Activities of Clara AGUILERA related to 2020/2260(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Farm to Fork Strategy (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on a farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system
Amendments (175)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
- having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Common Fisheries Policy of 11 December 2013,
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Citation 2 b (new)
Citation 2 b (new)
- having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the common fisheries policy,
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Citation 2 c (new)
Citation 2 c (new)
- having regard to the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1224/2009, (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1005/2008 and Regulation (EU) No 2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards fisheries control (COM(2018)368),
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that the aim of the Farm to Fork Strategy is to establish a sustainable, healthy and resilient food system which benefitsthat should provide food which is affordable and available to all consumers in the EU;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Citation 2 d (new)
Citation 2 d (new)
- having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products,
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that the aim of the Farm to Fork Strategy is to establish a sustainable, healthy and resilient food system which benefits all consumers in the EU;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Shares the view that the COVID- 19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of a robust and resilient food system that functions in all circumstances, and is capable of ensuring access to a sufficient supply of affordable food for European consumers; stresses, in this respect, the need to preserve the smooth functioning of the single market, and in particular the movement of foodstuffs, including during health crises; stresses, too, that the pandemic must not be used as an excuse to scale down ambitions, given that sustainability and health are interconnected issues;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Citation 2 e (new)
Citation 2 e (new)
- having regard to Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning,
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Citation 2 f (new)
Citation 2 f (new)
- having regard to Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive),
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Citation 2 g (new)
Citation 2 g (new)
- having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 30 May 2018 on the implementation of control measures for establishing the conformity of fisheries products with access criteria to the EU market (2017/2129(INI)),
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Citation 2 h (new)
Citation 2 h (new)
- having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives’,
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Citation 2 i (new)
Citation 2 i (new)
- having regard to Scientific Opinion No 3/2017, ‘Food from the Oceans - How can more food and biomass be obtained from the oceans in a way that does not deprive future generations of their benefits?’,
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the fishery and aquaculture sectors are an integral part of the EU food system, and whereas the resilience and sustainable development of the EU food systemse sectors depends on the work of European fishers and fish farmers, as they play a key role in supporting the economic and social dimension of coastal and many inland communities;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that successful promotingon of healthy and sustainable food consumption calls for changes to diets, production systems and internal traderequires training and information in order to achieve changes to diets, which in turn motivate and strengthen those changes applied in production systems;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the resilience and sustainable development of the EU food system depends, insofar as it corresponds to them, on the work of European fishers and fish farmers, as they play a key role in supporting the environmental, economic and social dimension of coastal and many inland communities;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights,
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the EU fisheries, aquaculture and processing sectors subscribe to the highest standards, but there is a need for review and approval to ensure environmental and social sustainability throughout the entire value chain, including labour rights and animal health and welfare, and whereas those sectors provide high-quality seafood products, thereby playing a fundamental role in the food security and nutritional well-being of the population; whereas it is therefore of the utmost importance to achieve a fisheries model that reflects the balance between the three key dimensions (environmental, social and economic) proposed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 goals;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the unprecedented public health crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic will have repercussions for trade and the market, and has come as a serious blow to fishers throughout Europe; whereas, despite the health risks and the low price of fish, European fishers have continued to work, identifying themselves as key workers;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
- having regard to its resolution on European protection of cross-border and seasonal workers in the context of the COVID-19 crisis adopted on 19 June,
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas fishing is a victim rather than a cause of climate change, as demonstrated by the many natural phenomena, such as the increase in water temperature, which have had, and will continue to have, an extremely negative impact on the profitability of the sector;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses the need to conduct consultations and impact analyses on the measures envisaged, and to work with and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and cooperative systems in order to involve them in this transition and reduce the negative impacts for those who commit to this approach;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas fish caught in the wild is the source of animal protein that has by far the smallest carbon footprint; whereas, compared with other animal proteins, fish caught in the wild has the lowest environmental impact as it lives in the wild and does not require any land, artificial feeding, water supply, antibiotics or pesticides, and it is therefore the best combination for European citizens in terms of food security and climate protection;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to step up its support for regional food systems and short supply chains, which act as a source of fresh, sustainable and better quality products for consumers; takes the view that legislation on European public procurement should be revised in order to foster local, high-quality food supply systems; suggests establishing more flexible criteria for the introduction of local and regional products in public procurement, particularly by adopting the zero-kilometre principle in school canteens;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to step up its support for regional and local food systems, small producers and short supply chains, which act as a source of fresh, sustainable and better quality products for consumers; takes the view that legislation on European public procurement should be revised in order to foster local, high-quality food supply systems;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas efficient science-based fisheries management founded on ambitious, internationally agreed management targets have meant that the European fisheries sector is a global leader in terms of sustainability; whereas the sector has for a long time helped to provide European consumers with high quality products that meet high nutrition and food safety standards;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas EU consumers are showing an increasing interest in the country of origin of fishery products and their traceability throughout the food chain; whereas the existing EU legislation does not require origin to be stated on the final prepared or preserved product; whereas the information on traceability is thus lost in the food value chain;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
Af. whereas the current marketing standards apply to 75% of landings in the EU, but to less than 10% of fishery products imported from third countries; whereas this creates unfair competition for the EU fishing fleet;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Recital A g (new)
Recital A g (new)
Ag. whereas one of the objectives of the common fisheries policy is to help to supply the EU market with highly nutritional food and to reduce the EU market’s dependence on food imports from third countries; whereas the current pandemic has made it even more apparent that the EU needs to be able to fully guarantee food security for its citizens and reduce its reliance on food imports from third countries;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges the Commission to promote alternative business models, such as consumer-friendly cooperative schemes so that no one is left behind;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ExpressesStresses that the common fisheries policy and European ocean governance are an integral part of the EU system and food supply chain, which interact closely with the European health and environment pillars at the core of the Farm to Fork Strategy; expresses, therefore, disappointment at the lack of prominence and ambition of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the Farm to Fork Strategy; stresses that the current strategy should instead be integrated with a cross- cutting approach to fishing that considers the main EU legislation on the subject, in the light of the objectives it contains, taking due account of the three pillars of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. EWelcomes the fact that the fisheries and aquaculture sector has been included in the Farm to Fork Strategy; expresses disappointment, nevertheless, at the lack of prominence and ambition in the contribution and potential of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the Farm to Fork Strategyas regards ensuring that the future food system is fairer, healthier and more respectful of the environment;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Regrets that whilst the Strategy rightly highlights the role of farmers as ‘custodians of the land’, it does not give the same recognition to small-scale traditional fishing, whose fishers are the backbone of the European fishing industry and who have, for some time, been at the forefront of achieving the Strategy’s objectives; whereas European fishers should be regarded and recognised as the true ‘custodians of the sea’ and have a key role to play in achieving the Strategy’s objectives;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses the importance of ensuring coordination and mutual support between all Green Deal initiatives, and between the objectives of the Union and the Member States in relation to food security, climate change, marine natural resources, sustainable fisheries management, and so on;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Welcomes the Commission’s recognition of key workers during the COVID-19 pandemic; stresses that fishery workers, not just agri-food sector workers, fall under this category; calls on the Commission, therefore, to step up efforts to improve the position of European fishers in the value chain by enhancing workplace health and safety, guaranteeing them a decent wage and protecting their freedom of movement, especially in times of crisis;
