European Flower and Live Plants sector addresses the negative impact of COVID-19 crisis to the EC

The survey report presented by Copa and Cogeca, Union Fleurs, ENA and AREFLH to the Commission highlighted the substantial financial losses for the sector (an estimated total of 4.1 billion EUR in 6 weeks across the EU) and continued urging for an EU-wide support. The results of the survey clearly show how crucial the need is for EU action to maintain the market potential and safeguard the sector investments and jobs in rural areas
 
The current market trends indicate tentative signs of partial recovery for certain sub-sectors such as gardening plants but the general picture shows a sustained dip in economic activity with strong discrepancies in the single market.

While the derogations to the competition rules granted by the European Commission in the wake of the crisis are acknowledged as a positive political signal, they  are not sufficient to deliver any tangible financial relief to the flower and live plants sector mainly due to its particular specificities. More needs to be done.

During the meeting with the sector representatives the Commission acknowledged that the flower and live plants sector has been one of the most impacted agricultural segments in the EU by the COVID-19 crisis. However, the Commission encouraged the sector to seek assistance via the national level a support from the forthcoming Next Generation EU fund of 750 billion EUR - as according to the Commission, the EU Agriculture budget itself cannot be mobilised to provide direct support to this sector or any other agricultural sectors.

Furthermore, the sector representatives call on the Commission to resume the structured and regular dialogue with the sector through the organisation of the annual meetings of the Civil Dialogue Group (CDG) on Horticulture, re-invest on the yearly collection/exchange of data and statistics on EU production, consumption and trade and dedicate budget lines specifically designed to address the promotion of flowers and live plants under the EU promotion schemes for agricultural products. Resuming the dialogue with operators of this sector, with technical expertise, across Europe is crucial to develop the right policies, able to assist the sectors recovery and development. CDG experts work as ambassadors of EU policies and the work of the Commission at member state level. 

During the meeting the Commission and sector representatives agreed to meet once again by the end of the year to further discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector once new data and an updated version of the survey is available.