Activities of Benoît BITEAU
Plenary speeches (45)
Patentability of plants and essential biological processes (debate)
The UK’s withdrawal from the EU (debate)
Presentation by the Council of its position on the draft general budget - 2020 financial year (debate)
Situation in Bolivia (debate)
Measures to address the impact on European agriculture of the WTO ruling on the Airbus dispute (debate)
Animal welfare conditions during transport to third countries (debate)
Farm to Fork Strategy - the key role of farmers and rural areas (debate)
Farm to Fork Strategy - the key role of farmers and rural areas (debate)
Common agricultural policy - support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States and financed by the EAGF and by the EAFRD - Common agricultural policy: financing, management and monitoring - Common agricultural policy – amendment of the CMO and other Regulations (debate)
Quality of water intended for human consumption – Implementation of the EU water legislation (debate)
The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement - The outcome of EU-UK negotiations (debate)
EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives (debate)
European Citizens' Initiative "End the cage age" (continuation of debate)
EU contribution to transforming global food systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (debate)
Farm to Fork Strategy (debate)
Common agricultural policy - support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States and financed by the EAGF and by the EAFRD - Common agricultural policy: financing, management and monitoring - Common agricultural policy – amendment of the CMO and other regulations (debate)
Outcome of Global Summit Nutrition for Growth (Japan, 7-8 December) and increased food insecurity in developing countries (debate)
General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030 (debate)
Need for an urgent EU action plan to ensure food security inside and outside the EU in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (debate)
Question Time (Commission) Reducing the use of pesticides and strengthening consumer protection
Question Time (Commission) Reducing the use of pesticides and strengthening consumer protection
Addressing food security in developing countries (debate)
Facilitating export of Ukrainian agricultural products: key for Ukrainian economy and global food security (debate)
Recent heat wave and drought in the EU (debate)
New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 – Sustainable Forest Management in Europe (debate)
Consequences of drought, fire, and other extreme weather phenomena: increasing EU's efforts to fight climate change (debate)
The urgent need for an EU strategy on fertilisers to ensure food security in Europe (debate)
Global food security as follow-up to the G20 Agriculture Ministers meeting (debate)
Availability of fertilisers in the EU (debate)
European Citizens’ Initiative "Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment" (debate)
The role of farmers as enablers of the green transition and a resilient agricultural sector (continuation of debate)
The water crisis in Europe (debate)
Nature restoration (debate)
Ukrainian grain exports after Russia’s exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (debate)
The proposed extension of glyphosate in the EU (debate)
Water scarcity and structural investments in access to water in the EU (debate)
European protein strategy (debate)
Outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (COP28) (debate)
Improving the socio-economic situation of farmers and rural areas, ensuring fair incomes, food security as well as a just transition (debate)
Plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed (debate)
Plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed (debate)
Water crisis and droughts in the EU as a consequence of the global climate crisis and the need for a sustainable, resilient water strategy for Europe (debate)
Multilateral negotiations in view of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, 26-29 February 2024 (debate)
Tackling the inflation in food prices and its social consequences and root causes (debate)
Simplification of certain CAP rules (C9-0120/2024) (vote)
Shadow reports (8)
REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products, (EU) No 1151/2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs, (EU) No 251/2014 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of aromatised wine products, (EU) No 228/2013 laying down specific measures for agriculture in the outermost regions of the Union and (EU) No 229/2013 laying down specific measures for agriculture in favour of the smaller Aegean islands
RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol on the implementation of the Agreement on a Sustainable Fisheries Partnership between the European Union and the Republic of Senegal
REPORT containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Protocol on the implementation of the Agreement on a Sustainable Fisheries Partnership between the European Union and the Republic of Senegal
REPORT on the challenges and opportunities for the fishing sector in the Black Sea
REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards regional economic accounts for agriculture
REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on statistics on agricultural input and output and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1165/2008, (EC) No 543/2009, (EC) No 1185/2009 and Council Directive 96/16/EC
REPORT on addressing food security in developing countries
REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009 as regards conversion of the Farm Accountancy Data Network into a Farm Sustainability Data Network
Opinions (3)
OPINION on the implementation of the common commercial policy – annual report 2018
OPINION on a Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system
OPINION on the future of EU international investment policy
Shadow opinions (13)
OPINION on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2020
OPINION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol on the implementation of the Agreement on a Sustainable Fisheries Partnership between the European Union and the Republic of Senegal
OPINION on a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol on the implementation of the Agreement on a Sustainable Fisheries Partnership between the European Union and the Republic of Senegal
OPINION on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2021
OPINION on reversing demographic trends in EU regions using cohesion policy instruments
OPINION on Shaping the digital future of Europe: removing barriers to the functioning of the digital single market and improving the use of AI for European consumers
OPINION on the trade-related aspects and implications of COVID-19
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on applying a generalised scheme of tariff preferences and repealing Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism
OPINION on Sustainable Carbon Cycles
OPINION on the objective of ensuring food security and the long-term resilience of EU agriculture
OPINION on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) and Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed, and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/625
Institutional motions (16)
JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the Turkish military operation in northeast Syria and its consequences
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on measures to address the impact on European agriculture of the WTO ruling on the Airbus dispute
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Bolivia
JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the fifth anniversary of the Peace Agreement in Colombia
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the human rights situation in Bolivia and the arrest of former President Jeanine Añez and other officials
JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Chinese countersanctions on EU entities and MEPs and MPs
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Iran
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the need for urgent EU action to ensure food security in light of Russian aggression against Ukraine, and a long-term action plan on developing EU food autonomy
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION the EU Protection of children and young people fleeing because of the war in Ukraine
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION the fight against impunity for war crimes in Ukraine
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION the rule of law and the potential approval of the Polish national Recovery Plan (RRF)
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the Commission delegated regulation of 20 April 2022 supplementing Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for the application of position limits to commodity derivatives and procedures for applying for exemption from position limits
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the consequences of drought, fire and other extreme weather phenomena: increasing EU’s efforts to fight climate change
JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the consequences of drought, fire, and other extreme weather phenomena: increasing the EU’s efforts to fight climate change
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Commission Delegated Regulation of 12 March 2024 amending Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the rules on the ratio for the good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC) standard 1
Oral questions (5)
Facial recognition and identification in publicly accessible spaces
State of play of Council negotiations on the Regulation on the protection of the Union’s budget in case of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States
An EU Commissioner for Animal Welfare
An EU Commissioner for Animal Welfare
Prohibiting chick and duckling killing in EU law
Written questions (42)
EU agricultural subsidies
EU agricultural budget
Making the Nutri-Score food label mandatory: a public health issue
Recruitment of Federica Mogherini as Rector of the College of Europe
Invasion of desert locusts in East Africa and COVID-19
Green Deal compatibility criteria for Projects of Common Interest
Mandate on US trade negotiations and GMO risk assessment
TEN-E revision, TYNDP and 5th PCI list
Detailed opinion — Article 10 of the law on transparency of information on agricultural and food products (France)
Protection of shortfin mako sharks in the framework of International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
CETA and hormone-treated beef: ‘failures’ in checking Canadian beef imports to Europe
French compliance with the Natura 2000 directives
Health issues of people living next to large-scale animal farms
Senegalese fishing licences and foreign vessels
EU trade agreement with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru: developing fair trade
Specific hygiene rules applicable to poultry and lagomorphs slaughtered on-farm for direct supply
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and live animal transport
Decision of the European Ombudsman regarding the Commission’s decision to award a contract to BlackRock for a study on integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives into EU banking rules
Ending the export of banned pesticides: concrete actions
Sustainability impact assessment on the trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur
New Implementing Protocol to the EU-Gabon Fisheries Partnership (2021-2026): concerns for marine ecosystems and coastal communities in Gabon
Assessment of the long-term carcinogenicity and toxicity of plant protection products
Availability and sufficiency of data on co-formulants in pesticide formulations
The truthfulness and relevance of the ‘zero toxic substances by 2030’ objective
Authorisation of active substances and toxicity of co-formulants
The illegal fishing activities of China’s fleet in foreign countries: the role of EU sustainable fisheries partnership agreements in ensuring transparency and a level playing field
Climate and biodiversity assessments regarding common agricultural policy strategic plans pursuant to obligations of the European Climate Law and the Strategic Plans Regulation
The role of speculation in rising food prices and the specific case of European pension funds
Compliance of the toxicity assessment of representative formulations with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009
Update since the answer to parliamentary question E-003240/2021: including externalities, are organic food products more expensive than conventional ones?
Export of pesticides banned in the EU and import of pesticide residues: environmental and public health risks
Milk market situation and the voluntary volume reduction scheme
Removing the minimum liver weight requirement for foie gras production
Costs to citizens of different agricultural production methods
Article 17 of the CFP Regulation as a tool to support the energy transition of EU fisheries
Call to strengthen the European food aid support programme
Publication of the EU legislative framework for sustainable food systems before the end of the year
Death of 10 children in Côte d’Ivoire following the ingestion of a herbicide
Compatibility between the declaration of public interest for the ‘Cigéo’ radioactive waste disposal project in Bure, France, and Directive 2011/92/EU
Member State’s intentional concealment of misleading commercial practices and potential risks to health and the environment
Mass PFAS pollution in Salindres caused by a Belgian company that makes fluorinated products
Difficulties encountered by Pointe de Bretagne handline fishers in accessing pollack quotas and failure to apply Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy Regulation
Individual motions (2)
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the review of the Financial Regulation and the Commission’s guidelines on public procurement for policy-related service contracts
Motion for a resolution on upholding the fundamental right to protest and strictly regulating the legitimate use of law enforcement
Amendments (605)
Amendment 4 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
– having regard to the 2020 report by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) on criteria and indicators to incorporate sustainability aspects for seafood products (STECF-20-05),
Amendment 6 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
– having regard to the 2021 Special Eurobarometer Report 515 titled 'EU Consumer Habits Regarding Fishery and Aquaculture Products',
Amendment 14 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas more than three-quarter of respondents to the 2021 Special Eurobarometer 515 consider that the date of catch or production should be mentioned on the label for all fishery and aquaculture products;
Amendment 26 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is of the opinion that POs have a key role in helping to achieve the objectives of the CFP, which is why they need to be further supported; notes that more must be done to promote the set-up, consolidation and financing of POs across the EU, particularly in Member States where primary production has largely remained fragmented (aquaculture, small- scale fisheries); considers that strong PO presence is crucial for enhancing the prosperity of coastal communities and, for the protection of the marine environment, and for strengthening the position of fishers in the supply chain;
Amendment 36 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Urges Member States to provide the appropriate administrative and financial support to set up and operate small-scale coastal fisheries POs, and provide specific criteria for their recognition;
Amendment 45 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on Member States to verify the democratic functioning and governance structure of POs as well as checking the rules on admission of new members or withdrawal of membership, as required by the CMO regulation;
Amendment 50 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Urges Member States to improve consistency in the support for POs by national authorities and reduce to the greatest extent possible existing gaps and differences across the EU; asks the Commission to continue its support to Member States in this regard;
Amendment 73 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Amendment 74 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Highlights that the STECF proposed to improve consumer information through the CMO by including more detailed information on the catch area and fishing gear for fishery products and on the production system for aquaculture products;
Amendment 75 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12c. Calls for providing mandatory information on the date of catch for all fishery products and the production method for all aquaculture products;
Amendment 80 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Notes that there are no data indicating that consumers confuse fisheries and aquaculture products, on one hand, and plant-based alternatives to fisheries products on the other; notes that producers of plant-based alternatives clearly label their products as 'vegetarian' or 'vegan'; considers that there is no need to put in place restrictions to the use of fisheries-related terms for plant-based alternatives, as long as they are clearly labelled as such;
Amendment 82 #
2023/2049(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Notes that EU consumers consume more fisheries products than what the European Waters can sustainably provide, notes that it leads to a dependance of the EU to imports from third countries, considers that the EU should aim at reducing the consumption of imported fisheries products and encourage the consumption of EU sustainable fisheries products;
Amendment 19 #
2023/0260R(NLE)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Calls on the Committee on International Trade, as the committee responsible, to propose rejection of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Republic of Chile;
Amendment 3 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
–
–
The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development calls on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, as the committee responsible, to propose rejection of Commission proposal.