Amendment 83 #
1c. Stresses that, in order to fully and effective achieve the Strategy’s objectives, an extensive preliminary socio-economic impact assessment is needed to consider all possible repercussions of the proposed measures on EU coastal communities and on the productivity and competitiveness of EU fisheries; stresses, further, that the transition to a sustainable model of production and consumption should happen gradually and in a manner that is commensurate with the EU fishing industry’s capabilities;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Stresses that the agreement of the fisheries sector should, in particular, be a necessary part of fully achieving the objectives of the Strategy and correctly applying its rules; expresses its disappointment, in this regard, at the Strategy’s total failure to mention any involvement of representatives from the sector in institutional forums or a bottom- up approach that fully involves European fishers in drawing up the rules that they have to apply;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Stresses that very often the transposition of fair and acceptable principles risks turning into onerous and excessive practices that are difficult for fishers to apply without ever really achieving the objectives that these principles set out to achieve; stresses, therefore, that the proposals in the Strategy should not pose an excessive financial and bureaucratic burden for operators in the fisheries sector;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1f. Agrees with the Commission on the need to ensure that the key principles enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights are respected, especially with regard to precarious, seasonal and undeclared workers; stresses, to this end, that practical steps should be taken in order to meet this need, through greater cooperation with Community bodies for social dialogue, such as the EU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fisheries (EUSSDC), when drawing up legislative initiatives to achieve the Strategy’s objectives;
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Supports the establishment of a governance framework and a code of conduct for food and retail businesses, in order to make them accountable and aware of the importance of sustainability, health and thealth fight against food waste;
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that promoting healthy and sustainable diets should privilege EU fisheries and aquaculture products, as they are an importantthe source of protein with the smallest carbon footprint and a crucial component of a healthy diet and also highlight the value of the work of fishers and women in the sector, and of aquaculture; notes that the ecological transition of food systems generally and fisheries in particular should take place in a way that ensures a fair income for the fisheries sector, strengthening its position in the value chain by grouping it into guilds, cooperatives, associations or other organisations, and conducting appropriate monitoring within the framework of the Directive on unfair trading practices;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to promote healthier diets accessible to all European citizens by introducing nutritional profiles, accompanied by mandatory and harmonised labelling of the nutritional value of foods on the front of packaging in order to correctly inform the consumer and to contribute to the reduction of the population's diseases and to ensure a healthy generation;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Emphasises the need to move towards intelligent integration of global, regional and local food systems, promoting short channels in the fisheries value chain in order to improve food security, in accordance with the principles of the European single market;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to promote healthier diets by introducing nutritional profiles, accompanied by mandatory and harmonised labelling of the nutritional value of foods on the front of packaging; points out there are several front of pack nutritional labelling schemes in use in Member States, which has an impact on the cohesion and functioning of the internal market;
Amendment 110 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the Commission’s planned assessment of the CFP, due by 2022, with ahich will need to focus on the risks triggered by climate change for the sustainability of species; calls for this evaluation to be followed up with legislative proposals to adapt the CFP to the new challenges facing the fisheries sector and to address any shortcomings that prove to be significant;
Amendment 112 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the Commission’s assessment of the CFP, due by 2022, with a focus on the risks triggered by climate change for the sustainability of species; agrees with the proposal to draw up an emergency plan to ensure the EU’s food supply and food safety in the event of future crises;
Amendment 122 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the announced new EU Strategic Guidelines on Aquaculture and emphasises the fundamental role of this sector and the need for its development; urges the Commission and Member States to ensure that the plans for the sustainable development of aquaculture take into account the main barriers to development of the sector’s potential and recognise the need to allocate space to this sector through appropriate spatial planning; stresses that the development of aquaculture requires a solid, reliable and clear legal framework in relation to the use of space and licenses, and one that provides confidence and security for investments in the sector;
Amendment 124 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Regards it as essential, further, to keep consumers better informed by introducing mandatory origin labelling of food, which would be broadened to cover animal welfare, sustainability and pesticide residue levelsprovided that this does not undermine the proper functioning of the internal market, and which would be broadened to cover, on a voluntary basis, animal welfare, or other product qualities which are not already specifically regulated;
Amendment 127 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses the urgent need for a food traceability system in the EU that enhances the sustainability of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors and that responds to consumer demands by providing information on where, how and what fish has been caught, primarily to improve food safety but also to enable checks throughout the chain and to combat illegal, unregulated and undocumented fishing; believes that this system should involve all actors in the value chain so that they can collaborate with each other, using simple digital systems that are easy to use and transfer and that do not entail excessive costs for operators, especially small businesses;
Amendment 128 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to support green business models, such as those based on carbon sequestration, in order to make supply chains more sustainable; stresses, in this regard, that certain aquaculture practices, such as mussel or oyster farming, can be a successful model for the future in the context of the CO2 trading system, and calls on the Commission to invest in this type of green business in the context of the Strategy’s objectives;
Amendment 129 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses that Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires that where the origin of a food is given and is different from the one of its primary ingredient, the origin of the primary ingredient shall be given or at least indicated as being different to the origin of the food; points out that in practice that means that products whose primary ingredients are not locally or regionally sourced can be marketed as such if the origin of said non-local primary ingredients is indicated in small print; underlines that there is an imbalance between the visibility of marketing practices that use national, regional and local names and symbols for products whose primary ingredients are not nationally, regionally or locally sourced and EU labelling requirements; considers this to be detrimental to the consumers' right to be properly informed and potentially misleading; calls on the Commission to rectify that imbalance;
Amendment 131 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Recalls that the Commission promotes sustainable fish production including actions to guide consumers to make healthy and sustainable choices; believes that this can be achieved by improving the labelling of products, with information on their origin, allowing for good traceability mechanisms at all stages of transport, production, processing and distribution, which help combat IUU fishing and promote the value, for example, of fish caught on a voluntary basis with the best animal welfare standards;
Amendment 134 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to take action to accelerate the market deployment of energy efficiency solutions in the agriculture and food sectors; stresses, in this regard, that such actions should also take the aquaculture sector into account in order to deploy all potential forms of energy production involved in these types of farming and to promote a zero-consumption production system;
Amendment 136 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to promote organic production systems; stresses, in this regard, that in contrast to organic agriculture, organic aquaculture still has ample untapped potential for development, and it is therefore necessary to invest even greater resources in its growth;
