Subject: Reform of the Directive on unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain
Article 3(1) of the proposed late payments regulation (LPR)1 establishes that ‘the payment period shall not exceed 30 calendar days’ and that this payment period will also apply to ‘the supply of non- perishable agricultural and food products on a regular and non-regular basis’.
The proposed LPR is still at the Parliamentary stage of the ordinary legislative procedure and there has already been considerable criticism of this necessary provision, since in effect it reforms the Directive on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain (UTP Directive)2.
Article 3(1) of the UTP Directive sets a payment period of 30 days for perishable food products and 60 days for non-perishable food products. The proposed LPR therefore effectively amends the directive to offer more protection to farmers.
1. In order to achieve EU-wide normative consistency on this matter, does the Commission intend to propose a reform of the UTP Directive to align it to the future late payments regulation?
2. Does the Commission intend to turn the UTP Directive into a regulation?
Submitted:29.2.2024
1 COM(2023)0533.
2 Directive (EU) 2019/633 of 17 April 2019 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in
the agricultural and food supply chain, OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, p. 59.
Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski on behalf of the European Commission (11 April 2024)
1. As explained in recitals 17 and 18 of the directive on Unfair Trading Practices (‘UTP Directive’) (3), the provisions on payment periods of the UTP Directive constitute specific rules for the agricultural and food sector in relation to the provisions of Directive 2011/7/EU (4) and are without prejudice to the consequences of late payments and remedies laid down therein.
The Commission’s proposal for a regulation on Combating Late Payment in Commercial Relations, (5) which replaces the 2011 Directive, preserves the special relationship with the UTP Directive, so that the proposed rules do not affect the provisions which are applicable in the agrifood sector, while ensuring that suppliers of non-perishable agrifood products are not left under- protected in comparison to suppliers from other economic sectors (6).
2. The Commission is currently carrying out the evaluation of the UTP Directive, which will feed into the report to be presented to the Parliament and Council by November 2025, accompanied, if necessary, by legislative proposals.
As the evaluation is ongoing, it is premature to consider specific proposals at this stage.
1 ∙ ⸱ COM(2023)0533.
2 ∙ ⸱ Directive (EU) 2019/633 of 17 April 2019 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain, OJ L 111,
25.4.2019, p. 59. 3 ∙ ⸱
Directive (EU) 2019/633 of 17 April 2019 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain, OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, p. 59. 4 ∙ ⸱
Directive 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions (recast), OJ L 48, 23.2.2011, p. 1. 5 ∙ ⸱
COM/2023/533 final. 6 ∙ ⸱
See also Recital (30) of the proposal COM/2023/533 final.