Amendment 14 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
Amendment 21 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The deliberate release into the environment of organisms obtained by NGTs, including products containing or consisting of such organisms, as well as the placing on the market of food and feed produced from these organisms, are subject to Directive 2001/18/EC and, Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003 (41 ) of the European Parliament and of the Council and, in the case of food and feed, also to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 (42 ), while the contained use of plant cells is subject to Directive 2009/1/EC, and transboundary movements of NGT plants to third countries are regulated by Regulation (EC) No 1946/2003 (‘the Union GMO legislation’), in line with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. _________________ 41 Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 concerning the traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms and the traceability of food and feed products produced from genetically modified organisms and amending Directive 2001/18/EC (OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 24). 42 Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed (OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1).
Amendment 27 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
Amendment 28 #
Amendment 39 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) The legal framework for NGT plants should share the objectives of the Union GMO legislation to ensure a high level of protection of human and animal health and of the environment and the good functioning of the internal market for the concerned plants and products, while addressing the specificity of NGT plants, and while fully respecting the precautionary principle. This legal framework should enable the development and placing on the market of plants, food and feed containing, consisting of or produced from NGT plants and other products containing or consisting of NGT plants (‘NGT products’) so as to contribute to the innovation and sustainability objectives of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork, Biodiversity and Climate Adaptation strategies and to enhance the competitiveness of the Union agri-food sector at Union and world level.
Amendment 42 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
Amendment 43 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
Amendment 50 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
Amendment 60 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) All NGT plants that are not category 1 (‘category 2 NGT plants’) should remain subject to the requirements of the Union GMO legislation because they feature more complex sets of modifications to the genome.
Amendment 63 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
Amendment 70 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
Amendment 75 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
Amendment 84 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
Amendment 87 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
Amendment 93 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
Amendment 102 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Category 1 NGT plants should remain subject to any regulatory framework that applies to conventionally bred plants. As is the case for conventional plants and products, those NGT plants and their products will be subject to the applicable sectoral legislation on seed and other plant reproductive material, food, feed and other products, and horizontal frameworks, such as the nature conservation legislation and environmental liability. In this regard, category 1 NGT food featuring a significantly changed composition or structure that affects the nutritional value, metabolism or level of undesirable substances of the food will be considered as novel food and thus fall into the scope of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council (46 ) and will be risk assessed in that context. _________________ 46 Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on novel foods, amending Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1852/2001 (OJ L 327, 11.12.2015, p. 1).
Amendment 113 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and the Council on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) 834/2007(47 ) prohibits the use of GMOs and products from and by GMOs in organic production. It defines GMOs for the purposes of that Regulation by reference to Directive 2001/18/EC, excluding from the prohibition GMOs which have been obtained through the techniques of genetic modification listed in Annex 1.B of Directive 2001/18/EC. As a result, category 2 NGT plants will be banned in organic production. However, iIt is necessary to clarify the status of category 1 NGT plants for the purposes of organic production. The use of new genomic techniques is currently incompatible with the concept of organic production in the Regulation (EC) 2018/848 and with consumers’ perception of organic products. The use of category 1 NGT plants should therefore be also prohibited in organic production. _________________ 47 Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 (OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 1).
Amendment 122 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) Provision should be made to ensure transparency as regards the use of category 1 NGT plant varieties, to ensure that production chains that wish to remain free from NGTs can do so and thereby safeguard consumer trust. NGT plants that have obtained a category 1 NGT plant status declaration should be listed in a publicly available database. To ensure traceability, transparency and choice for operators, during research and plant breeding, when selling seed to farmers or making plant reproductive material available to third parties in any other way, plant reproductive material of category 1 NGT plants should be labelled as category 1 NGTGMO.
Amendment 127 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Category 2 NGT plants should remain subject to the requirements of the Union GMO legislation given that on the basis of current scientific and technical knowledge, their risks need to be assessed. Special rules should be provided in order to adapt the procedures and certain other rules laid down in Directive 2001/18/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 to the specific nature of category 2 NGT plants and the differing levels of risk that they may pose.
Amendment 130 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Category 2 NGT plants and products, in order to be released into the environment or placed on the market, should remain subject to a consent or authorisation in accordance with Directive 2001/18/EC or Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003. However, given the wide variety of those NGT plants, the amount of information necessary for the risk assessment will vary on a case-by-case basis. The Authority, in its scientific opinions on plants developed through cisgenesis and intragenesis48 and on plants developed through targeted mutagenesis49 recommended flexibility in data requirements for the risk assessment of these plants. Based on the Authority’s ‘Criteria for risk assessment of plants produced by targeted mutagenesis, cisgenesis and intragenesis’ (50 ), considerations on the history of safe use, familiarity for the environment and the function and structure of the modified/inserted sequence(s) should assist in determining the type and amount of data required to perform the risk assessment of those NGT plants. It is therefore necessary to establish general principles and criteria for the risk assessment of these plants, while providing for flexibility and possibility to adapt risk assessment methodologies to scientific and technical progress. _________________ 48 EFSA GMO Panel (EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms), Mullins E, Bresson J-L, Dalmay T, Dewhurst IC, Epstein MM, Firbank LG, Guerche P, Hejatko J, Moreno FJ, Naegeli H, Nogué F, Sánchez Serrano JJ, Savoini G, Veromann E, Veronesi F, Casacuberta, J, Fernandez Dumont A, Gennaro A, Lenzi, P, Lewandowska A, Munoz Guajardo IP, Papadopoulou N and Rostoks N, 2022. Updated scientific opinion on plants developed through cisgenesis and intragenesis. EFSA Journal 2022;20(10):7621, 33 pp. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7621. 49 EFSA GMO Panel (EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms), Naegeli H, Bresson J-L, Dalmay T, Dewhurst IC, Epstein MM, Firbank LG, Guerche P, Hejatko J, Moreno FJ, Mullins E, Nogué F, Sánchez Serrano JJ, Savoini G, Veromann E, Veronesi F, Casacuberta J, Gennaro A, Paraskevopoulos K, Raffaello T and Rostoks N, 2020. Applicability of the EFSA Opinion on site-directed nucleases type 3 for the safety assessment of plants developed using site-directed nucleases type 1 and 2 and oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis. EFSA Journal 2020;18(11):6299, 14 pp. https://doi. org/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.6299. 50 EFSA GMO Panel (EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms), Mullins E, Bresson J-L, Dalmay T, Dewhurst IC, Epstein MM, Firbank LG, Guerche P, Hejatko J, Moreno FJ, Naegeli H, Nogué F, Rostoks N, Sánchez Serrano JJ, Savoini G, Veromann E, Veronesi F, Fernandez A, Gennaro A, Papadopoulou N, Raffaello T and Schoonjans R, 2022. Statement on criteria for risk assessment of plants produced by targeted mutagenesis, cisgenesis and intragenesis. EFSA Journal 2022;20(10):7618, 12 pp. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7618.
Amendment 135 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) Requirements on the content of notifications for consent for the placing on the market of products containing or consisting of GMOs other than food or feed and on the content of applications for authorisation for the placing on the market of genetically modified food and feed are laid down in different pieces of legislation. To ensure consistency between the notifications for consent and applications for authorisation for category 2 NGT products, the content of such notifications and applications should be the same, except those concerning the assessment of food and feed safety assessment as these are only relevant to category 2 NGT food and feed.
Amendment 136 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
Amendment 140 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) Directive 2001/18/EC requires a monitoring plan for environmental effects of GMOs after their deliberate release or placing on the market but provides for flexibility as to the design of the plan taking into account the environmental risk assessment, the characteristics of the GMO, of its expected use and of the receiving environment. Genetic modifications in category 2 NGT plants may range from changes only needing a limited risk assessment to complex alterations requiring a more thorough analysis of potential risks. Therefore, post-market monitoring requirements for environmental effects of category 2 NGT plants should be adapted in the light of the environmental risk assessment and the experience in field trials, the characteristics of the NGT plant concerned, the characteristics and scale of its expected use, in particular any history of safe use of the plant and the characteristics of the receiving environment. Therefore, a monitoring plan for environmental effects should not be required if the category 2 NGT plant is unlikely to pose risks that need monitoring, such as indirect, delayed or unforeseen effects on human health or on the environment.
Amendment 144 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 30
Recital 30
Amendment 148 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
Amendment 163 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) In order to enable NGT plants to contribute to the sustainability objectives of the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies, cultivation of NGT plants in the Union should be facilitatedregulated under existing EU law, in particular Directive 2001/18 and Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003. This requires predictability for breeders and farmers as regards the possibility to cultivate such plants in the Union. Therefore, the possibility for Member States to adopt measures restricting or prohibiting the cultivation of category 2 NGT plants in all or part of their territory, set out in Article 26b of Directive 2001/18/EC wshould undermine those goalsremain.
Amendment 187 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 45
Recital 45
Amendment 195 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
This regulation shall not apply to: (1) patented material or material for which a patent application is being processed; (2) herbicide-tolerant plants; (3) wild plants, trees and algae.
Amendment 196 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 2
(2) ‘NGT plant’ means a genetically modified plant obtained by targeted mutagenesis or cisgenesis, or a combination thereof, on the conditions that: (i) it does not contain any genetic material originating from outside the breeders’ gene pool that temporarily may have been inserted during the development of the NGT plant; and; (ii) there are no patents or exclusive rights covering the process used to develop the plant, and there are no patents or exclusive rights covering the plant or parts thereof, and no application has been tabled for such patents or exclusive rights to be granted;
Amendment 225 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Amendment 227 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 7 – point b a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 7 – point b a (new)
(b a) is not covered by patents or exclusive rights and for which no application has been tabled for such patents or exclusive rights to be granted;
Amendment 234 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Amendment 242 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 13
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 13
Amendment 244 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 14
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 14
Amendment 246 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Without prejudice to other requirements of Union law, and with strict regard to the precautionary principle, a NGT plant may only be deliberately released into the environment for any other purpose than placing on the market, and a NGT product may only be placed on the market, if: the plant is a NGT plant and has been authorised in accordance with Chapter III.
Amendment 247 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Amendment 249 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Amendment 260 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Amendment 275 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
2. For the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2018/848, the rules set out in its Articles 5 (f) (iii) and 11 shall apply to category 1 NGT plants and to products produced from or by such plants.
Amendment 286 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Amendment 294 #
Amendment 370 #
Amendment 375 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
Amendment 384 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8
Article 8
Amendment 389 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9
Article 9
Amendment 394 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10
Article 10
Amendment 409 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 a (new)
Article 10 a (new)
Article 10a Cultivation During the authorisation procedure of a given category 1 NGT or during the renewal of consent/authorisation, a Member State may demand that the geographical scope of the written consent or authorisation be adjusted to the effect that all or part of the territory of that Member State is to be excluded from cultivation, according to article 26b of Directive 2001/18/EC.