Amendment 138 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4e. Welcomes the Commission’s willingness to place a greater focus on investing in technology and green and digital practices, but expresses disappointment at the lack of any mention of fisheries and the aquaculture sector; stresses the urgent need to support fishers and actors in the fish product supply chain in the transition to more digital practices by investing heavily in training, and financing for digitisation and conversion to ‘green’ practices and tools;
Amendment 141 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Considers that, in order to ensure transparency and a level playing field for all products placed on the European markets, social and sustainability standards should be guaranteed for all products, both internal and external, through Directive 2017/159; considers also that tariff preferences (tariff rate quotas, GSP +) should only be granted to sea products from countries with sustainable fisheries management when negotiating free trade agreements; believes that both consumers and industry need protection against environmental and social dumping;
Amendment 142 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Requests that the Commission and the Member States improve the labelling of all fisheries products, whether fresh, frozen, processed or from aquaculture, marketed in restaurants and through retailers, to meet the consumers’ demands by offering information on origin, gear used and species caught, and to allow traceability from the place of origin; stresses that this step will enhance the value of sustainable products and protect consumer rights;
Amendment 148 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the need for a coordinated approach to ensure consistency between the various initiatives aimed at improving consumer information and the implementation of appropriate impact assessments, comparing the costs and benefits of different policy options pursuing similar objectives, in order to prioritise those that are most efficient;
Amendment 149 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls, with a view to protecting consumers, for full enforcement ofNotes the urgent need to update and adapt, in line with the latest scientific developments, the EU GMO legislation, which dates back to 2001, and which gave rise to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 25 July 2018 in Case C-528/16, Confédération paysanne, which stipulates that food crops modified by genome editing are subject to the requirements of GMO legislation, including risk assessment, traceability and labellhopes the study that the Commission will publish in April will corroborate the view of a large sector of the scientific community, which strongly affirms the difference between GMOs and genome editing, recognizing the huge potential that the latter can offer to facilitate the sustainability of our agriculture and the need for Europe not to lag behind the implementation of the benefits it can bring;
Amendment 154 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Recalls that in order to achieve an effective reduction of plant protection products we need to apply all the tools at our disposal without excluding those offered by biotechnology, which includes new genomic techniques for which a legislative framework should be established for their implementation in the EU;
Amendment 154 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to support the implementation of the rules on misleading information as regards the sustainability of food products and to develop an EU sustainable food labelling framework;
Amendment 155 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Welcomes the Commission’s announcement that it will revise the food contact materials legislation to improve consumer safety and public health;
Amendment 157 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Stresses that information on the sustainability of food products must be science-based, transparent and supported by rigorous independent verification; requests that the Commission consider environmental statements that meet robust, internationally recognised criteria, such as ISO 14024, and that are based on a full life cycle assessment rather than focusing on a single part of sustainability;
Amendment 158 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Calls on the Commission to establish the appropriate regulatory framework to speed up the adoption of new plant health solutions, including plant protection products with a lower impact, such as low-risk substances or biosolutions;
Amendment 160 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the need to continue to promote the responsible exploitation of fisheries resources an; stresses, in this regard, that EU fisheries have already made significant efforts to meet the objectives for sustainable exploitation of stocks by significantly reducing the fleet and fishing days, despite the significant sacrifices involved, in order to ensure that their fishing activity is sustainable both in terms of catches and in terms of the environmental impact on the marine ecosystem; stresses that any further restrictive measures could seriously jeopardise the survival of the sector and, in particular, the survival of small-scale traditional fishing; calls, therefore, for any further action to be accompanied by a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the socio-economic impact on the sector and on coastal communities; stresses the need to combat IUU fishing by strengthening the policy of sustainable fisheries agreements with non- EU countries for European vessels providing quality products;
Amendment 164 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission to clarify the current legislation on use-by dates, in order to reduce food waste; notes that it is eagerly awaiting the reference scenario for reducing food waste throughout the EU;
Amendment 165 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission to clarify the current legislation oWelcomes the European Commission’s intention to set binding targets to reduce food waste for which the distinction between ‘use- by dates, in order to reduce food waste’ and ‘best before’ dates can bring positive results;
Amendment 170 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Supports the Commission in its efforts to combat food fraud and counterfeiting, which misleads consumers and distorts competition in the internal market, and regards it as essential to make the penalties imposed on fraudsters more dissuasive and to earmark sufficient resources so that checks on product quality conformity can be stepped up;
Amendment 171 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Supports the Commission in its efforts to combat food fraud, which misleads consumers and distorts competition in the internal market, and regards it as essential to make the penalties imposed on fraudsters more dissuasive and to earmark sufficient resources so that checks can be stepped up, including during the pandemic;
Amendment 175 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the importance of EMFAF in sustaining and modernising the sector, favouring generational renewal, and promoting the active participation of women, associations, including guilds (‘cofradías’), producer organisations and the retail sector; welcomes the Commission’s intention to invest in research, innovation and technology, and stresses that the new EMFAF should also be used to support research and innovation programmes and projects aimed at reducing food waste and to promote a sustainable food system; stresses, moreover, the need to integrate the current European research and innovation programmes with the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity 2030 Strategies and with the new EMFAF, in order to maximise potential synergies between different sectors;
Amendment 177 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the importance of EMFAF in sustaining and modernising the sector, favouring generational renewal, and promoting the active participation of women, associations, including guilds (‘cofradías’), producer organisations and the retail sector; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote and create incentives for the digital transformation of the sector in all links of the value chain for fisheries and aquaculture products;
Amendment 183 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Reiterates the need for all food products marketed in the EU to comply with the same level of stringency in relation to environmental and social sustainability requirements; urges the Commission and the Member States to require that all EU trade agreements include conditionality for sustainable production standards, particularly from the point of view of traceability of fishery products and standards relating to animal welfare, social requirements and environmental sustainability;
Amendment 193 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. RWelcomes the Commission’s intention to give consumers the necessary tools to make informed, healthy and sustainable food choices; recommends that appropriately funded, far-reaching and effective dedicated awareness campaigns aimed at consumers be launched in order to bolster fish consumption, highlight the properties and benefits of fish products, and help consumers to choose wisely when buying fresh fish products; stresses, moreover, that these campaigns should be promoted by working closely with trade associations and specific professional bodies, such as nutritionists, doctors and paediatricians, in order to take targeted and effective action to help European consumers.
Amendment 194 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recommends that appropriately funded dedicated campaigns aimed at consumers be launched to bolster fish consumption; calls on the Commission and the Member States to implement initiatives to reduce food waste and rubbish coming from EU fish and seafood markets.
Amendment 203 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Requests that the Commission develop guidelines on digital tools for consumer information, on information transmitted through all links in the value chain, including existing platforms, with the aim of promoting interoperability and improving the efficiency of existing systems.
Amendment 207 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Emphasises the need for a harmonised EU legal framework to develop a mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling system at EU level, based on independent scientific evidence; urges the Member States to support the implementation of the future EU nutritional profiling system and to refrain from unilateral actions that could hinder harmonisation of the European Commission’s efforts; calls on the Commission to consider the need to include changes in the algorithm for creating these nutritional profiles so that the presence of omega-3 is positively taken into account and the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fats is considered when attributing penalty points.
