Farmers deserve to "earn a fair standard of living from their work", the chair of a special EU committee said today (Monday, April &), as it was confirmed that proposals have been put forward on new rules governing unfair trading practices in the food chain.

EU member states' representatives in the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) today approved the Council of the EU's negotiating mandate on a regulation concerning new rules aimed at combatting  cross-border unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain.

Polish Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Czesław Siekierski, said that the proposed new rules will better protect farmers.

The European Commission published a proposal last year to improve farmers' position in the agrifood supply chain.

The proposal aims to set up a comprehensive set of rules for cross-border cooperation against unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships within the agricultural and food supply chain.

It introduces a "mutual assistance mechanism", which would enable national enforcement authorities to ask for and exchange information, and to request another enforcement authority to take measures on their behalf.

The proposal also sets out a mechanism for coordinated action in cases of large-scale cross-border unfair trading practices involving at least three EU countries.

Although the EU Council supports the main elements of the proposal, it also wants to see improvements introduced.

These include that the regulation should contain rules for co-operation between member states in cases of unfair trading practices by buyers from outside the EU, in order to better protect European farmers.

The council also wants to see the introduction of rules on covering costs incurred in cases of mutual assistance and that any fines collected could then be used to cover these costs.

Finally, they have also clarified the rules under which member states can refuse to comply with a request for information from the national authority of a different member state or refuse to participate in enforcement measures.

The council has also clarified data protection and confidentiality rules.

According to council members, now the agreement is in place, "the presidency is ready to start negotiations with the European Parliament, once the latter has reached its position".