The Civil Dialogue Group, on June 21, saw Antonio Catón, from the Herbaceous Crops department of Agro-food Cooperatives of Spain, appealing to the European Commission for a 'shock plan' to mitigate the challenges confronting the European rice industry. The challenges include discrepancies in legislation on active ingredients, competitive pressures from third countries with different environmental and social standards, and the adverse effects of drought. The EU's reliance on imports, which makes it net importer of rice, exacerbates these challenges. The cooperative also pressed for the implementation of an automatic safeguard clause in the Generalized Preferences system, mandatory origin labeling of rice, and highlighted the negative impact of trade agreements on the rice and sheep sectors. They also proposed that EU rice-producing countries unite to advocate for their interests.