Brussels in brief: Copa elects new officeholder team

Massimiliano Giansanti of Confagricoltura (Italy) was elected as President for a 2-year period. He has been President of Confagricoltura since 2017 and a Vice-President of Copa since 2020. He is an agricultural entrepreneur and produces cereal crops, kiwi fruit, dairy products, and solar energy. He will take over from France’s Christiane Lambert, who was in office since 2020.

The following Vice Presidents were elected:

1st Vice President, Nikolaus Berlakovich (Austria)

2nd Vice President, Søren Søndergard (Denmark)

3rd Vice President, Franck Sander (France)

4th Vice President, Pedro Barato Triguero (Spain)

5th Vice President, Jan Doležal (Czech Republic)

6th Vice President, Francie Gorman (Ireland)

BTV-3 continues to spread across Europe

Cases of BTV-3 are continuing to increase across Europe, with 12 countries impacted and Portugal the latest to report cases. Belgium raised BTV-3 as an AOB during Monday's Agriculture and Fisheries Council. They submitted a note which outlines the economic impacts in Belgium:

For the sheep sector, an estimated loss of €1.935.000. This is likely an underestimate.

A decrease in milk deliveries in August 2024 compared to August 2023 with an estimated financial loss of €5.700.000.

Excess cattle mortality (both dairy and beef cattle), with an estimated financial losses of €5.270.000.

They have requested that the Commission use the European CAP crisis reserve to provide aid to impacted farmers.