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From 2 to 5 March 2020, the EU and the UK held their first round of negotiations for the envisaged EU-UK partnership agreement. Also on 2 March 2020, the UK published its negotiating directives for the envisaged ‘UK-US Free Trade Agreement’. While negotiations with the US are yet to be launched, negotiations with the EU have already started and the second round of negotiations was scheduled from 18 to 20 March 2020, but has been suspended due to the COVID-19 situation. Launching negotiations with the EU and the US at the same time, the UK will have to perform the balancing act of developing a trade policy approach that is able to reconcile the differing expectations of its two most important trading partners.

On 28 February 2020, the Spanish Minister of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare, Alberto Garzón, announced during his appearance before the Committee on Health and Consumption of the Spanish Parliament (Congreso de los Diputados) that his cabinet was studying formulas to introduce a system of front-of-pack (hereinafter, FoP) nutrition labelling in Spain, taking into account the experiences in the FoP nutrition labelling schemes of France and Portugal, as well as of Chile. At the same time, Colombia has announced that it would introduce warning FoP nutrition labels.

On 3 February 2020, the European Commission (hereinafter, Commission) issued Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/152 prohibiting Romania to repeat granting authorisations under Article 53(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 for the plant protection products containing the active substance clothianidin or imidacloprid for use on Brassica napus against Phyllotreta spp. or Psylliodes spp and Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/153 prohibiting Lithuania to repeat granting authorisations under Article 53(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 for the plant protection products containing the active substance thiamethoxam for use on spring rape against Phyllotreta spp. and/or Psylliodes spp. Clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam are active substances classed as neonicotinoids (i.e., pesticides, which are absorbed by plants and transported to leaves, roots and flowers, which are present in pollen and nectar). Neonicotinoids have the characteristic to be highly toxic for invertebrates and insects and are used in plant protection products (hereinafter, PPPs) to control insects harmful to plants. Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC establishes that PPPs may not be placed on the EU market or used unless they have been authorised by an EU Member State.