Amendment 210 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Welcomes the European Commission’s commitment to combating food waste as a pillar of a genuinely sustainable food system; highlights that the fisheries and aquaculture sector should be fully involved in the implementation of this objective.
Amendment 216 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8d. Stresses that in the aquaculture sector it has long been common practice to reuse unused (or usable) animal products for human consumption; points out that, in the interests of a circular economy, considerable investment is needed to create synergies between aquaculture and food waste, and to support virtuous processes in the interests of a circular economy in order to reuse aquaculture waste (such as algae) for feeding fish.
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Europe’s food system should deliver food and nutrition security in a way that contributes to social well- being and, maintains human and animal health and restores ecosystem health; whereas currently, the food system is responsible for a range of impacts on human and animal health and on the environment, the climate and biodiversity; whereas the way in which we produce and consume food needs to transform in order to ensure coherence with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity and EU policies, particularly in the areas of sustainability, the environment, climate, public health, animal welfare, working conditions, food and economic sustainability for farmers;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the European model of a multifunctional agricultural sector, driven by family farms, is a key component of the European economy and society, continuesing to ensure quality food production, local supply chains, good agriculture practices, high environmental standards and vibrant rural areas throughout the EU, in terms of preserving employment, economic opportunities and quality of life;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. considering that the EU is the only agricultural actor worldwide, that has significantly reduced greenhouse gas and nitrate emissions coming from agriculture, as well as the use of antibiotics in livestock; and that the new commitments expected from the sector to adapt to the requirements of the European Green Deal should take into account the achievements of EU agriculture in recent decades;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the specific nature and structural features of the EU agricultural sector, mainly composed by small farms based on family labour, two-thirds of which with less than 5 ha in size, and where around one third of the managers are 65 years old or over, poses specific challenges that need to be taken into consideration by policy makers in designing measures and policies involving the sector;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the farm-to-fork strategy recognises the substantial efforts made to reduce the use of antimicrobials in animals, further strengthened by the new EU Regulations on Veterinary Medicinal Products and Medicated Feed, thus contributing to the global effort to reduce antibiotic resistance; whereas the EU must ensure that treating animals with antimicrobials remains possible where needed to ensure that the health and welfare of animals is protected at all times;
Amendment 353 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas the European Commission’s One Health Action Plan Against Antimicrobial Resistance recognises that immunisation through vaccination is a cost-effective public health intervention with proven economic benefits and a control measure for AMR;
Amendment 355 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas the uptake of smart and digital farming technologies to continuously monitor animal health and welfare has the potential to ensure effective disease prevention and the implementation of animal welfare standards;
Amendment 356 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas it is necessary to ensure consistency and coherence amongst the measures envisaged by the farm to fork strategy and the CAP and CFP, the Trade Policy, the EU biodiversity strategy , as well as other related EU policies and strategies;
Amendment 378 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas it is important that consumers are trained, informed and enabled to take responsibility for the consequences of their choice of food stuffs, including the price, on the whole food system, from production to processing and distribution; whereas this requires a healthy and sound food environment which ensures that the healthy and sustainable choice is also the easy and affordable choice, and fosters and encourages consumption patterns, available for all consumers, that support human health while ensuring the sustainable use of natural and human resources and animal welfare;
Amendment 412 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the European food system has played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating its resilience with farmers and their cooperatives or producers organisations, workers employed along the food value chain, processors and retailers working together under difficult conditions and sanitary risks, including lockdowns, to ensure that European consumers continue to have access to safe, affordable, and high quality products without impediment;
Amendment 477 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E f (new)
Recital E f (new)
Ef. whereas agro-ecology is an integrated approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social concepts and principles to the design and management of food and agricultural systems; whereas it seeks to optimise the interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment while taking into consideration the social aspects that need to be addressed for a sustainable and fair food system;
Amendment 479 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E g (new)
Recital E g (new)
Eg. whereas agro-ecology can support food production and security and nutrition while restoring the ecosystem services and biodiversity that are essential for sustainable agriculture and plays an important role in building resilience and adapting to climate change; whereas the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)recognises it as a solution to tackle the multi-facetted social and environmental challenges facing the global food system;
Amendment 480 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E h (new)
Recital E h (new)
Amendment 491 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the farm to fork strategy as an important step in ensuring a sustainable, fair and resilient food system, which is central to achieving the goals set out in the European Green Deal, the European Pillar of Social Rights and in the SDGs; emphasises the inextricable links between healthy people, decent working conditions, healthy societies and a healthy planet, encourages the Commission to translate the strategy into concrete legislative and non-legislative action as soon as possible, involving not only farmers but all actors in the food chain, including consumers;
Amendment 531 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that the contribution to climate change mitigation and the viability of the European model of agriculture, as well as the resilient supply of sustainable and safe food, are not mutually exclusive objectives and can be achieved with a balanced and evidence- based approach;
Amendment 543 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Welcomes the Commission's proposal to develop a contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security in order to coordinate a common European response to crises affecting food systems ; insists that a prevention approach is needed to avoid panic movements and overreactions by people, firms or Member States; considers that it will be an adequate response to the growing expectations about food security that are to be addressed at European level; urges the Commission to consider strategic food stock issues in the way that it does for strategic petroleum stocks across European Union;
Amendment 548 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Urges the Commission to integrate food aid issues in the farm to fork strategy since 33 millions of Europeans suffer from lack of food, especially single parent families and students, and the social and economic consequences of the pandemic will increase that figure; recognises the unique role of the food aid associations across the European Union that need to be more supported because of the growing number of people who need help; considers that the resilience of our food system need to increase the connections between food policies and agricultural policies at every level from the local to the European level;
Amendment 574 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the announcement of an impact-assessed proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems that should be based on transparent data and take into account the latest scientific knowledge; invites the Commission to use this proposal to set out a holistic common food policy in which all actors make their contribution, aimed at reducing the environmental and climate footprint of the EU food system in order to make Europe the first climate- neutral continent by 2050 and strengthen its resilience to ensure food security in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, leading a global transition towards sustainability from farm to fork, based on the principle of a multifunctional and competitive agricultural sector while ensuring consistency between policdifferent EU policies and strategies by taking into account the existing legislation in order to enable all actors in the European food system to develop long-term plans based on realistic and transparent objectives that respond to rational criteria based on the best scientific knowledge; suggests that the respective base lines and progress achieved in each Member State be taken into account, while promoting the exchange of know-how and best practices between Member States; stresses the need to include the entire food and beverage chains including processing, marketing, distribution and retail;
