The European Commission opened infringement procedures against 12 member states, including Cyprus, in order to compel these nations into following guidelines set out by the Commission against unfair trading practices from buyers toward suppliers in the agricultural sector.
The notice for transposing the Commission’s guidelines into national law ended on May 1 2021 and afterwards letters of formal notice were sent, to which member states had two months to reply.
As explained by the Commission, the guidelines set out are split into ‘black’ and ‘grey’ categories according to seriousness and in total cover 16 unfair commercial practices.
The ‘grey’ category includes practices which may be allowed if they are agreed upon in advance between buyer and supplier.
The Commission further noted that the primary aim of the guidelines is the protection of the weakest suppliers against the strongest sellers.
