GME, Growing Media Europé, är en europeisk medlemsorganisation för odlingsföretag och intressenter som bevakar dessa frågor i EU. Svensk Torv är en av medlemmarna och just nu kommer många pressmeddelanden från GME på grund av coronakrisen. GME vill bland annat ha svar på hur situationen är för växttorvföretag i Sverige.
Vi har samlat material som rör GME under fliken Fakta.
GME vill bland annat ha svar på hur situationen är för växttorvföretag i Sverige. Här kan du ladda ner pressmeddelandet om det >>
Mail från GME 2020-03-30
Please find below the latest developments on COVID-19, which impact our sector:
In their meeting of 25 March, the EU Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries discussed ways to decrease the impact of the corona crisis on the EU agri-food sector.
- They agreed that ensuring food security is a top priority.
- The identified as main issues across Europe:
- Restrictions in movement of goods.
- Lack of labour.
- Changes in consumption patterns.
- Changes in the operation of agri-food production systems.
- They agreed that measures currently in place, such as green lanes, will continue to be applied, while new measures will probably be proposed in the upcoming days.
With regards to green Lanes (see our last e-mail on COVID-19 impact), the Commission issued new practical advice on how to implement its Guidelines for border management:
- “To ensure that EU-wide supply chains continue to operate, Member States are requested to designate, without delay, all the relevant internal border-crossing points on the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) as ‘green lane’ border crossings. The green lane border crossings should be open to all freight vehicles, whatever goods they are carrying. Crossing the border, including any checks and health screening, should not take more than 15 minutes“.
The Commission has informed its trading partners that electronic export certificates and scanned copies for imports into the EU are now enough. The requirement to present original paper certificates has been lifted as a temporary solution. DG SANTE has asked third countries to follow this example for EU exports of animals, plants and their products:
- « …consignments originating in the EU will be accepted on the basis of scanned copies of the original paper certificates whenever it is not possible to present the original paper certificate and provided that the original form follows at a later stage. If a country is a user of the TRACES platform, the scanned copies could be replaced by the EU harmonised export certificates issued and transmitted through TRACES“.
GME has contacted the European Commission bilaterally and has issued a press release calling to prevent further damage to the growing media sector (see attached) that was circulated among relevant stakeholders and policymakers. We are also developing an overview on the impact at national level, that we will share with you soon.
FRONTEX website, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, gives a good overview on the transport restrictions across the EU, due to Covid-19
Please also see this POLITICO post on control restrictions faced by food suppliers
Also see this NY Times post on control restrictions for fresh and healthy food supply:
Please do not hesitate to share with us the latest updates at national level, and to ask for any further questions. Thank you for your continuous cooperation to the sector.
Best regards,
Eugenia Arcos Messana
Public Affairs Advisor