Amendment 411 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11
Article 11
Amendment 414 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Chapter III – title
Chapter III – title
III Category 2 NGT plants and category 2 NGT products
Amendment 416 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – title
Article 12 – title
Status of Category 2 NGT plants and category 2 NGT products
Amendment 418 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Chapter III – Section 1 – title
Chapter III – Section 1 – title
1 Deliberate release of category 2 NGT plants for any other purpose than for placing on the market
Amendment 421 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
As regards the deliberate release of a category 2 NGT plant for any other purpose than placing on the market, the notification referred to in Article 6(1) of Directive 2001/18/EC shall include:
Amendment 426 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(d a) the proof that: (i) there are no patents or exclusive rights covering the process used to develop the plant; (ii) there are no patents or exclusive rights covering the plant or parts thereof; (iii) no application has been tabled for such patents or exclusive rights to be granted;
Amendment 428 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Chapter III – Section 2 – title
Chapter III – Section 2 – title
2 Placing on the market of category 2 NGT products other than food or feed
Amendment 441 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15
Article 15
Amendment 445 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17
Article 17
Amendment 454 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 19 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 458 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21
Article 21
Amendment 459 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 a (new)
Article 21 a (new)
Article21a Safeguard clause 1. Where a Member State, as a result of new or additional information made available since the date of the consent and affecting the environmental risk assessment or reassessment of existing information on the basis of new or additional scientific knowledge, has detailed grounds for considering that a NGT as or in a product which has been properly notified and has received written consent under this Directive constitutes a risk to human health or the environment, that Member State may provisionally restrict or prohibit the use and/or sale of that GMO as or in a product on its territory. The Member State shall ensure that in the event of a severe risk, emergency measures, such as suspension or termination of the placing on the market, shall be applied, including information to the public. The Member State shall immediately inform the Commission and the other Member States of actions taken under this Article and give reasons for its decision, supplying its review of the environmental risk assessment, indicating whether and how the conditions of the consent should be amended or the consent should be terminated, and, where appropriate, the new or additional information on which its decision is based. 2. Within 60 days of the date of receipt of the information trans mitted by the Member State, a decision shall be taken on the measure taken by that Member State in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 30(2). For the purpose of calculating the 60-day period, any period of time during which the Commission is awaiting further information which it may have requested from the notifier or is seeking the opinion of the Scientific Committee or Committees which has or have been consulted shall not be taken into account. The period of time during which the Commission is awaiting the opinion of the Scientific Committee or Committees consulted shall not exceed 60 days. Likewise, the period of time the Council takes to act in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 30(2) shall not be taken into account.
Amendment 483 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25
Article 25
Article 26b of Directive 2001/18/EC shall not apply to category 2 NGT plants.5 deleted Cultivation
Amendment 496 #
2023/0226(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I
Annex I
Amendment 13 #
2023/0038M(NLE)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the elimination of tariffs on EU agri-food exports, including key products such as pigmeat (current tariff: 5 %) and wine and sparkling wine (current tariff: 5 %), thereby opening up new business opportunitiesCalls on the Committee on International Trade, as the committee responsible, to propose rejection of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and New Zealand;
Amendment 22 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. whereas transparent statistics on agricultural production from both public and private stakeholders are essential, especially in a context of market concentration of the grain sector;
Amendment 23 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 d (new)
Paragraph -1 d (new)
-1d. whereas the 1994 Marrakech Agreement and in particular the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture have contributed to the specialisation of agricultural regions in the production of specific commodity crop, thereby creating path dependencies in production systems; whereas this situation is not resilient to crises, since it leaves notably food import countries vulnerable to price shocks;
Amendment 32 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. whereas according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Food Price Index hit high record in February 2022; whereas it states that factors behind food inflation are not limited to crop conditions and export availabilities, but a much bigger push for food price inflation comes from outside food production, particularly the energy, fertilizer and feed sectors[1]; [1] https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1113 332
Amendment 33 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 b (new)
Paragraph -1 b (new)
-1b. whereas the G7 Agriculture Ministers’ statement of 11 March 2022[1] declared that G7 Members ‘will not tolerate artificially inflated prices that could diminish the availability of food and agricultural products’ and committed to ‘fight against any speculative behaviour that endangers food security or access to food for vulnerable countries or populations’; [1] https://www.fas.usda.gov/sites/default/files /2022-03/g7-extraordinary-meeting- statement.pdf
Amendment 34 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 c (new)
Paragraph -1 c (new)
-1c. whereas a number of countries, notably in Africa, are highly vulnerable to price shocks because of a double dependency on imports of staple crops and on a limited number of grain exporters for a high percentage of those imports; whereas food import dependencies have also arisen from changing dietary patterns, and notably a shift towards a handful of staple crops, i.e. wheat, rice and maize;
Amendment 35 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 e (new)
Paragraph -1 e (new)
-1e. whereas most food import dependent countries were already highly indebted before the Covid-19 pandemic; whereas rising food import bills has exacerbated it, which resulted in an increasing portion of public budget being used to service external debts, thereby affecting the capacity of low-income countries to building social protection systems to combat hunger, despite the Common Framework for Debt Treatments;
Amendment 36 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 f (new)
Paragraph -1 f (new)
-1f. whereas the Farm to Fork Strategy aims to reduce the use of farm inputs and notably to decrease the overall use of chemical pesticides by 50 %, of the most hazardous pesticides by 50 %, and of fertilisers by at least 20 % by 2030;
Amendment 51 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses the need for the EU to champion human rights and the Right to Adequate Food as a central principle and priority of food systems;
Amendment 64 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the impact of climate change, the COVID-19 crisis and conflicts on food security in developing countries; in addition, draws attention to the direct consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which are exacerbating global food insecurity on food prices, global supply of grains, as well as on the price of energy and fertilisers, which resulted in sparking a third global food price crisis in 15 years, thereby undermining hopes of eradicating hunger by 2030; highlights that the food price spike is exacerbated by structural weaknesses of the food system, notably inequalities and a glaring lack of social safety nets, food import dependencies, market concentration of the food industry, speculation on agricultural commodities;
Amendment 66 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Highlights that according to recent analyses from the Global Network against Food Crisis (GNFC), hunger was already on the rise for the past five years, due to conflicts, weather extremes (notably droughts and flooding resulting from climate change) and economic shocks resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic; accordingly, stresses the need to pursue synergies between humanitarian, development and peace actions, while addressing the structural weaknesses of the global food system;
Amendment 77 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned by the fact that one in three people worldwide still do not have access to adequate food; deplores the fact that in 2022, according to the World Food Programme, acute food insecurity is affecting a record 349 million people; stresses that it is children and women who are the most vulnerable to food insecurityaccording to the FAO, the number of people going hungry grew by about 150 million since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and that one in three people worldwide still do not have access to adequate food; highlights that rising food prices hit poor people much harder, as they spend more of their income on food; deplores the fact that in 2022, according to the World Food Programme, acute food insecurity is affecting a record 349 million people; stresses that it is children and women who are the most vulnerable to food insecurity; recalls that the SDG 2 can not be achieved without gender justice and strengthening women’s rights; calls on the EU to support developing countries in enacting public policies that facilitate women’s access to inputs, resources and services, and guarantee their land rights; more broadly, calls on governments of developing countries to urgently implement progressive taxation to reduce inequality and develop universal social protection schemes, so as to ensure all people can access affordable food;
Amendment 87 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concerned by continuing rise in food prices; recalls that the World Food Price Index increased by more than 60% between 2020 and 2022; and the disruption of the global food market, that the invasion of Ukraine aggravated, in a context where both Russia and Ukraine are major food exporters, and together provided one third of global cereal supply and 80% of global sunflower oil; recalls that the World Food Price Index increased by more than 60% between 2020 and 2022; highlights that countries that were highly dependent on grain and oil imports from the Black Sea region were the first to suffer the effects of the crisis;
Amendment 92 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Notes with concern that market speculation, manipulation and the trading of food commodities, especially in a context of war, can artificially inflate wholesale prices and lead to market volatility;
Amendment 95 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Calls on the Commission and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to fully evaluate the role and extent of speculation in the determination of commodities prices and raw materials while emphasising the need to urgently enhance financial transparency of the market trading of commodities, especially for food, energy and raw materials for fertilisers against insider dealing, market manipulation and price distortions; and calls for an immediate and temporary ban on speculative practices; notes that the ongoing review of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFiD) is a unique opportunity to tackle food speculation by introducing strict limits to the capacity of a trader to speculate on food commodities and fixing the current the loopholes in the regulatory framework;
Amendment 96 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Recalls that inequality is the main driver of food insecurity, not unavailability; henceforth, the solution to tackling hunger is not to increase production, but to address the structural problem of unequal distribution of food; warns against short-sighted responses to the crisis, including backsliding on food system reform commitments, by i.e. suspending environmental regulation and ramping up production to ‘feed the world’;
Amendment 98 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that, while pushing millions of people into hunger, the global food crisis has also generated huge profits for traders and agri-business companies; accordingly, encourages the EU and its Member States to taxing extreme wealth and corporations' excess profits as an effective means in providing funds to governments to alleviate poverty, inequality and hunger;
Amendment 101 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Notes with deep concern that the war in Ukraine had led to significant input cost increases; recalls that climate- friendly agriculture entails i.e. to reducing dependence on fossil fuel energy, including the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers; in this respect, recalls the Farm to Fork Strategy’s intention to reduce farmers’ dependency on external outputs, thereby ensuring long-term food security while preserving ecosystem services; recalls equally that biodiversity and its associated services – pollination, predators of pests, increased resilience of agroecosystems to erosion, droughts and flooding, soil formation and carbon sinking – are essential to provide sustainable food production; urges the EU and its Member States to remain fully committed to its international engagement on climate and biodiversity, the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy, which shall serve as a template for EU investments in the remit of development finance, with the view to harness resilience and food self-sufficiency of developing countries;
Amendment 103 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Acknowledges that debt relief is essential to enable net food importing low-income countries to pay spiralling import bills and to put social protection systems in place; calls on the Commission and the Member States to urgently evaluate, in coordination with their international partners and relevant international institutions, all the means available to avoid any default in the balance of payments of food importer countries, including direct funding and restructuring of their debt; reiterates the importance of prioritising grant-based financing as the default option, especially for Least Developed Countries (LDCs);
Amendment 107 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls the importance of ensuring coherence among all EU policies in order to guarantee the effectiveness of the EU’s commitment to global food security; notes with concern that poor implementation of PCD resulted in several circumstances to undermining food security, as in the case of EU fat-filled milk powder exports in West Africa, which jeopardised their local production, or EU massive imports of fishmeal and fish oil produced in West Africa; highlights that fighting food insecurity entails i.e. to rebuild domestic food production; urges the EU to conduct an agricultural and trade policy consistent with the global right to food and to assess, on a regular basis, the compliance of the CAP and trade policy with Policy Coherence for Development;
Amendment 118 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Denounces the double standard policy of the EU towards pesticides, namely the practice of exporting banned toxic chemicals and pesticides to poorer nations that lack the capacity to control the risks, in full contradiction with PCD; recalls that in 2017, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, and the Special Rapporteur on Toxics, Baskut Tuncak, published a report stressing that excessive use of pesticides are very dangerous to human health, to the environment and it is misleading to claim that they are vital to ensuring food security; recalls equally that “Farm to Fork” strategy aims to gradually ban hazardous pesticides from agriculture and promote alternative practises; urges the EU and its Member States to lead by example, and, in line with international commitments, ensure that hazardous chemicals banned in the European Union are not produced for export;
Amendment 125 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Stresses that food dependency aggravates indebtedness of developing countries, thereby jeopardising the achievement of food security, as countries may seek to ramp up exports of cash crops to generate high levels of foreign exchange to service debts, rather than shifting towards growing staples for domestic consumption or diversifying their agriculture – which result in reinforcing their reliance on staple food imports in the longer term;
Amendment 133 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Urges the EU and its Member States to ensure food is prioritised over crop-based biofuels, especially in a context of the inflation of food prices; stresses equally the need to accelerating the shift towards healthier diets with less animal products in Europe and other high-income countries, to reduce the global ecological footprint of meat consumption, while addressing food security;