Amendment 593 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the announcement of an impact-assessed proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems; invites the Commission to use this proposal to set out a holistic, integrated common food policy aimed at reducing the environmental and climate footprint of the EU food system in order to make Europe the first climate- neutral continent by 2050 and strengthen its resilience to ensure food security in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, leading a global transition towards sustainability from farm to fork, based on the principle of a multifunctional agricultural sector while ensuring consistency between policies by taking into account the existing legislation in order to enable all actors in the European food system to develop long- term plans based on realistic and transparent objectives; suggests that the respective base lines and progress achieved in each Member State be taken into account, while promoting the exchange of know-how and best practices between Member States; stresses the need to include the entire food and beverage chains including production, processing, marketing, transport, distribution and retail and to cover the environmental, social(including health) and economic dimensions of sustainability;
Amendment 622 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Points out that the Mediterranean Diet, inscribed by UNESCO in 2010 in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is known as a healthy and balanced diet with a high nutritional, social and cultural value based on respect for the territory and biodiversity, which guarantees the conservation and development of traditional and artisanal activities related to sustainable fishing and agriculture and plays a protective role in the primary and secondary prevention of the main chronic degenerative diseases;
Amendment 634 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that the Commission should, for the remaining legislative proposals announced in the strategy, rely on scientifically sound ex-ante impact assessments describing the calculation methods for each target and the baselines and reference periods for each of them, taking into account the cumulative effects of the legislative proposals and the need to adapt them to the reality of each Member State;
Amendment 657 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Emphasises the need to ensure coherence of agricultural practices with the goals of the European Green Deal in terms of climate change, biodiversity, circular economy and zero pollution;
Amendment 658 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Recalls that agricultural productivity and resilience is dependent on the sustainable management of natural resources to guarantee the long-term sustainability of our food systems;
Amendment 666 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Recalls that the social dimension must be fully integrated in all future initiatives of the farm to fork strategy along with the economic and environmental dimensions to achieve a much-needed policy coherence for sustainable development; insists that improvement of working conditions, in line with the 8 ILO core Convention, collective bargaining, social protection, investment in public services, inclusive governance and fair taxation should be included as sustainability criteria;
Amendment 668 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Recalls that for the FAO, agroecology is a fundamental part of the global response to climate change and for the creation of sustainable food and agricultural systems, the new legislative framework for sustainable food systems, to be proposed until 2023, must be based on the principles and elements defined by the FAO as agroecology in order to trigger a true agroecological transition;
Amendment 680 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Stresses that the Common Agricultural Policy and the farm to fork strategy must be determined together at European level, in order to complement each other and protect a fair balance between production, consumer health and environment, and must be attributed adequate resources to strengthen farmers’ position in the agri-food supply chain;
Amendment 689 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Building the food chain that works for consumers, workers, producers, climate and the environment
Amendment 696 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 g (new)
Paragraph 2 g (new)
2g. Calls on the Commission to establish a comprehensive evidence-based evaluation of the implementation of the strategy’s measures and targets, in particular of the individual and cumulative impacts on the social and economic sustainability of agriculture and food production in the EU, on food security and prices and on the potential risks of displacing environmental impacts abroad by the replacement of local food production with imports;
Amendment 698 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 g (new)
Paragraph 2 g (new)
2g. Considers that the sustainability of the European food systems is a societal goal, requiring a broad and inclusive debate and the effective participation of everyone in society, in particular of those implementing the measures, such as the farming community, while at the same benefiting from their knowledge and experience and creating a sense of ownership, vital for the successful implementation of the strategy;
Amendment 719 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 730 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 738 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the decision to revise the directive on the sustainable use of pesticides and the reduction targets for pesticides, fertilisers, and antibiotics; emphasises the importance of pursuing these targets through holistic and circular approaches, such as agroecological practices; insists that each Member State should establish robust quantitative reduction targets, accompanied by well- defined support measures ensuring accountability at all levels to help reach these targets; reiterates its call for the translation into legislation of the above targets and objectives and calls on the Commission to clarify how it will deal with individual Member States’ contributions to Union-wide targets and to clarify the baselines for these targets, whilst taking into account different starting points of Member States and setting more ambitious targets for those Member States who have not made enough progress until now, taking into account that targets for each Member State shall be set based on the national average values;
Amendment 752 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the decision to revise the directive on the sustainable use of pesticides and the collective reduction targets for pesticides, fertilisers, and antibiotics; emphasises the importance of collectively pursuing these targets through holistic and circular approaches, such as agroecological practices; insists that each Member State should establish robust quantitative reduction targets, accompanied by well- defined support measures ensuring accountability at all levels to help reach these targets; reiterates its call for the translation into legislation of the above targets and objectives and calls on the Commission to clarify how it will deal with individual Member States’ contributions to Union-wide targets, taking into account different realities and characteristics of each Member State in terms of pesticides, fertilisers and other chemical use, and to clarify the baselines for these targets;
Amendment 803 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Considers that the reduction targets for phytosanitary products that will finally be established should be accompanied by sustainable alternatives available on the market with equivalent effectiveness in the protection of plant health, in order to avoid the lack of necessary treatments for crops in the EU and the proliferation of organisms harmful to plants;
Amendment 832 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Stresses the key role of integrated pest management in reducing pesticide dependency and urges the Member States to ensure it is applied and its implementation is assessed systematically; stresses that farmers need a bigger toolbox of crop-safe, affordable and environmentally-friendly protection solutions and methods, as well as bolstered training, including in agro- ecological practices;
Amendment 834 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Recalls that simply reducing the volume of phytosanitary products will not automatically reduce the resulting environmental impact; notes that tools and technologies already exist and are under development to reduce their impact on the environment or on human health and asks the European Commission to take them into account when revising the Directive;
Amendment 857 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Calls on the Commission to establish the appropriate regulatory framework to speed up the adoption of new plant health solutions, including plant protection products with a lower impact, such as low-risk substances or biosolutions;
Amendment 866 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Recalls that in order to achieve an effective reduction of plant protection products we need to apply all the tools at our disposal without excluding those offered by sustainable biotechnology, which includes new genomic techniques for which a legislative framework should be established for their implementation in the EU;
Amendment 872 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3e. Emphasises the need to improve policy coordination between agricultural legislation, particularly legislation on plant protection products, biocides and fertilisers, and, inter alia, water legislation, in order to ensure the protection of our water resources, particularly those used for drinking water supply , from overexploitation and agricultural pollution;
