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The Slovenian delegation presented to the Council the main conclusions of an international conference on furthering the production of protein crops in the Danube and South European Region which took place in Moravske Toplice (Slovenia) on 23 August 2013.
A number of member states supported the initiative from Slovenia to strengthen the culture of protein crop to limit the EU dependency for imported feed. Some of them agreed with the idea to promote the labelling of "non-genetically modified" protein crops for feed. The Commission recalled the measures proposed in the reformed CAP to enhance the production of protein crops in the EU, including the introduction of specific coupled payments and the taking into account in greening measures.
At this conference, it appeared that increasing self-sufficiency in protein crops is important for the EU, which is currently almost entirely dependent on protein crop imports, in particular soya from the USA, Brazil and Argentina. The great majority of soya imported for animal feed is genetically modified at a time when the public requests more GMO-free products. In this light, an initiative for furthering the GMO-free soya in the Danube region was launched in January 2013 by 13 countries, including Slovenia. The conference provided the opportunity for an exchange of information on the implementation of the initiative. At the end a joint declaration was adopted by the participating countries.
Monday september 23, 2013/ European Council.
http://www.consilium.europa.eu
