Joint open letter on the need to include the framework on Sustainable Food Systems in the EC work programme for 2023

We urge you to remain strong in the face of growing (geo)political pressures and attacks on the Farm to Fork Strategy, and to come forward with the legislative framework for Sustainable Food Systems (FSFS), the Strategy’s flagship initiative, as planned for 2023. [...] With good reason, your annual State of the Union speech focussed on the support and solidarity the EU must show to the people of Ukraine during these terrible times, and on the future of the European project as it adapts to the changing international context. [...] Outside Ukraine, the dire consequences that the conflict continues to have on people’s lives and livelihoods, as well as on trade and our economies, will require decisive actions from public authorities, first and foremost at the EU level. [...] Indeed, the FSFS is fully in line with – and a central piece of – the agenda for a “Europe that leads the transition to a healthy planet” which you outlined at the beginning of your mandate. [...] We therefore ask for a clear, renewed commitment from the Commission to stand by the timeline for the FSFS referred to in the Farm to Fork Strategy, and to meet its stated level of ambition in its final proposal.