Amendment 137 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the commitment by the EU and its Member States to allocate EUR 7.7 billion for global food security over the period 2021-2024; stresses, however, the need for European aid to reach the most vulnerable populations as quickly as possible and to adapt to the context of multidimensional crises; in this regard, recalls the need to enhance the ability of countries to build and sustain social protection systems, as it will provide the greatest and most lasting benefits; on this line, supports the establishment of a new financing mechanism, in the form of a Global Fund for Social Protection;
Amendment 152 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Notes with concern that overreliance on global value chains has created massive vulnerabilities, as a high number of low-income countries rely on just a handful of large agricultural producer countries to feed their people; stresses that short supply chains hold major potential to address current food system failures; recalls that family farmers and smallholders, who provide more than 70% of the food supply in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, have demonstrated their ability to provide diversified products and to increase food production sustainably; yet there has been long-standing underinvestment in small- scale farming, including from donors;
Amendment 162 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the EU and its Member StatesRecalls the right to food sovereignty, as the right of people and countries to define their own agricultural and food policies, with the aim to enabling each country to feed its own population and to be self-sufficient and autonomous; recognizes the importance of the “UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas”; on this line, calls on the EU and its Member States to support investment in small-scale farming, in particular through Team Europe, to help to build solutions with local actors and to support initiatives tailored to local and regional realities in order to accompany partner countries towards food autonomy, through the development of local and regional agricultural production capacities, the shift to more resilient traditional crops (e.g. millet instead of rice) and the transition to sustainable and resilient agri- food systems. ; more broadly, reiterates that EU funding and external assistance on agriculture shall be in line with the transformative nature of Agenda 2030, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity and urges to prioritise, accordingly, its investments in agroecology, agroforestry and crop diversification both inside and outside the EU;
Amendment 173 #
2022/2183(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Stresses the need to better regulate markets and create fairer and more flexible trade rules for low-income countries that allow them to build stronger local food systems; believes that international trade rules of WTO – often negotiated to benefit and protect farmers in rich countries – must be reshaped, with greater space for low-income food-deficit countries to adjust their levels of food imports and exports, and invest in domestic food production; supports the development of strategic food reserves, given the role that stocks can play in buffering the impacts of food crises;
Amendment 1 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. A. whereas agriculture and food policies must contribute to the transition to sustainable food systems in line with the ambitions of the European Green Deal for a climate-neutral EU economy by 2050 at the latest;
Amendment 2 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1 a. B. whereas reaching EU economy- wide net-zero GHG emissions as soon as possible and by 2050 at the latest requires to reduce the current use of fossil carbon energy in the EU final energy consumption by at least 95%, and to substantially reduce other greenhouse gas emissions, in particular methane and N2O emissions;
Amendment 3 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 b (new)
Paragraph -1 b (new)
-1 b. C. whereas every tonne of fossil CO2, CH4 and N2O that is not emitted is the best contribution to achieving climate targets; whereas sustainably and permanently storing carbon from unavoidable emissions can contribute to achieving climate targets, but is a lesser sustainable solution than any emissions avoided while permanent storage remains a major challenge;
Amendment 4 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 c (new)
Paragraph -1 c (new)
-1 c. D. whereas the protection and restoration of ecosystems greatly contributes to maintaining and enhancing natural carbon sinks while at the same time promoting biodiversity, and is therefore one of the best tools to fight the twin climate and biodiversity crises; whereas regenerative agriculture as an approach to food production and land management could mitigate those challenges, helping the transition towards a highly resilient agricultural system based on the appropriate management of lands and soils; whereas good soil health improves capacity for food production, water filtration and carbon absorption, thus contributing not only to stabilising the climate but also to ensuring food security, restoring biodiversity, protecting our farmland and building sustainable food systems;
Amendment 6 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the launch of the carbon farming initiative as announced in the Farm to Fork strategy and the new EU forest strategy, with the aim of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 as enshrined in the European Climate Law, and by 2035 in the entire land sector; Highlights that potentially between 100 Mt and 444 Mt million tons of CO2 could be stored in EU soils;
Amendment 13 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that the absolute priority is to drastically and permanently reduce the release of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere; acknowledges that increased carbon and nitrous oxide removals will be needed rapidly to reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 at the latest and negative emissions thereafter, but stresses that GHG removals are fragile and potentially reversible, and that the risk of reversal of removals by natural carbon sinks in particular is further aggravated by climate change;
Amendment 17 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Amendment 19 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Amendment 29 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines the importance of carbon farming as a new business model for EU agriculturand urgency of increasing carbon sequestration in EU farming soils and to assess the new sources of income with a view to allowing the sec could provide to allow legislator’s active contribution to the green transition to provide new sources of income and business development opportunitiesto support farmers and foresters in the fight against climate change;
Amendment 34 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. 2a. Underlines the necessity when evaluating climate change mitigation practices, to take into account preliminary work on this issue, Member States’ different starting points and conditions, and the behaviour of Carbon under various conditions likely under climate change, such as flooding and drought;
Amendment 43 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Notes that agroecological practices, notably in the framework of organic farming, are well known and efficient methods allowing to store carbon in agricultural soils1a; _________________ 1a Gattinger A, Muller A, Haeni M, Skinner C, Fliessbach A, Buchmann N, Mäder P, Stolze M, Smith P, Scialabba Nel-H, Niggli U. Enhanced top soil carbon stocks under organic farming. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Oct 30;109(44):18226-31. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1209429109. Epub 2012 Oct 15. PMID: 23071312; PMCID: PMC3497757. Format:
Amendment 52 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the need for Member States to establish incentives at the level of land managers, especially farmers and, foresters, communities and local authorities to accelerate the uptake of carbon farming;
Amendment 54 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Notes the essential method of carbon sequestration in soils as the “liquid carbon pathway”, of CO2 fixed by photosynthesis into sugars and proteins by plants, exuded via plant roots to the rhizosphere, where, using the other essential input of organic matter, soil biota transforms them into long-chain complex hydrocarbons or “humus” coating each soil particle, making up topsoil; notes therefore the importance of continued deep rooted vegetation cover to feed the soil biota food chain and so both maintain and sequester soil carbon.;
Amendment 64 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recalls the fact thatConsiders that carbon conservation and sequestration in soils is an important issue and will continue to be in the future, especially for preserving soil fertility and for climate change adaptation; recalls the fact that, if appropriately defined, carbon farming practices can provide additional environmental co-benefits, such as improved soil quality, improved biodiversity, enhanced ecosystem services, increased soil nutrient and water retention, and the increased resilience of EU agriculture, as well as improving the nutritional quality of food;
Amendment 75 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Notes that some farming practices leading to an increase of carbon in the soils may have negative impacts on biodiversity and/or soil pollution; urges the Commission to fully apply the ‘do no significant harm’ principle to carbon farming;
Amendment 81 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses the importance of maintaining consistency in all measures within EU policies, notably the common agriculture policy (CAP), to ensure that enabling conditions are created for the upscaling of effective carbon farming practices; notes that farmers whose soils are already storing large amount of carbons will not have access to any carbon market schemes linked to carbon farming, as only increases in carbon stored would be considered;
Amendment 85 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. underlines the importance for ecoschemes and agro environmental measures to still keep competitive compared to carbon farming market prices, so that the most effective best practices with most co-benefits are properly rewarded; highlights the role of the CAP in ensuring the permanence of carbon storage in soils, notably through GAECs 2, 7 and 8;
Amendment 90 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Underlines the importance of CAP funds in stimulating action on emissions reductions by providing funding to improve knowledge and cooperation among land managers; underlines that carbon storage is already being used in many areas through the implementation of the common agricultural policy (CAP); emphasises that the land and forestry sector have a natural maximum carbon storage capacity still not properly evaluated, and that there are important differences in the rate of carbon sinking and the retention of the stored carbon versus emissions from soil, that are linked to specific soil conditions; notes in particular that in waterlogged soils, carbon sinking only occurs on the very surface due to anaerobic conditions and that drought may mineralise soil carbon or cause other GHG emissions;
Amendment 103 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Notes that access to land, and notably land prices, is one of the main obstacle for young and new farmers; calls on the Commission to thoroughly assess the impact on access to land of carbon markets based on carbon farming;
Amendment 107 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the commitment to ensure transparency and accountability by establishing a robust science-based EU regulatory framework for the accounting and certification of carbon removalsStresses that the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon removals is still subject to uncertainties, and must be accurate and fraud-free; considers that new monitoring technologies must be critically assessed by independent experts, to ensure robustness in real-farm situations and take into account indicators such as diversification, crop rotation, reliance on synthetic pesticides or other practices that inhibit humification by soil biota, gaseous emissions from soil including inorganic GHGs from fertilisers, and agricultural soil restoration, in order to inform the overall farming system redesign; Welcomes therefore the commitment to ensure transparency and accountability by establishing a robust science-based EU regulatory framework for the accounting and certification of carbon removals and the permanence of its storage in soils; subject to both scientific and political scrutiny; notes the weaknesses in earlier private schemes, as identified in ECA Special report 180/2016;
Amendment 134 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Urges the establishment of a robust methodology based on a solid body of peer-reviewed science allowing the objective measurement and certification of carbon removals among sectors in order to create harmonised bases for the calculation, capture, use and storage of carbon dioxide and other GHG emissions, notably CH4 and N2O;
Amendment 135 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Underlines that the permanence of carbon storage in soils is one of the main issues of carbon farming as an efficient way to limit the concentration of GHG in the atmosphere; notes that a system rewarding carbon storage in soils but allowing later release of said carbon (ploughing of pastures, drying of wetlands, large clear cuts, etc) would be useless in the fight against climate change; recalls notably that land managers change and retire, and that land ownership and renting are national competences, and rules vary considerably from one member state to the other; calls on the Commission to assess closely the impact of such issues on the retention and permanence of any carbon sunk;
Amendment 150 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Member States to boost knowledge transfers through targeted training and education programmes and access to dedicated and independent advisory and extension services to increase the uptake of carbon farming, including agroecology and other carbon- and biodiversity-friendly practices and nature-based solutions, by land managers, farmers and foresters;
Amendment 156 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Notes the role that must be played by communities and local authorities in managing and accessing carbon farming market schemes;
Amendment 162 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses the role ofat support for Bio- Energy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) through the combustion or fermentation of biogenic carbon, with the aim of providing funding under the CAP tools as an additional means of removing carbon from the atmosphere; is based on the faulty assumption that bioenergy is climate neutral; considers BECCS should not be a distraction from the urgent need to stop or limit the burning of fossil fuels and to protect and restore natural forests, soils and ecosystems; calls for more research on BECCS before any large- scale deployment;
Amendment 171 #
2022/2053(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls for robust scientific evidence that the use of innovative bio- based products to be incentivised, including, if relevant, through appropriately amending the relevant EU legislative framework. does not adversely increase cumulative global carbon dioxide emissions and take into account indirect and supply chain emissions related to forgone sequestration, biomass production, transportation, refining, capturing and storing that these emissions incur.
Amendment 82 #
2022/0394(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
–
–
— The European Parliament rejects the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Union certification framework for carbon removals.
Amendment 28 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) In the Commission communication of 20 May 2020 entitled ‘A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system’ (‘Farm to Fork strategy’), the Commission announced its intention to convert the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) into a Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN), with a view to collect farm level data on sustainability. The conversion will enable the data network to support the development of evidence- and performance-based policies, and to better analyse the environmental and social dimensions of the CAP. The conversion will also contribute to the improvement of advisory services to farmers and benchmarking of farm performance.
Amendment 39 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Those objectives can be attained only by means of a Union network for the collection of farm sustainability data (hereinafter referred to as ‘data network’), based on data collectors existing in each Member State, enjoying the confidence of the parties concerned. Member States or responsible national authorities should endeavour to modernise data collection modes as far as possible. In order to reduce the burden for farmers and data collectors, with the aim to avoid the duplication of data requests and to enrich the FSDN data set, the principle of collect data once and re-use it multiple times should be applied. The Open Data Directive27 will be considered. The use of digital solutions should be promoted, including re-use of data and data sharing with other sources, where it is conducive to the broad participation of farmers and the accuracy of data collected. It should be provided for that the system based exclusively on farm accountancy offices may be extended in view of collecting environmental and social variables and that the data collection may be based both on regular and special surveys depending on the informative needs. _________________ 27 Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information. PE/28/2019/REV/1.
