Dear CEMA colleagues and friends,

Looking forward to post-pandemic times, I would like to share with you some of the CEMA highlights and achievements marking the first half of 2021.

The year started with all eyes focused on the delivery of - and access to - vaccines, as a gateway to put our economy, mobility and normal life back on track. The European Agricultural Machinery Industry, as many other sectors, continued to contribute to the resilience of the European Agri-food chain while managing unexpected challenges and on-going supply-chain disruptions. As all Europeans, we were hoping for a much-needed relief by the summertime.

Our focus remained on the interests of the agricultural machinery industry, seeking and providing the needed flexibility and solutions in order to successfully overcome the exceptional situation triggered by the global Covid-19 pandemic. And what a semester it was! We agreed on a solution to delay the provisions for transition engines between 56kW and 130kW for agricultural machines. We combined forces to remove unfair EU - US retaliatory trade tariffs. We continuously pushed for advanced farm machinery and solutions to be supported in the new CAP. We organized our first virtual CEMA Summit, ‘Seeding the Future of Farming – advanced farm machines and solutions to deliver on the EU Green Deal’.  

Regulation (EU) 2021/1068 now provides a legal solution for the remaining transition engines between 56kW and 130kW, planned and produced before Covid-19, which European agricultural machinery producers could not use in time because of disruptions triggered by the pandemic. The postponement by six months of the production of machines fitted with these transition engines and by nine months of their placement on the market, complements the amendments introduced in 2020 for other power bands. This decision closes the loop for agricultural machinery and tractor producers and avoids the scrapping of perfectly suitable engines. CEMA warmly welcomes the successful urgent procedure agreed upon by European lawmakers, delivering a practical solution to an unforeseeable problem. Even in times of the coronavirus pandemic, our European farmers and contractors retain access to the much-needed farm equipment to enable sustainable farming.

Next to that, CEMA continued to proactively support the joint-effort calling for the elimination of the EU-US retaliatory trade tariffs originated from the longstanding dispute over illegal subsidies to aircrafts industries. CEMA, together with 113 EU-US trade industry organisations, requested the suspension of tariffs unfairly affecting the competitiveness of our members. The EU–USA Summit held in Brussels earlier in June announced an agreement towards a 5-years suspension, which was unanimously applauded from both sides of the Atlantic. Securing the permanent removal of tariffs on unrelated sectors will also allow both sides to establish a positive transatlantic trade agenda and focus on common areas of interest. Building on this very positive step and a new transatlantic momentum, the remaining issue on steel and aluminium tariffs now needs to be solved to create the necessary certainty and stability to grow the transatlantic economy as it recovers from the pandemic. It is fundamental in a context where the sharp rise in raw material prices deeply impacts the European agricultural machinery industry.

CEMA also continuously called on the European Commission to prioritize the uptake of precision agriculture and digital farming technologies as part of the solution to achieve a more sustainable agriculture in Europe. In order to reach the farm to fork strategy goals, EU farmers will need to have enough investment capacity through a strong CAP budget and reach a new level of professional skills. The ink is not yet dry on the political agreement reached by the European Parliament and Council on the new Common Agricultural Policy and we still have to see the details. But we are already convinced that the agreement has the potential to further enable sustainable farming, through well designed National Strategic Plans and Eco-Schemes. CEMA will very shortly come up with detailed recommendations for the contribution of advanced farm machinery and solutions.

Let me now look back at the virtual #CEMASummit 2021 organised on the 14th of April. One year after the launch of the EU Green Deal, the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies and with the CAP negotiations in their final round(s), the #CEMASummit was timely to strike the balance and highlight the role of advanced farm machines and solutions in delivering a more sustainable agriculture for farmers of all sectors and sizes. Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski stressed out that precision farming technologies, paired with modern farm machines and digital tools were instrumental in achieving the EU’s ambitious environmental goals and advancing towards a more modern and sustainable farming. Bringing together 30 high-level speakers, over 500 registrants and 5 interactive sessions, our first virtual CEMA Summit was a success that marked the path towards the future of agriculture in Europe. If you missed the #CEMASummit 2021 ‘live’, I invite you to watch our Best Of short video.

With that, let me wish you an excellent summer break. We will need our full energy to be ready for the second half of 2021. The Machinery Directive and the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive are being revised, the ‘Fit for 55’ package is just around the corner, the Carbon Farming Initiative is among other EU policy developments on robotics and Artificial Intelligence, our research and innovation agenda is full of EU funded project activities... All signals are aiming to a great schedule ahead for CEMA. But for now, let's enjoy (responsibly) the great food and countryside that the European Agri-Food chain sectors contribute to provide.

Yours faithfully,

Jerome Bandry

CEMA Secretary General