Amendment 928 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises the importance of recognising the significant impact of agriculture and especially animal production on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use; stresses the need to enhance natural carbon sinks and reduce agricultural emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, in particular in the feed and livestock sectors; calls for regulatory measures and targets to ensure progressive reductions in all GHG emissions in these sectors; recalls that in order to meet new environmental targets, the balance of plant and animal production should be maintained, which will ensure sufficient amount of nutrients and organic matter in the soils in the EU, and will help to improve biodiversity;
Amendment 938 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises the importance of recognising the significant impact of agriculture and especially animal production on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions andefforts made by European agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the need to make further progress in reducing them and in reducing the impact of agricultural activity on land use; stresses the need to enhance natural carbon sinks and reduce agricultural emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, in particular in the feed and livestock sectors; calls for regulatory measures and targets based on scientific knowledge to ensure progressive reductions in all GHG emissions in these sectors;
Amendment 963 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Takes note of the opportunities of manure management in promoting organic fertilisers, improving soil carbon content and, thus, contributing to carbon sequestration; further encourages EU waste legislation to look at agricultural residues as possible sources of fertilisers, bedding material and bioenergy;
Amendment 1019 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Points out that extensive and permanent grassland-based or organic animal husbandry is a feature of the European food system and a defining element of many traditional rural communities, and that it has multiple positive effects for the environment and against climate change, and contributes to a circular economy and must therefore be supported and encouraged;
Amendment 1044 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the recognition of organic farming as a strong component on the EU’s path towards more sustainable food systems; underlines that the development of organic food production must be accompanied by market and supply chain development and measures stimulating demand for organic food, research, innovation and scientific transfer, contributing for both the stability of the organic products market and the fair remuneration of farmers;
Amendment 1074 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the notion of rewarding carbon sequestration in soils; stresses, however, that intensive and industrial agriculture and farming models with negative impacts on biodiversity should not receive climate funding or be incentivised; calls for the proposals to be in line with the environmental objectives and the ‘do no harm’ principle of the Green Deal; calls on the European Commission together with the Member States to define what kind of production models are considered as intensive and industrial and to provide instruments to bring about change on those farms to become consistent with the principles and objectives defined in the Green Deal;
Amendment 1110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the notion of rewarding carbon sequestration in soils; stresses, however, that intensive and industrial agriculture and farming models with negative impacts on biodiversity should not receive climate funding or be incentivisregardless of the type or the size of the farm all sustainable practices such as precision farming, applied research and development, or new carbon sequestration technologies should be incentivised and supported; calls for the proposals to be in line with the environmental objectives and the ‘do no harm’ principle of the Green Deal;
Amendment 1124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the European Commission to promote EU-wide specialised training programmes, in order to make farmers aware of the benefits and the practice of integrating woody vegetation with agriculture at local, regional and global scales; stresses the importance of using agro-forestry and forests curtains to increase productivity and alternatives to the use of fertilisers in agricultural production;
Amendment 1190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Welcomes the acknowledgment of the crucial role played by seed diversity in ensuring the sustainability and resilience of food production; calls for a meaningful reform of the seeds marketing legal framework that would enable a wide range of crop diversity in the EU and ensure that different types of diversity have facilitated access to the market;
Amendment 1199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on the Commission and on Member States to promote the agro- ecological farming practices in EU agriculture based on the set of principles as defined by FAO1g, in particular through the CAP Strategic Plans, in order to transform the EU’s food and agricultural system, to mainstream sustainable agriculture and to achieve Zero Hunger and multiple other SDGs; _________________ 1gThe 10 Elements of Agroecology Guiding the Transition to Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems http://www.fao.org/3/I9037EN/i9037en.pd f
Amendment 1201 #
7b. Regrets the lack of a European policy on both animal and plant genetic resources, vital to ensure seed security;
Amendment 1247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for CAP National Strategic Plans to ensure adequate financial support and incentives to promote new ecological ‘green’ business models for agriculture and artisanal food production, notably through fostering short supply chains and quality food production, such models should support farmers in the transition towards climate neutrality;
Amendment 1281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Welcomes the explicit recognition of a safeguard of the social rights of workers in the food chain; recalls that this has been endorsed by the European Parliament with the introduction of the social conditionality for the CAP basic payment in its position on the national strategic plans Regulation;
Amendment 1286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Amendment 1287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Underlines that the COVID 19 pandemic presents the EU with the unique opportunity to rethink the European agriculture and food systems with a more sustainable and socially just vision;
Amendment 1298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that the European food system delivers a sufficient and varied supply of safe, nutritious, affordable and sustainable food to people at all times and underlines that increasing the economic, environmental and social sustainability of food producers will ultimately increase their resilience; encourages the Commission and Member States to consider the food supply chain and its workers as a strategic asset for the safety and well-being of all Europeans; and to ensure that working and social protection conditions throughout the EU food supply chain meet national, EU and international standards for all workers;
Amendment 1307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that the European food system delivers a sufficient and varied supply of safe, nutritious, affordable and sustainable food to people, that should be accessible in sufficient quantities to all people at all times, and underlines that increasing the economic, environmental and social sustainability of food producers will ultimately increase their resilience; encourages the Commission to consider the food supply chain and its workers as a strategic asset for the safety and well-being of all Europeans;
Amendment 1325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Underlines that increasing the economic, environmental and social sustainability of food producers will ultimately increase their resilience; encourages the Commission to consider the food supply chain and its workers as a strategic asset for the safety and well- being of all Europeans;
Amendment 1398 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Expresses its deep concern about the emergence of zoonotic diseases that are transferred from animals to humans (anthropozoonoses), such as Q fever, avian influenza and the new strain of influenza A (H1N1), which is exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change, the destruction; calls for a better management of the veterinary prevention and promotion of high standards of animal health and animal welfare also with trading partners in order to prevent spread of zoonotic diseases and to promote the high levels of bBiodiversity, environmental degradation and our current food production systemssecurity developed in EU as the best practice at global level;
Amendment 1457 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Urges the Commission to propose mechanisms that support cooperation between the various links in the chain, for example, by prioritizing stable market- oriented trade relations; considers that collaboration between the different segments of the food chain will be essential in the future, as it has been during the worst months of the covid-19 crisis;
Amendment 1480 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the Commission to follow up on Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair trading practices22 and the EU code of conduct on responsible business and marketing practices by producing a monitoring framework for the food and retail sectors and providing for legal action if progress in integrating economic, environmental and social sustainability into corporate strategies is insufficient, and in so doing promoting and rewarding the efforts of sustainable agricultural producers while increasing the availability and affordability of healthy, sustainable food options and reducing the overall environmental footprint of the food system; stresses the importance of halting and addressing consolidation and concentration in the grocery retail sector in order to ensure fair prices for farmers; recalls the importance of making farmers more resilient in the market by getting more value out of the food chain, which is achieved by encouraging their participation in producer organisations or cooperatives; _________________ 22 OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, p. 59.
