Commissioner supports calls for EU fertiliser strategy

The European Commissioner for Agriculture this week threw his weight behind calls for an EU-wide fertiliser strategy similar to the REPower EU plan for the energy sector.

The proposals, first discussed by the Spanish and French agriculture ministers in August, would seek to regain strategic autonomy in the production of fertilisers within the EU.

As EU ministers for agriculture gathered in Prague last Friday, with the commissioner lending his support saying “we have to seriously consider this strategy” and was reported as calling the prospect “very interesting”.

He warned that the situation is now so complex, that the risk of fertiliser shortages or under application by farmers is increasing, with potential consequences on the level of production and the quality of harvests.

The commissioner highlighted remarks made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the State of the Union debate in which she singled out the fertiliser sector as an example of a potential beneficiary of the new solidarity contribution from the fossil sector in the emergency energy package.

Essentially, this is a proposal to cap and collect the exceptional surplus profits of energy companies and redistribute them to hard pressed households and businesses.

Fertilizers Europe, which represents fertiliser manufacturers, welcomed the solidarity contribution mechanism, but warned that further steps were required in order to ensure supply of affordable energy to the sector.

Commission action on fertiliser

The commission has proposed to lift the customs duty for ammonia and urea imports into the EU until the end of 2024 to alleviate the burden on fertiliser producers and farmers.

These duties are in place to protect European fertiliser producers and maintain their market dominance.

The commission plans to convene an extraordinary meeting of the European food security crisis preparedness and response mechanism, focusing specifically on fertilisers and energy.