Amendment 60 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. A Union farm sustainability data network (‘FSDN’ or ‘data network’) is set up to collect farm level economic, environmental and social data, as set out in Annex -Ia .
Amendment 62 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Article 1 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 19a, amending this Regulation by amending Annex -I in order to introduce new data categories, in accordance with the objectives of this Regulation and where supported by studies examining the relevance and feasibility of the data categories.
Amendment 69 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Article 1 – paragraph 3
Article 1 – paragraph 3
3. FSDN data shall be made publicly available in a manner consistent with Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Regulations (EU) 2016/679* and 2018/1725**. , and consistent with Directive 2003/4/EC**** and Regulation 1367/2006*****. _________________ **** Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information. ***** Regulation 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies.
Amendment 73 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) ‘FSDN data’ means sustainability data comprising economic, environmental and social farm level data relating to agricultural holdings derived from accounts, and/or from other data sources collected systematically and regularly;
Amendment 78 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point o
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point o
(o) ‘pseudonymised data’ means personal data that cannot be longer attributed to a specific subject without the use of additional information, provided that such addihas undergone pseudonymisational information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural or legal person accordance with Article 4, point 5 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679;
Amendment 87 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 9
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 9
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 19a, supplementing this Regulation with the rules on fixing the threshold referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, and rules on ensuring the representative inclusion of small farms and farms of smaller economic size.
Amendment 97 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 13
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 13
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) to make available within six months after the collection of data the obtained results for providing advice and feedback to farmers on their sustainability performance. and farm management;
Amendment 102 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 14
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 14
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Article 8 – paragraph 4
Article 8 – paragraph 4
4. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 19a, supplementing this Regulation with the rules to determine the main groups of data to be collected based on the topics listed in Annex -1, and the general rules for data collection.
Amendment 122 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 19 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 19 a (new)
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Annex –1 (new)
Annex –1 (new)
(19 a) The text set out in Annex -I to this Regulation is inserted as Annex -I.
Amendment 124 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 20
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 20
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Annex 1
Annex 1
(20) Annex I is replaced by the text in the Annex I to this Regulation.
Amendment 129 #
2022/0192(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I a (new)
Annex I a (new)
Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009
Annex –1a
Annex –1a
Amendment 34 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The European Green Deal announced a revision of Union measures to address pollution from large industrial installations, including reviewing the sectoral scope of the legislation and how to make it fully consistent with climate, energy and circular economy policies. In addition, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Farm to Fork Strategy also call for reducing pollutant emissions at source, including sources not currently within the scope of Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council69 . Addressing pollution and GHG emissions from certain agro- industrial activities thus requires their inclusion within the scope of that Directive as well as further action set out in national transformation plans for the livestock sector. _________________ 69 Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control); OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17-119.
Amendment 47 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Rearing of pigs, poultry and cattle cause significant pollutant emissions into the air and water. In order to reduce such pollutant emissions, including ammonia, methane, nitrates and greenhouse gas emissions and thereby improve air, water and soil quality, it is necessary to lower the threshold above which pigs and poultry installations are included within the scope of Directive 2010/75/EU and to include also cattle farming within that scope. Relevant BAT requirements take into consideration the nature, size, density and complexity of these installations, including the specificities of pasture based cattle rearing systems, where animals are only seasonally reared in indoor installations, and the range of environmental impacts they may have. The proportionality requirements in BATs aim to incentivise farmers to implement the necessary transition towards increasingly environmentally friendly agricultural practices. Member states should present transformation plans for their livestock sector, containing information on how the sector will be transformed in order to contribute to the emergence of a sustainable, clean, circular and climate- neutral economy by 2050
Amendment 49 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) RIntensive rearing of pigs, poultry and cattle cause significant pollutant emissions into the air and water. In order to reduce such pollutant emissions, including ammonia, methane, nitrates and greenhouse gas emissions and thereby improve air, water and soil quality, it is necessary to lower the threshold above which pigs and poultry installations are included within the scope of Directive 2010/75/EU and to include also intensive cattle farming not based on grazing systems within that scope. Relevant BAT requirements take into consideration the nature, size, density and complexity of these installations, including the specificities of open space housing systems as well as pasture based cattle rearing systems, where animals are only seasonally reared in indoor installations, and the range of environmental impacts they may have. The proportionality requirements in BATs aim to incentivise farmers to implement the necessary transition towards increasingly environmentally friendly agricultural practices.
Amendment 105 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Directive 2010/75/EU
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – second subparagraph
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – second subparagraph
‘By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, Member States may set a procedure for the registration of installations covered only by Chapter V or Chapter VIa.’.
Amendment 114 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 22 Directive 2010/75/EU
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 22 Directive 2010/75/EU
Regarding activities referred to in article 70a, Member states shall present by June 2025 a sector wide transformation plan, containing information on how the sector will be transformed during the 2030-2050 period in order to contribute to the emergence of a sustainable, clean, circular and climate-neutral economy by 2050.
Amendment 132 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 25
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 25
Directive 2010/75/EU
Article 70b
Article 70b
If two or more installations are located close to each other and if their operator is the same or if the installations are under the control of operators who are engaged in an economic or legal relationship, the installations concerned shall be considered as a single unit for the purpose of calculating the capacity threshold referred to in Article 70a. Member States shall ensure that this rule is not used to circumvent the obligations set out in this directive.
Amendment 139 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 25
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 25
Directive 2010/75/EU
Article 70c – paragraph 1 – fourth subparagraph
Article 70c – paragraph 1 – fourth subparagraph
Member States shall ensure that requirements set out in articles 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 23 are applied for installations (a) with more than 40.000 places for poultry; (b) with more than 2.000 places for production pigs (over 30 kg), or (c) with more than 750 places for sows.
Amendment 207 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 25
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 25
Directive 2010/75/EU
Article 70i – paragraph 1 – point aa (new)
Article 70i – paragraph 1 – point aa (new)
(aa) new natural resource limits
Amendment 209 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 25
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 25
Directive 2010/75/EU
Article 70i – paragraph 1 – second subparagraph
Article 70i – paragraph 1 – second subparagraph
The operating rules shall be proportional and take into account inter alia the nature, type, size and density of these installations, animal welfare considerations, the protection of biodiversity and the specificities of pasture based cattle rearing systems, where animals are only seasonally reared in indoor installations, as well as the nature of indoor installations. The operating rules shall be guided by the best available agro-ecological science. The precautionary principle shall fully respected, including in relation to animal feed techniques.
Amendment 259 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Annex II
Annex II
Directive 2010/75/EU
Annex 1a
Annex 1a
1. Rearing of cattle, pigs or poultry in installations of 150 livestock units (LSU) or more.
Amendment 260 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Annex II
Annex II
Directive 2010/75/EU
Annex 1a
Annex 1a
1a. Rearing of cattle in installations of 150 livestock units (LSU) or more, and more than 1,6 LSU per hectare of forage area (permanent pasture, temporary grassland including arable leys and home grown fodder crops).
Amendment 261 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Annex II
Annex II
Directive 2010/75/EU
Annex 1a
Annex 1a
1b. Rearing of cattle in installations of 150 livestock units (LSU) or more, and less than 70% of permanent pasture, temporary grassland including arable leys of the overall forage area.
Amendment 262 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Annex II
Annex II
Directive 2010/75/EU
Annex 1a
Annex 1a
1c. Rearing of cattle in installations of 750 livestock units (LSU) or more.
Amendment 264 #
2022/0104(COD)
Rearing of any mix of the following animals: cattle, pigs, poultry, in installations of 150 LSU or more.where the cattle portion is stocked at more than 1,6 LSU per hectare of forage area (permanent pasture, temporary grassland including arable leys and homegrown fodder crops)
Amendment 267 #
2022/0104(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Annex II
Annex II
Directive 2010/75/EU
Annex 1a
Annex 1a
Rearing of any mix of the following animals: cattle, pigs, poultry, in installations of 150 LSU and less than 70% of permanent pasture, temporary grassland including arable leys of the overall forage area
Amendment 20 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 c (new)
Citation 23 c (new)
— having regard to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) of 13 September 2007 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas of 28 September 2018,
Amendment 25 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 a (new)
Citation 23 a (new)
— having regard to the 2018 United Nations Security Council resolution 2417 condemning the starving of civilians as a method of warfare as well as the unlawful denial of humanitarian access to civilian populations,
Amendment 29 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 b (new)
Citation 23 b (new)
— having regard to the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests in the context of national food security (2012) and the CFS Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (2015),
Amendment 44 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas forty percent of wheat and corn exports from Ukraine go to the Middle East and Africa, which already face food insecurity, and whereas further food shortages or price increases could stoke social unrest;
Amendment 49 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)
Recital G c (new)
G c. whereas Russia is a leading exporter of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers and its components, and Belarus is a significant exporter of potash-based fertilisers; whereas nitrogen fertiliser prices are heavily dependent on natural gas prices, a product for which Russia holds major market positions; whereas the Farm to Fork Strategy aims to reduce the use of farm inputs and notably to decrease the overall use of chemical pesticides by 50 %, of the most hazardous pesticides by 50 %, and of fertilisers by at least 20 % by 2030;
Amendment 51 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas according to the FAO, Food Price Index hit high record in February 2022; whereas it states that factors behind food inflation are not limited to crop conditions and export availabilities, but a much bigger push for food price inflation comes from outside food production, particularly the energy, fertilizer and feed sectors;
Amendment 70 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital K d (new)
Recital K d (new)
Kd. whereas nearly one billion people, largely in developing countries, rely on fish and seafood as their primary source of animal protein; whereas small-scale fisheries account for more than 90% of the world’s capture fishers and fish workers;
Amendment 83 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas food crises can be provoked by speculation on food commodities, in addition to pressures on food supplies caused by demand for biofuels;
Amendment 84 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Amendment 88 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
E c. whereas FAO estimates that about 75 % of plant genetic diversity has been lost worldwide; whereas wide-scale genetic erosion increases our vulnerability to climate change and to the appearance of new pests and diseases;
Amendment 89 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
Ed. whereas biodiversity and its associated services – pollination, predators of pests, increased resilience of agroecosystems to erosion, droughts and flooding, soil formation and carbon sinking – are essential to provide sustainable food production;
Amendment 92 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E e (new)
Recital E e (new)
Ee. whereas industrial agriculture and breeding are driving habitat loss and are creating conditions for viruses, such as Covid - 19, to emerge and spread;
Amendment 100 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the number of people in need of urgent food, nutrition and livelihood assistance is on the rise15 ; whereas the major drivers of this are inequality, conflict, climate variability and climate extremes, environmental degradation, economic shocks, global population growth and failed governance; _________________ 15 Global Report on Food Crises 2021.
