The Bread Initiative released a vision paper, titled ‘Keeping Bread on the Table’ ahead of the European Parliament elections, held from June 6 to 9 this year, highlighting key requests that should guide policy-making during the next EP term. The paper was signed by the five European trade associations behind the Bread Initiative: AIBI, CEBP, COFALEC, European Flour Millers and Fedima.
The document underlines that bread can play an important part in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating habits. The Bread Initiative advocates for upholding ‘Better Regulation’ as a cornerstone of the EU regulatory process, rooted in its core principles and committed to minimizing bureaucratic complexities, which is seen as critical for all businesses, especially so for small bakeries.
The key requests that should guide policy-making during the next European Parliament term (2024-2029) were identified in the vision paper as follows:
- Food security: ensure the availability of local bread-making wheat
- Red tapes: streamline EU legislation, while reducing disproportionate regulatory burdens
- Sustainability: support the transition to more sustainability in the bread supply chain
- Nutrition and health: recognize the crucial role of bread in European citizens’ diets
- Energy: secure access to affordable energy within the bread supply chain
- Workforce: help promote skills & education for young bakers and millers in Europe
The paper has received support from baking organizations worldwide. The Bread Initiative platform is open to other associations of the bread value chain. The aim of the bread-initiative.eu is to improve bread’s image and emphasize its health value and the European cultural heritage associated with this product.
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