Amendment 1513 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to bring forward proposals for better cooperation between farmers, already allowed under competition rules, and to support investment in improving production and marketing structures to make them more robust, stable, secure and profitable for farmers as means of helping strengthen their position in the chain;
Amendment 1519 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Recognises that retailers and wholesalers can help move sustainable products away from market niches and into mainstream markets; highlights their growing commitment to create transparency, promote healthy diets through consumer information, reformulation, promotion of organic products and treatment of food waste, which they offer in response to the already strong demand from its customers;
Amendment 1521 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Calls for the recognition of the food distribution system, based on the proximity of retail outlets to consumers, both in urban and rural areas, as essential to ensure access to food to all European citizens, avoiding the so-called food deserts that occur in the USA;
Amendment 1550 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Urges the review of the EU promotion programme for agricultural and food products, including the EU school scheme, with a view to enhancing its contribution to sustainable production and consumption, notably by focusing on educational messages about the importance of healthy nutrition and promoting greater consumption of fruit and vegetables with the aim of reducing obesity rates and raising awareness on reducing and preventing food waste;
Amendment 1650 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for measures toat European level to encourage product reformulation of products not covered by EU quality schemes and reduce the burden that highly processed foods with high salt, sugar and fat content place on public health; regrets that the introduction of nutrient profiles is greatly delayed and stresses that a robust set of nutrient profiles must be developed to restrict or prohibit the use of false nutritional claims on foods high in fats, sugars and/or salt; calls for a mandatory EU-wide front-of-pack nutrition labelling system based on independent science and urges Member States to support the implementation of the upcoming EU system and refrain from unilateral actions that could hinder the harmonization work of the European Commission;
Amendment 1651 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for a comprehensive and complementary range of measures to reduce the burden that highly processed foods with high salt, sugar and fat content place on public health; regrets that the introduction of nutrient profiles is greatly delayed andcalls that nutrient profiles, which are long overdue, remain pertinent and necessary to meet the objectives of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on Nutrition and Health Claims; welcomes the announcement of a legislative proposal to establish nutrient profiles; points out that many food products, including some marketed towards children, continue to use health and nutrition claims despite them having high levels of nutrients of concern; stresses that a robust set of nutrient profiles must be developed to restrict or prohibit the use of false nutritional claims on foods high in fats, sugars and/or salt; calls for a mandatory EU-wide front-of-pack nutrition labelling system based on independent science;
Amendment 1703 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the European Commission to consider digital consumer information as a key element in making information on healthy and sustainable diets available to consumers in the EU;
Amendment 1710 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the EU single market and provide clarity and simplicity for all players in the food sector, offering a more harmonised and science-based approach, which is currently lacking, in areas such as front-of-pack labelling, origin labelling, waste management, food donations, to name but a few, so that Europe can uphold sustainability standards in the food chain at the international level;
Amendment 1719 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Recalls the growing importance attached by producers and consumers to origin labelling; insists that such labelling should be established at EU level, should not undermine the smooth functioning of the internal market, be fully verifiable and traceable, and should be compatible with the EU's international obligations;
Amendment 1734 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to revise the EU legislation on food contact materials (FCM); reiterates its call to revise the legislation on FCM in line with the regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH), as well as classification, labelling and packaging regulations, and to insert, without further delay, specific provisions to substitute endocrine disrupting chemicals; stresses that equal safety requirements should be applied to virgin and recycled materials;
Amendment 1742 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Insists further on the need for comprehensive, harmonised regulation of all FCMs, which should be based on the precautionary principle, the principle of ‘no data, no market’, comprehensive safety assessments that address all the relevant safety and health endpoints and are based on the latest scientific data for all chemicals used in FCMs, effective enforcement and improved information to consumers;
Amendment 1753 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the fact that the strategy rightly recognises the role and influence of the food environment in shaping consumption patterns and the need to make it easier for consumers to choose healthy and sustainable diets; reiterates the importance of promoting sustainable diets by raising consumer awareness of the impacts of consumption patterns and providing information on diets that are better for human health and have a lower environmental footprint, such as products from short local and regional supply chains; underlines the important role which consumer organisations can play in this regard; underlines that food prices must send the right signal to consumers; welcomstresses, therefore, the strategy’s objective that the healthy and sustainable choice should become the most affordable one; at the shift to a more sustainable food system cannot rely solely on individual choices by consumers and that a range of actions, including regulation, is needed to make food production more sustainable by default;
Amendment 1773 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the fact that the strategy rightly recognises the role and influence of the food environment in shaping consumption patterns and the need to make it easier for consumers to choose healthy and sustainable diets; reiterates the importance of promoting sustainable diets by raising consumer awareness of the impacts of consumption patterns and providing information on diets that are better for human health and have a lower environmental footprint and alerting consumer on the proliferation of ultra- processed products that are presented as healthy copies; underlines that food prices must send the right signal to consumers; welcomes, therefore, the strategy’s objective that the healthy and sustainable choice should become the most affordable one;
Amendment 1796 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Amendment 1801 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Underlines that the affordability of healthy and sustainable food choices is the main obstacle to the adoption by consumers of healthy and sustainable diets and that food prices must send the right signal to consumers; welcomes, therefore, the strategy’s objective that the healthy and sustainable choice should become the most affordable one; invites the Commission to launch a study to quantify in economic terms the environmental and societal (including health-related) costs associated with the production and consumption of the most consumed food products on the EU market, as a first step towards moving towards true cost accounting for food;1a _________________ 1aSpecial Eurobarometer 505. Making our food fit for the future – Citizens’ expectations. October 2020. ‘Healthy, sustainable food choices are affordable’ was the answer most frequently given by consumers when asked about what would help them to adopt a healthy and sustainable diet.