Amendment 115 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital G e (new)
Recital G e (new)
Ge. whereas the 1994 Marrakech Agreement and in particular the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture have contributed to the specialisation of agricultural regions; whereas this specialisation has led to regions with high levels of exports and others that are almost fully dependent on imports: whereas this situation is not resilient to crises, such as wars, and is one of the factors contributing to the current global food instability;
Amendment 118 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital G d (new)
Recital G d (new)
Amendment 119 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital G f (new)
Recital G f (new)
Gf. whereas the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy adopt holistic approaches on agriculture not only to preventing a climatic and biodiversity crisis in Europe, but also to ensuring food security, improving nutrition and public health; whereas it shall serve as a template for investments in the remit of development finance, with the view to harness resilience and food self-sufficiency of developing countries;
Amendment 150 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas family farms represent over 90 per cent of all farms globally, and produce 80 percent of the world's food in value terms;
Amendment 164 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
Kb. whereas on 20 December 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a project through which it declared 2019- 2028 as the United Nations Decade of Family Farming;
Amendment 165 #
2021/2208(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital K c (new)
Recital K c (new)
K c. whereas farmers’ rights were established under the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in 2004, but whereas Intellectual Property rules have often worked in contradiction to them, putting local, traditional and indigenous seed systems at risk;
Amendment 1 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that investment can and should have a positive impact on sustainable development; recalls that investments, especially in extractive industries, logging, tourism and agribusiness operations can have huge impacts on local communities, including indigenous people; Notes with concern the asymmetry of international investment agreements (IIA), which give rights to foreign investors without putting the host state under any obligations in terms ofereby only investors can launch investment cases against States, while governments, workers and affected communities are unable to take transnational corporations that fail to respect human rights, or labour and environmental law;s to arbitration; in particular, regrets that IIAs usually include the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism (ISDS), which provides protection for investors but not for states or citizens; highlights that this pro-investor imbalance can constrain the ability of governments to regulate in the public interest; believes that a binding and enforceable UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights could address such imbalance; accordingly, stresses the importance of the EU being actively involved in the process of the Open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (OEIGWG) and to uphold the primacy of human rights over trade interests;
Amendment 10 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Deplores the asymmetry of this private justice system, which gives foreign investors the right to bring claims against governments, including on measures taken to protect public health, the environment and public interest, with no need to exhaust domestic legal remedies first; highlights the risks posed by the high costs of ISDS claims for the public finance of developing countries; stresses that the costs of investment lawsuits have the potential to bring the public budgets of most African countries to breaking point;
Amendment 14 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Notes with concern that between 2013 and 2018, there has been an unprecedented boom of claims against African countries;stresses that while European investors initiated the majority of the lawsuits against African countries, accounting for 70% of all cases, African States have been the main losers in investment arbitration cases;highlights that the mere threat of significant compensation paid to corporations with taxpayers’ money may induce the Host state to reconsider desirable policymaking[1]; [1] Sources: “ISDS in numbers. Impacts of Investment Arbitration against African States”, Transnational Institute (October 2019)
Amendment 15 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Stresses the need to shift the focus away from a system that prioritizes investor protection to one that emphasizes the advancement of national and global development goals through sustainable investment;
Amendment 21 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the EU to align its investment policy with the European Green Deal and, the European Climate Law1 ; _________________ 1 OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1. and the new taxonomy;
Amendment 24 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Urges the commission to exclude fossil fuels investment as well as investments in other activities that are significantly harmful for the environment and human rights from treaty protections, in particular from investor-states arbitration mechanisms;
Amendment 29 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 37 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that there is no evidence that ISDS has promoted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in developing countries; Believes that governments should not sign new investment protection treaties that include the ISDS mechanism and should remove it from the existing ones; in particular, believes that investment trade agreements should require local legal remedies to be exhausted first before the foreign investor can resort to an arbitral tribunal, as in the case of human rights system;
Amendment 45 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that the Investment Court System designed by the EU does not protect governments’ right to regulate, as it still enables foreign investors operating in the EU and EU-based investors operating abroad to circumvent national legal systems and file lawsuits in international tribunals against public interest measures, through expansive interpretation of provisions such as “direct and indirect expropriation” and “fair and equitable treatment”, which enable investors to challenge legitimate regulatory changes to protect health, the environment, economic stability and other public interests;
Amendment 50 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Takes note of the ongoing discussions within the working group of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) on dispute settlement and of the EU proposal to create a Multilateral Investment Court as a permanent body to enforce investor rights; highlights the risk to strengthen, in this way, the ISDS system, as it would further formalise rights for foreign corporations that domestic investors would not have; stresses the need to conduct comprehensive audits of investment protection treaties that include ISDS mechanism;
Amendment 54 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the EU to refrain from including a digital clause in investment trade agreements that would restricRecalls that developing countries need to preserve and expand their policy space to undertake digital industrialisation; urges the EU to refrain from including a digital clause in investment trade agreements ,such as cross-border data transfer, prohibition on processing data locally, elimination of customs duties on digital products, non- disclosure of the source code of software and related algorithms, removal of prior authorisation; non-discrimination of digital products, that would restrict the ability to regulate, redistribute the profits, improve public services or limit the digital industrialisation strategy of developing countries;
Amendment 58 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Stresses that investment agreement should encourage technology transfer linked to FDI, including for digital technologies;
Amendment 59 #
2021/2176(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Recalls the WTO moratorium on electronic transmissions (ET) since 1998; stresses that zero custom duties imply a significant loss of tariff revenue for developing countries; accordingly, insists that digital clauses in investment agreements should not ban the collection of taxes on electronic transmissions;
Amendment 1 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
— having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and in particular Articles 50, 56, 70, 81, 82, 114 and 352 thereof,
Amendment 2 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3
Citation 3
— having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and in particular Articles 11, 12, 15, 47, 48 and 54 thereof,
Amendment 4 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
— having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law 2a, _________________ 2a OJ L 305, 26.11.2019, p. 17
Amendment 7 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 13 February 2019 on experiencing backlash in women’s rights and gender equality in the EU 1a, _________________ 1a Texts adopted, P8_TA(2019)0111
Amendment 8 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 a (new)
Citation 23 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 11 March 2021 on the declaration of the EU as an LGBTIQ Freedom Zone 1b, _________________ 1b Text adopted, P9_TA(2021)0089
Amendment 9 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 b (new)
Citation 23 b (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2021 on the effects of climate change on human rights and the role of environmental defenders on this matters 1c, _________________ 1c Text adopted: P9_TA(2021)0245
Amendment 11 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27
Citation 27
— having regard to the Commission communication of 30 September 2020 on the 2020 Rule of Law Report – the rule of law situation in the European Union (COM(2020)0580), and its 27 accompanying country chapters on the rule of law in the Member States(SWD(2020)0300-0326),
Amendment 12 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 a (new)
Citation 27 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission communication ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’,
Amendment 13 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 b (new)
Citation 27 b (new)
— having regard to LGBTIQ Equality Strategy (2020-2025) (COM(2020)698),
Amendment 14 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 c (new)
Citation 27 c (new)
— having regard to the study entitled “SLAPP in the EU context” of 29 May 2020 by Petra Bárd, Judit Bayer, Ngo Chun Luk and Lina Vosyliute 1d, _________________ 1d https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files /ad-hoc-literature-review-analysis-key- elements-slapp_en.pdf
Amendment 16 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 32 a (new)
Citation 32 a (new)
— having regard to the info note of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association on SLAPPs and FoAA rights,
Amendment 18 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 36 a (new)
Citation 36 a (new)
— having regard to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights ‘Human Rights Comment: Time to take action against SLAPPs’ issued on 27 October 2020,
Amendment 20 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 36 b (new)
Citation 36 b (new)
Amendment 25 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas independent and quality journalism, ands well as access to pluralistic information are key pillars of democracy; whereas a vibrant civil society is essential for any democracy to thriveand the right to public participation are essential for any democracy to thrive; whereas human rights and environmental defenders have a crucial role to reach the environmental objectives set by the European Union; whereas no one shall be persecuted or harassed in any way for their involvement in activities to protect human rights or the environment; whereas independent journalism, civil society organizations, human rights and environmental defenders play a crucial role in holding power to account and performing their functions as watchdogs for democracy and the rule of law;
Amendment 37 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. Whereas the shrinking space for civil society is an increasingly concerning issue in the Union, and disproportionately affects journalists, academics, NGOs, human rights and environmental defenders who are working on environmental issues, increasingly questioning their role as public watchdogs; whereas in recent years, environmental defenders have been subjected to ever increasing incidences of killings, threats, harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns, criminalisation and judicial harassment;
Amendment 41 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas public participation lies at the heart of the very notion of democracy, and can express itself in a variety of behaviours of a natural or legal person directed at engaging on a matter of public interest; whereas public participation could include the exercise of public scrutiny and public information, such as journalistic communications, publications or works, including editorial content, communications, publications or works of a political, scientific, academic, artistic, commentary or satirical nature including when those concerned are, among others, figures open to public scrutiny, in the context of broader interests in open discussion of political issues; whereas public participation include actions and activities resulting from the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and of information, the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, the right to good administration and the right to an effective remedy;
Amendment 53 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are lawsuits or other legal actions (e.g. injunctions, asset-freezing) based on a variety of legal bases mostly of civil and criminal law, as well as the threats of such actions, with the purpose of preventing reporting on breaches of Union and national law, corruption or other fraudulent practices or of blocking acts of public participation, including investigating and reporting on breaches of Union and national law, corruption or other fraudulent practices, promoting democratic debate or engaging in advocacy or activism including through the exercise of civil liberties such as freedom of association, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, of information and of assembly ;
Amendment 62 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas targets of SLAPPs can be sued for expressing critical views on the behaviour, or denouncing wrongdoings, of corporates or authorities through publications, leaflets, artworks or other online or offline forms of expression, or in retaliation for their involvement in campaigns, judicial claims, actions or protests; whereas journalists, media outlets, bloggers, civil society organizations, NGOs, rights defenders, whistleblowers, campaigners, academics, demonstrators, activists and artists are bigger targets to SLAPPs; whereas this situation severely undermines democratic public participation;
Amendment 74 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas SLAPPs have become an increasingly widespread practice used against journalists, academics, civil society and NGOspublic watchdogs and other actors engaging in public participation, including journalists, academics, civil society organizations, NGOs and activists, human rights and environmental defenders and whistleblowers , as demonstrated by many cases throughout the Union, such as the chilling case of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was reportedly facing 47 civil and criminal defamation lawsuits, (resulting in the freezing of her assets) on the day of her strongly condemned assassination on 16 October 2017, and the lawsuits her heirs continue to face; whereas other illustrative and alarming cases against independent journalists and media include Realtid Media, which was repeatedly threatened with a lawsuit in a different jurisdiction from where the reporting in question took place, and Gazeta Wyborcza, which continues to be sued by a number of public entities and officials on a regular basis, and the Slovenian investigative news outlet Necenzurirano recently hit by a barrage of 39 lawsuits;
Amendment 87 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas according to a recent study on SLAPP in the EU commissioned by the Commission, SLAPPs are increasingly used across the EU to target NGOs, activists and rights defenders, including environmental activists and LGBTQI rights defenders; whereas journalists, human rights defenders and civil society organizations are facing an increasingly hostile environment; whereas examples of SLAPPs include cases in the fields of civil rights, environmental interests, land use rights, urban and suburban development, as well as animal welfare, among others;
Amendment 92 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Amendment 95 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
C c. whereas the objective of the SLAPPs is not to bring justice but rather to impose a burden on critical voices by discouraging and silencing them, and to exert a chilling effect on other potential critics; whereas SLAPPs are deliberately initiated with the intent to make the litigation expensive, long-lasting and complicated for the defendants, which include the purpose of intimidating and draining the financial and psychological resources of their targets; whereas SLAPPs not only have a detrimental impact on victims, but also on their families;
Amendment 99 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas SLAPPs within the Union are often cross-border in nature, which results in reporting delays as illustrated in many cases, often relating to cases of human rights and environmental protection, financial fraud and/or corruption, where they constitute a clear attempt to delay publication of information by halting or discrediting the work of individual journalists and publishing entities, hence depriving citizens of their right to information; whereas SLAPPs and SLAPPs threats may be brought against watchdogs within the Union also by claimant established in third countries;
