With 560 in favour, 75 against and 25 abstentions, MEPs endorsed new rules to ensure that the final prices of food products better reflect the actual costs and have a direct impact on farmers’ incomes. Member states will be required to establish and publish online benchmarks for use in contractual arrangements.
The regulation also strengthens the role of producer organisations (POs) in market organisation and collective bargaining. Key provisions include allowing POs to negotiate directly with buyers and introducing rules that prevent buyers from bypassing POs to contact individual producers.
More transparent labelling and marketing
The new rules clarify the use of the terms “fair” and “equitable” for agricultural products and list the criteria for allowing such labelling for instance in cases when a product contributes to rural community development or the promotion of farmers’ organisations.
Meat defined as “edible parts of animals”
The text also introduces a definition of meat as “edible parts of animals” and includes a list of terms to be reserved for meat products only and that cannot be used for products that do not contain meat, such as lab-grown or cell-based products. These terms are: beef, veal, pork, poultry, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, lamb, mutton, ovine, goat, drumstick, tenderloin, sirloin, flank, loin, steak, ribs, shoulder, shank, chop, wing, breast, liver, thigh, brisket, ribeye, T-bone, rump and bacon. The aim is to enhance transparency in the internal market and enable consumers to make well-informed choices.
Stronger protection for the milk sector
Finally, the legislation brings in new measures, such as mandatory written contracts, to support dairy producers’ incomes given the challenging conditions the sector is facing. These contracts would have opt outs for price indicators, and revision clauses.
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Rapporteur Céline Imart (EPP, FR) said: “The agreement voted today delivers a major victory for our farmers by strengthening their market position, legal protections, and cultural heritage. Contracts will now guarantee them a fair place in the supply chain, while a mandatory mediation mechanism will protect their income during buyer disputes. Furthermore, a new antitrust exemption allows unrecognised producer organisations to organise freely and gain significant market leverage.
The agreement also represents an undeniable success for traditional livestock production. Terms such as “steak” and “liver” are now strictly reserved for livestock products, to prevent unfair competition and reward unique agricultural know-how. Finally, the text explicitly bans lab-grown or cell-based products from using the designation “meat,” taking a decisive step towards preserving our agricultural and food heritage.”
Next steps
The provisional agreement now needs to be approved by the Council before the new rules can enter into force.
Background
Responding to the difficulties and challenges faced by EU farmers in recent years, the Commission put forward a proposal in December 2024 to amend some of the rules on the common organisation of the markets in agricultural products (CMO), to reinforce the position of farmers in the food supply chain.
The proposal seeks to enhance the existing provisions on contracts involving farmers, reinforce the bargaining power of producer organisations, simplify their recognition, and establish an incentive framework for voluntary schemes and social sustainability initiatives benefiting farmers.
The proposal is linked to a new regulation on cross-border cooperation in the enforcement of the rulese on unfair trading practices, which also ties in with efforts to improve farmers’ position.