On 9 March the European Commission held the first meeting of the newly established European food security crisis preparedness and response mechanism (EFSCM) to discuss the food security impact of the energy and input price increase and impact of the war in Ukraine.
Composed of national experts of EU and neighbouring non-EU countries, as well as representatives of farmers and fishers, food processors, traders, retailers, consumers, food banks, food transportation services, logistics and infrastructure, inputs and packaging industries, this group follows on the contingency plan for food supply and food security in times of crisis adopted in November 2021 under the Farm to Fork Strategy.
Opening the meeting, Commissioner Wojciechowski said: “I am glad to open the first ever meeting of this expert group. Our intention is to step up our preparedness to crises by improving our coordination and exchanging best practices and common analyses. I firmly believe the risks to food security in the EU can be contained if we all cooperate and coordinate our actions.”
The ad-hoc meeting on 9 March aimed at ensuring a better flow of information across the full food supply chain to minimise the degree of uncertainty, coordinate responses at all levels and swiftly identify priorities.
The expert group of the EFSCM will meet again on 23 March to start working on improving the EU’s preparedness to food security crises. This structural work includes for example a mapping of the risks and vulnerabilities of the EU food supply chain and its critical infrastructures, and the setting up of an appropriate communication channel to timely exchange of information.
The Commission is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and its impact on farmers and global food security. Commissioner Wojciechowski attended on 2 March an extraordinary meeting of Agriculture Ministers to discuss the agri-food challenges resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. More information on the contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security is available online.