Amendment 105 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. Whereas in recent years online hate speech has become increasingly widespread against journalists, NGOs, academics and civil society organisations, human rights defenders, including those defending women’s rights, gender equality and LGBTQI rights, thus threatening media freedom, freedom of expression and of association, and can have a chilling effect; recalls that online hate speech is often spilled over into reality offline; stresses that hate speech is rooted in social biases and stereotypes, and highlights that they are the result of systemic and social discrimination, including gender, racial and economic discrimination, patriarchal structures and the unequal distribution of power in society, which are reproduced and magnified online and result in more extreme consequences for some individuals and groups in vulnerable situations;
Amendment 121 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights that SLAPPs are a direct attack on the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms; underlines that fundamental rights and democracy are linked to upholding the rule of law, and that undermining media freedom and public democratic participation, including freedom of expression and of information, media freedom and the rights to peaceful assembly and associpation threatens Union values as enshrined in Article 2 of the TEU; welcomes the fact that the 2020 rule of law report includes SLAPP lawsuits in its assessment of media freedom and pluralism across the Union, and points to concrete measures and best practices in countering them; calls foron the annual report to includeCommission to include in the 2021 and subsequent rule of law reports a thorough assessment of the legal environment for the media, and investigative journalism in particular, and to look more thoroughly at challenges affecting civil society such as the chilling effect on public democratic participation, including as regards SLAPPs targeting NGOs, activists and rights defenders, and include relevant indicators in order to measure progress;
Amendment 134 #
2021/2036(INI)
1 a. Underlines that SLAPPs are, in essence, attempts to abuse the law and the courts to undermine the right of individuals or organisations to engage in public participation by expressing their views on issues of public interest; is deeply concerned about the severe chilling effect on democratic debate and participation that SLAPPs have;
Amendment 137 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Stresses that public participation is the bedrock on which democracy rests, it ensures public scrutiny and better decision-making by holding power account; points out that public participation can be expressed in a variety of behaviours of a natural or legal person directed at engaging on a matter of public interest which can include the exercise of public scrutiny and public information, including actions and activities resulting from the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and of information, the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, the right to good administration and the right to an effective remedy;
Amendment 142 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Expresses serious concern about the shrinking space for civil society organisations, and the threat to journalists and human rights defenders, who communicate on important matters within the public interest that are critical of powerful members of society, and the growing use of SLAPPs as a way to silence and intimidate independent media and journalists, civil society organisations, human rights defenders such as women’s and LGBTIQ+ rights defenders, activists such as environmental activists, whistleblowers, academics and artists;
Amendment 143 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1 d. Recalls that the States’ positive obligation to facilitate the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association includes the duty to establish and maintain a favorable environment for public participation and public watchdogs; stresses the importance that public watchdogs, civil society actors and other actors engaging in public participation are able to operate freely, without fear that they may be subjected to any threats, acts of intimidation or violence;
Amendment 154 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Underlines that SLAPPs cases, or the threat of SLAPPs, runs counter the objective of freedom of establishment and the free movement of services, as it has a ‘chilling effect’ notably on journalists that might exercise self-censorship instead of reporting on matters of public interest occurring in other Member States, risking then to face SLAPPs in different and unknown legal systems;
Amendment 156 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Considers to this end that, by contributing to the enforcement of Union law, enhancing the legal protection of rights under Union law, safeguarding the effectiveness of Union law, facilitating the enjoyment of internal market freedoms and preserving the effective functioning of national justice systems and of the common space of judicial cooperation, protection from abusive SLAPPs lawsuits would substantively contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market;
Amendment 157 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Highlights that although Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (the ‘Whistleblower Directive’) grants a certain level of protection to natural persons who provide confidential advice to whistleblowers, known as ‘facilitators’, such as journalists or any other intermediaries, such protection needs further regulatory clarification, in order to cover circumstances where journalists need protection going beyond the mere risk of reprisals and act independently and outside the scope of the Whistleblower Directive; further emphasizes that legal persons, such as NGOs, are not covered by the Whistleblower Directive;
Amendment 159 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Points out that SLAPPs constitute a misuse of Member States’ justice systems and legal frameworks, especially for successfully addressing ongoing common challenges outlined in the Justice Scoreboard, such as the length of proceedings and the quality of justice systems, as well as caseload administration and case backlogs; recalls that a properly functioning and independent justice system delivers judgements without undue delay, and manages judicial resources so as to maximise efficiency, and that this is only possible where judges and judicial bodies perform their duties with complete independence and in an impartial manner and are not burdened with the handling of claims that are later on dismissed as abusive and lacking in legal merit;
Amendment 164 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that judicial independence is integral to judicial decision-making and is a requirement resulting from the principle of effective legal protection set out in Article 19 of the TEU; recalls the concerns voiced in the Commission 2020 rule of law report regarding the independence of the judiciary in several Member States and condemns the efforts of the governments of some Member States to weaken the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary, as well as to use SLAPPs to silence critical voices;
Amendment 166 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Underlines that the current disparity of protection deriving from the multiple sets of rules applicable in the Member States has detrimental consequences for the proper functioning of the common space of judicial cooperation established by Union law; stresses indeed that, in most SLAPPs cases, the cross-border elements are taken advantage of for forum shopping, in order to select the jurisdiction where the likelihood of achieving the desired result is the greatest; insists additionally on the fact that the absence of harmonized protection affects mutual trust and impacts on the recognition and enforcement of judgments between Member States;
Amendment 169 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Highlights that the purpose of SLAPPs is not to produce a judgment in favour of the claimant, but to use litigation or the threat of litigation to silence or coerce the respondent into acting in a manner which they might not otherwise accept; underlines the great imbalance of power between the parties where one has the resources and capacity to effectively silence the other through litigation techniques which magnify legal costs and the psychological and economic burden of prolonged proceedings; is concerned that the imbalance of power and resources between the parties undermines the right to a fair trial and to an effective remedy, and recalls that SLAPPs represent in essence an abuse of justice systems;
Amendment 171 #
Amendment 172 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 188 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that SLAPPs are often meritless, frivolous or based on exaggerated, often abusive claims, and that they are not initiated for the purposes of obtaining a favourable judicial outcome but rather only to intimidate, harass, tire out, put psychological pressure on or consume the financial resources of journalists, academics, civil society and NGOs, with the ultimate objective of blackmailing and forcing them into silence through the judicial procedure itselfpublic watchdogs and other actors engaging in public participation, including journalists, academics, civil society organizations, NGOs and activists, human rights and environmental defenders, and whistleblowers, with the ultimate objective of blackmailing and forcing them into silence through the judicial procedure itself; stresses that SLAPPs cause not only a financial burden but also bear dire psychological consequences for their targets as well as their family members, aggravated by the fact that the latter may also inherit those abusive proceedings upon the target’s death, as it happened to the husband and sons of Daphne Caruana Galizia; points out that this chilling effect can lead to self-censorship, suppressing participation in democratic life, and also discourages others from similar actions, from entering into these professions or from proceeding with relevant associated activities;
Amendment 214 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underlines that an imbalance of power between the claimant and the defendant, notably in terms of financial resources, is a common feature of SLAPPs;
Amendment 216 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses, with regard to this problem, that all Member States lack harmonised minimum standards to protect journalists, academics, civil society and NGOspublic watchdogs and other actors engaging in public participation, including journalists, academics, civil society organizations, NGOs and activists, human rights and environmental defenders, and whistleblowers, and to ensure that fundamental rights are upheld in the Member States;
Amendment 236 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets that no Member State has so far enacted targeted legislation to provide protection against SLAPPs; notes however that anti-SLAPP legislation is particularly well-developed in the states of the United States, in Australia and Canada; encourages the Commission to analyse anti- SLAPP best practices currently applied outside the EU, such as the procedures applied to ensure early dismissal of abusive cases including the proportionality tests articulated by Courts, which could provide valuable inspiration for Union legislative and non-legislative measures on the matter; underlines the importance of committing to the most ambitious legislation and best-practices currently in force which would discourage the use of SLAPPs in the Union;
Amendment 246 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Agrees with the numerous civil society organisations, academics, legal practitioners and victims who point to the need for legislative action against the growing problem of SLAPPs; urgently calls, therefore, for the Brussels Ia and Rome II Regulations to be amendmentsed in order to prevent ‘libel tourism’ or ‘forum shopping’; urgently calls for, including the introduction of a uniform choice of law rule for defamation, as well as for; urgently calls the Commission to present proposals for binding Union legislation on harmonised and effective safeguards for victims of SLAPPs across the Union, including through a directive; argues that without such legislative action, SLAPPs will continue to threaten the rule of law and the fundamental rights of freedom of expression, association and information in the Union; is concerned that if measures only address lawsuits regarding infordefamation, actions based on other civil matters or criminal procedures may still be used, at the initiative of claimants based in or outside the EU;
Amendment 256 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Considers that the Commission shall harmonise the relevant legal rules, and shall give guidance to Member States as to how to upgrade their respective criminal laws in order to reach the objective of deterring SLAPPs across the EU;
Amendment 257 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Affirms that legislative measures at Union level could be based primarily on Article 81 of the TFEU (for cross-border civil lawsuits) and Article 82 of the TFEU (for threats of lawsuits in cross-border cases), and separately on Article 114 of the TFEU to protect public participation in order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market by exposing corruption and other distortions114 TFEU in order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and to protect public participation in a harmonised way across the EU, and should have additional specific legal bases in order to cover the fields that rely, notably, on Articles 19, 50, 56, 192 and, 325 TFEU; asserts that the latterse measure cs should also aim to address attempts to prevent investigation and reporting on breaches of Union law, and should aim to ensure the highest level of protection for victims of SLAPPs, using the same legal base as Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (the ‘Whistleblower Directive’); these legislative measures could be based secondly on Articles 81 and 82 TFEU addressing particularly cross-border civil and criminal lawsuits; considers that certain safeguards, including procedural safeguards, could be harmonized to ensure that they apply not only for cross- border SLAPP cases, but also for domestic cases;
Amendment 266 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Considers that it is essential to adopt a legislative measure protecting the role of journalists, academics, civil society and NGO, including NGOs and activists, human rights and environmental defenders in preventing breaches of Union law and ensuring the proper functioning of the internal market; urges the Commission to present a proposal for legislation that sets out safeguards for persons investigating and reporting on these matters of public interest, including procedural safeguards common to both civil and criminal cases, such as rules on the early dismissal of abusive lawsuits against SLAPP victims or their family members and other actions in court that have the purpose of preventing public participation; insists that such rules should cover sanctions, consideration of abusive motives even if the lawsuit or action is not dismissed, costs and damages;
Amendment 279 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Considers that the harmonisation of certain procedural aspects, such as the procedure for ensuring early dismissal of abusive cases, the effects of a dismissal decision and the application of penalties, could be beneficial to enhance protection for victims of SLAPPs; calls on the Commission to explore this possibility and to make sure that safeguards, including procedural safeguards, do not only apply to cross-border SLAPP cases, but also to domestic cases;
Amendment 287 #
Amendment 290 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Urges the Commission to present a proposal for a measure that develops judicial cooperation in civil matters so as to address cross-border SLAPP cases by providing for rules on the dismissal of abusive lawsuits and other actions in court that have the purpose of preventing public participation, which should include sanctions, consideration of abusive motives even if the lawsuit or action is not dismissed, costs and damagesharmonised rules on SLAPPs arising from claims of civil law,; calls on the Commission, further, to address questions giving rise to forum shopping and libel tourism in a forthcoming review of the Brussels Ia and Rome II Regulations, with the support from judicial practitioners such as the Hague Conference on Private International Law;
Amendment 298 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Urges the Commission to present a proposal forto address the seriousness of SLAPPs brought through criminal proceedings by calling on member States to adopt measures to ensure that defamation, libel and slander, which constitute criminal offences in most Member States, cannot be used for SLAPPs, including through private prosecution; underlines the calls of the Council of Europe and OSCE for the decriminalisation of defamation; invites and calls on the Commission to address the question of the seriousness of threats of SLAPPs in a legislative proposalrespond to them; notes that defendants often face criminal charges while at the same time being sued for civil liability allegedly arising from the same conduct and invites the Commission to explore the possible introduction of harmonised procedural safeguards against those combined SLAPPs;
Amendment 304 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Recalls that inherent to and at the very core of the right to a fair trial under Article 47 of the Charter is the concept of equality of arms between parties in criminal proceedings; is concerned that the imbalance of power and resources between parties in SLAPPs cases undermines equality of arms, and thus the right to a fair trial;