Amendment 1808 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 d (new)
Paragraph 18 d (new)
Amendment 1810 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 e (new)
Paragraph 18 e (new)
18e. Highlights that too many unsubstantiated and even misleading environmental claims are being used on food, creating confusion among consumers and making it difficult for them to identify the products that are more environmentally friendly; calls on the Commission to introduce a new regulatory framework establishing a clear, swift and efficient pre-approval procedure for all green claims and labels, taking into account the experience gained in the application of the system already in place for health and nutrition claims; stresses that such framework would protect consumers from untruthful green claims while ensuring that businesses who genuinely strive for more environmentally friendly operations are duly rewarded for their efforts;
Amendment 1813 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 f (new)
Paragraph 18 f (new)
18f. Stresses that Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires that where the origin of a food is given and is different from the one of its primary ingredient, the origin of the primary ingredient shall be given or at least indicated as being different to the origin of the food; points out that in practice that means that products whose primary ingredients are not locally or regionally sourced can be marketed as such if the origin of said non-local primary ingredients is indicated in small print; underlines that there is an imbalance between the visibility of marketing practices that use national, regional and local names and symbols for products whose primary ingredients are not nationally, regionally or locally sourced and EU labelling requirements; considers this to be detrimental to the consumers' right to be properly informed and potentially misleading; calls on the Commission to rectify that imbalance;
Amendment 1816 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 g (new)
Paragraph 18 g (new)
18g. Points out that Directive 2001/110 regulates that honey sold on European markets is either labelled as coming from a specific country, as ‘EU’ or as ‘non- EU’, or as both ‘EU and non-EU’ honey blends. In both non-EU cases, blended or not, the consumer is not aware whether the product is actually genuine EU standard quality honey, meaning without added sugar syrup, for example; calls on the Commission and Member States to support the EU beekeeping sector by reinforcing import inspections in order to prevent imports of adulterated honey; considers that the current rules are not fit for purpose as they provide ambiguous information to consumers and facilitate the import and sale of low quality or adulterated honey in the EU; calls on the Commission to propose legislative changes for honey labelling rules that will result in better consumer information and support the EU beekeeping sector;
Amendment 1894 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Highlights the recognition in the strategy that Europeans’ diets are not always in line with recommendations for healthy eating, and that a population-wide shift in dietary consumption patterns is needed towards more healthy and plant-based foods and less red and processed meat, sugars, salt, and fats, which will also benefit the environment; acknowledges that the healthy choice may not always be the most sustainable and affordable choice and vice-versa; emphasises that EU-wide guidelines for sustainable and healthy diets wshould bring clarity to consumers on what constitutes a healthy and sustainable diet and inform Member States’ own efforts to integrate sustainability elements in national dietary advicee science-based and take into account the cultural and regional diversity of European foods and diets, as well as consumer needs and preferences ; calls on the Commission to develop such guidelines and specific actions to effectively promote healthy plant-based diets;
Amendment 1944 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Considers that the further development of plant protein production and alternative sources of proteincomplementary sources of nutrition for human food and animal feed such as insects or algae, in the EU is a way of effectively addressing many of the environmental and climate challenges that EU agriculture is facing, as well as preventing deforestation in countries outside the EU;
Amendment 1953 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Recalls its resolution of 15 January 2020 on the European Green Deal and its resolution of 22 October 2020 on an EU legal framework to halt and reverse EU-driven global deforestation and its repeated demand to the Commission to present, without delay, a proposal for an EU legal framework based on mandatory due diligence to ensure sustainable and deforestation-free supply chains for products placed on the Union market, with a particular focus on tackling the main drivers of imported deforestation and instead encouraging imports that do not create deforestation and ecosystem degradation abroad;
Amendment 2035 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Reiterates its call to take the measures required to achieve a Union food waste reduction target of 30 % by 2025 and 50 % by 2030 compared to the 2014 baseline; underlines that binding targets and common criteria for measuring food waste in the different links of the food chain are needed to achieve this;
Amendment 2068 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Welcomes the proposed revision of EU rules on date marking; stresses that any change to date marking rules should be science based and should improve the use of date marking by actors in the food chain, including Horeca, and its understanding by consumers, in particular ‘best before’ labelling, while at the same time not undermining food safety or quality;
Amendment 2073 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Highlights with concern the downward trend across the EU in both the number of official food controls undertaken and the resources allocated to them; supports the Commission in its efforts to combat food fraud; considers that the punishment should fit the crime in cases of intentional food fraud and calls on Member States to adequately reflect that principle in national legislation, in line with the Official Controls Regulation 2017/625;
Amendment 2079 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Expresses its concern on the dynamics resulting from the process of concentration and the increasing dominant power of financial investors in the food supply chain, which lead to lower food quality and worsening of working conditions;
Amendment 2119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Underlines the importance EU funding for research and innovation as a key driver in accelerating the transition to a more sustainable, healthy and inclusive European food system while facilitating investments needed to encourage agro- ecological practices in both social and technological innovation, and the crucial role of farm advisory services in ensuring the transfer of knowledge to the farming community, drawing on the existing specialised training systems for farmers in Member States; stresses the strategic importance of collective approaches through producer organisations and cooperatives to bring farmers together in achieving their goals;
Amendment 2128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Underlines the importance EU funding for research and innovation as a key driver in accelerating the transition to a more sustainable, healthy and inclusive European food system while facilitating investments needed to encourage agro- ecological practices in both social and technological innovation, and the crucial role of farm advisory services in ensuring tha broader and inclusive transfer of knowledge to the farming community, drawing on the existing specialised training systems for farmers in Member States;
Amendment 2132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Underlines the importance EU funding for research and innovation as a key driver in accelerating the transition to a more sustainably productive, healthy and inclusive European food system while facilitating investments needed to encourage agro- ecological practices in both social and technological innovation, and the crucial role of farm advisory services in ensuring the transfer of knowledge to the farming community, drawing on the existing specialised training systems for farmers in Member States;
Amendment 2147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Notes that in order to achieve the goals set out in this strategy, we must take advantage of scientific and technological progress, highlighting recent advances in both the versatility, safety and sustainability of new technologies for genetic improvement, promoting a legislative process in the EU that provides the necessary certainty for the development of this innovative sector, at the service of a more sustainable and healthy European food system;
Amendment 2152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Highlights the fundamental role of farm advisory systems in disseminating innovation and knowledge, stimulating the exchange of experiences and promoting practical demonstrations, in particular by working at local level to better adapt to the specific realities on the ground; calls on Member States to provide comprehensive advice to farmers on adopting more sustainable production systems;
Amendment 2176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Recalls that the transition to this system will require significant investments and it cannot be accomplished without the complicity and support of European farmers;
Amendment 2179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 c (new)
Paragraph 25 c (new)
25c. Considers the allocated budget to achieve the ambitions of the EU Green Deal and the Just transition mechanism to be insufficient to deal in a socially sustainable manner with the consequences of the expected transformation; calls for the Just transition mechanism to cover as well agricultural regions that may be adversely affected and underlines the need to ensure the proper involvement of social partners in the definition and implementation of future initiatives of the strategy;
Amendment 2226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Recalls the global responsibility of European food systems and their key role in contributing to the world food production and in setting global standards for food safety, environmental protection and animal welfare; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that all food and feed products imported to the EU fully meet relevant EU regulations and standards and to provide development assistance to support primary producers from developing countries in meeting those standards; welcomes the Commission’s intention to take the environmental impacts of requested import tolerances into account;
Amendment 2262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Welcomes the explicit reference to the risk of asymmetries between the new requirements for European producers and those for imported products and calls once again on the European Commission to demand effective reciprocity in the negotiation of agreements with third countries;
Amendment 2272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Considers that trade and international cooperation are important tools for consolidating higher standards of sustainability, especially with regard to sectors that are linked to agriculture, forests and their derived value chains; stresses that Union trade and investment agreements should include binding and enforceable sustainable development chapters that fully respect international commitments, in particular the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
Amendment 2278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to strengthen control mechanisms both at origin and at the border in trade with third countries to safeguard the animal and plant health of European agriculture and prevent the entry of pests and diseases from outside the EU;
Amendment 2284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 c (new)
Paragraph 26 c (new)
26c. Recommends, in the context of the ‘do no harm’ principle as highlighted in the communication on the European Green Deal, that the Commission better and regularly assess the impact of existing trade and investment agreements on deforestation, forest and ecosystem degradation, land grabbing and human rights and ensure that more ambitious binding and enforceable provisions on forest and ecosystem protection, biodiversity, on ending land grabbing and sustainable forestry are included in the trade and sustainable development chapters of all free trade and investment agreements;