetings to assess the current state of affairs, and will convene together, if necessary, to respond to crises.
It is expected that all actions necessary to ensure the resilience of the EU in the event of food security crises should be completed in the period 2022-2024. This includes forecasting, risk assessment, systematization of current data (including weather conditions, climate stability, market stability, etc.), analysis of existing vulnerabilities and infrastructure needs to address them. Particular attention will be paid to the development of specialized means of communication and coordination between member states in the event of a crisis, as well as through the EU’s interaction with the international community.
Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, Member States reportedly took restrictive measures and precautions, which in particular led to some disruption in the supply of medical supplies and food, leading to temporary shortages in many Member States. To address these shortcomings, the European Commission has proposed to Member States coordinated measures to protect the integrity of the Common Market and to maintain the stable movement of people, services and goods. The lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic are taken into account in the European Commission’s new contingency plan in the event of a food crisis.