Amendment 305 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Expresses concern that SLAPPs brought through criminal proceedings often have a big impact on victims and their families;
Amendment 306 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 12
Subheading 12
Amendment 308 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Declares that the protection of legitimate rights arising from Union law must be ensured by Member State courts and cannot be jeopardised, including the rights which are routinely cited in abusive lawsuits; defends at the same time and without prejudice to such protection, that it is necessary to prevent any abusive use of those rights in a manner which is manifestly contrary to the legislators’ intention when conferring them upon natural or legal persons; considers that preventing such abuse is equally necessary for the correct and uniform application of Union law, thereby safeguarding its effectivenessright to access to justice, the right to a fair trial, and the right to have access to a quality and public legal representation, as well as to information and to documentation in a language that the victim can understand, must be ensured by Member State courts and cannot be jeopardised; defends a that it is necessary to prevent any abusive use of justice systems and to ensure judicial independence to guarantee the right to a fair trial; considers that preventing such abuse is equally necessary for the correct and uniform application of Union law, thereby safeguarding its effectiveness; recommends that proportionality tests could be performed by Courts to ensure early dismissal of SLAPP cases; considers, however, that measures such as the remedy of early dismissal of SLAPP cases should not be framed in a manner which denies the claimant the opportunity to state their claim;
Amendment 313 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Recalls that the claimants of SLAPPs are often companies or powerful individuals, including public authorities, who seek to protect their interests by silencing critical voices; underlines that the interests of the claimant cannot be deemed legitimate where these are considered matters of public interest; emphasises the particularly important role of public watchdogs in safeguarding the public interest and in promoting a culture of public accountability and integrity, and reminds that their main functions include to hold power account, report wrongdoings and inform about matters of public interests;
Amendment 316 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Underlines the urgent need for a robust fund for financially supporting all victims of SLAPPs, including in cases where SLAPPs or the threat of SLAPPs originate from claimants established in a third country; stresses the importance for victims and potential victims of SLAPPs and their families to have easy and accessible information and sensibilisation about these types of cases, legal aid and moral support, both within and outside the judicial process;
Amendment 324 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Considers it necessary to collect data on SLAPP cases and raise awareness about the nature and detrimental effects of SLAPPs; to this end, considers that the EU should establish a priority list of Member States where its protective action in favour of victims of SLAPPs, notably concerning human rights and environmental defenders, should be intensified;
Amendment 330 #
2021/2036(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. WelcomesConsiders that the new anti- SLAPP legislative and non-legislative measures should be complementary with other EU instruments and policies, such as the European Democracy Action Plan, the EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020- 2025, the EU Gender Equality Strategy, the EU anti-racism action plan, and the Union Strategy to tackle Organised Crime 2021-2025, and calls for efforts to be stepped up efforts in this regard; notes that legislative and soft law measures cannot be effective in Member States where there are concerns about the independence of the judiciary or the fight against corruption; reiterates, in this regard, the critical need for an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights as proposed by Parliament, including an annual independent, evidence-based and non-discriminatory review assessing all Member States' compliance with Article 2 TEU;
Amendment 2 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Those objectives remain relevant in the current global context and they are consistent with the analysis and perspective of the recent Commission Communication Trade Policy Review “An Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy”16 (‘TPR’). According to the TPR, the Union has a “strategic interest to support the enhanced integration into the world economy of vulnerable developing countries” and it “must fully use the strength provided by its openness and the attractiveness of its Single Market” to support multilateralism and to ensure adherence to universal values. For GSP specifically, the TPR notes its important role in “promoting respect for core human and labour rights” and sets the objective for the GSP “to further increase trading opportunities for developing countries to reduce poverty and create jobs based on international values and principles”. Moreover, the scheme should assist beneficiaries in recovering from the COVID-19 impact and in re-building their economies in a sustainable manner, including with respect to international human rights, labour, environmental and good governance standards. Coherence should be ensured between the GSP and its objectives and the assistance provided to beneficiary countries, in line with Union’s Policy Coherence for Development (PCD), which constitutes a key pillar of Union’s efforts to enhance the positive impact and increase effectiveness of development cooperation17 . Union’s assistance should provide support to the beneficiary countries in fulfilling their commitments with regards to the ratification and implementation of the international conventions under the GSP Schemes. Such support should target in priority those countries benefiting from the special arrangements, given their economic vulnerability. In addition, NDICI-Global Europe shall assist countries of the GSP scheme in raising their human rights and environmental standards in line with the obligations in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. _________________ 16 COM(2021) 66 final, 18 February 2021 17 Article 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU concerning PCD reads: “The Union shall take account of the objectives of development cooperation in the policies that it implements which are likely to affect developing countries”.
Amendment 4 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) The scheme should consist of a basic arrangement (‘standard GSP arrangement’), and two special arrangements, namely the ‘special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance – GSP+’ and the ‘special arrangement for the least-developed countries - EBA’. It, therefore, continues the structure of the previous ten years, which is considered a success, as it focuses on the countries most in need and addresses the varying developmental needs of beneficiaries, which shall include their regional integration process.
Amendment 6 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The standard GSP arrangement should be granted to all those developing countries which share a common development need and are in a similar stage of economic development and have committed to ratifying and implementing the core international conventions mentioned in Annex VI. The ratification should occur within five years upon the application of the arrangement. There is no definition of ‘developing country’ at the level of the WTO, and it is left to preference granting countries to determine the list of GSP-eligible developing countries. Countries which have successfully completed their transition from centralised to market economies, and are today powerful economies with a strong position in international trade, such as China, Hong Kong, Macao and Russia, should not be considered as developing countries in the context of the GSP, and should, therefore, be removed from the list of eligible countries. Countries which are classified by the World Bank as high- income or upper-middle income countries have per capita income levels allowing them to attain higher levels of diversification without the scheme's tariff preferences. They are at a different stage of economic development and do not, therefore, share the same development, trade and financial needs as lower income or more vulnerable developing countries. In order to prevent unjustified discrimination, they need to be treated differently; therefore, they do not benefit from the standard GSP arrangement. Furthermore, the use of tariff preferences provided under the scheme by high-income or upper-middle income countries would increase the competitive pressure on exports from poorer, more vulnerable countries and, therefore, could impose unjustifiable burdens on those more vulnerable developing countries. The standard GSP arrangement should take account of the fact that the development, trade and financial needs are subject to change and ensure that the arrangement remains open if the situation of a country changes.
Amendment 7 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) The special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance (GSP+) is based on the integral concept of sustainable development, as recognised by international conventions and instruments such as the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development, the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the 1998 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the 2000 UN Millennium Declaration, the 2002 Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development, the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work of 2019, the Outcome Document of the UN Summit on Sustainable Development of 2015 "Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Consequently, the additional tariff preferences provided for under the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance should be granted to those developing countries which, due to a lack of diversification, are economically vulnerable, have ratified and started implementing core international conventions on human and labour rights, climate and environmental protection and good governance, and commit to ensurpursuing the effective implementation thereof, including through a public, ambitious and time-bound plan of action, adopted in accordance with this Regulation. The special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance should help those countries to assume the additional responsibilities resulting from the ratification and effective implementation of these conventions. The list of conventions relevant for GSP should be updated to better reflect the evolution of core international instruments and standards and take a proactive approach to sustainable development in keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 203018 . In this regard, the following conventions are added: the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2015) – replacing the Kyoto Protocol; the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD); the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OP-CRC-AC); ILO Convention No 81 on Labour Inspection; ILO Convention No 144 on Tripartite Consultation; and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; UNDROP-UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People in Rural Areas; VGGT - Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests and the UNDRIP-UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and its principles on Free Prior and Informed Consent. _________________ 18United Nations (2015). Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, Transforming our World: the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (A/RES/70/1), available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post 2015/transformingourworld
Amendment 10 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Countries graduating from the Least-Developed Countries (LDC) category established by the UN should be incentivised to continue on the path of sustainable development. For this purpose, the economic vulnerability criteria to qualify for the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance should be eased compared to Regulation (EU) No 978/2012, to facilitate access by a larger number of countries graduating from the least developed country category. The continued and sustained progress towards ratifying and implementing the core international conventions should be closely monitored, and EU development finance programming should be designed to duly take this objective into consideration.
Amendment 11 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Countries that have been granted the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 should submit a new application within two years after the date of application of this Regulation. In order, however, to ensure continuity and legal certainty for economic operators, the tariff preferences under the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance provided for in Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 are to be maintained during the period in which their application is assessed. Requests for technical and financial assistance from applicant countries related to the ratification and implementation of theThe continued and sustained progress towards ratifying and implementing the core international conventions canshould be clooked upon favourably. sely monitored, and EU technical and financial assistance should be designed to duly take this objective into consideration.
Amendment 12 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15 a (new)
Recital 15 a (new)
(15a) This application should comprise, among others, a public plan of action detailing priority-oriented list of measures to be taken which are considered necessary to effectively implement the international conventions. This plan of action, on which the beneficiary country should have reached a common understanding with the Commission and where appropriate the European External Action Service, should also include deadlines and identify the relevant bodies of the beneficiary country responsible for its implementation.
Amendment 13 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The Commission and where appropriate the European External Action Service should monitor the status of ratification of the international conventions on human and labour rights, environmental protection and good governance and their effective implementation, by assessing the progress made in the implementation of the plan of action, examining the relevant information, in particular where available the conclusions and recommendations of the relevant monitoring bodies established under those conventions, This reporting should also be based on high-level monitoring missions on the ground. Every three years, the Commission should present to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the status of ratification of the respective conventions, the compliance of the beneficiary countries with any reporting obligations under those conventions, and the status of the implementation of the conventions in practice, notably on the basis of the implementation of the plan of action. The monitoring should also aim at addressing shortcomings. In their conclusions, the Commission and the European External Action Service should provide clear recommendations on issues and actions to be prioritised.
Amendment 14 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 a (new)
Recital 16 a (new)
(16a) The civil society and other relevant stakeholders should be consulted throughout and at all stages of the monitoring cycle, and the information they submit should be duly taken into account. For that purpose, an advisory body composed of their representatives should be set up, to assist the Commission in reviewing, monitoring and assessing the progress made by the beneficiary countries.
Amendment 17 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18 a (new)
Recital 18 a (new)
(18a) Regional integration is an important instrument for sustainable development. Developing countries and least developed countries which are building regional economic blocs share common development, trade or financial needs. Therefore developing countries which belong to a least developed region, meaning a customs union where the majority of the members are least- developed countries or a free trade area where the majority of the members are least-developed countries and all members have committed to form a customs union among themselves, should also enjoy the same special arrangement as for the least- developed countries.
Amendment 18 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) The special arrangement for the least-developed countries (EBA)and least- developed regions should continue to grant duty-free and quota free access to the European Union market for products originating in the least -developed countries or countries belonging to least-developed regions, as recognised and classified by the United Nations (UN), except for trade in arms. For a country no longer classified by the UN as a least-developed country or a country formerly belonging to a least- developed region, a transitional period should be established, to alleviate any adverse effects caused by the removal of the tariff preferences granted under thatis arrangement. Tariff preferences provided under the special arrangement for the least- developed countries and least developed regions should continue to be granted for those countries belonging to a least- developed countriesregion, which benefit from another preferential market access arrangement with the European Union.
Amendment 20 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) The reasons for temporary withdrawal of the arrangements under the scheme should include serious and systematic violations of the principles laid down in international conventions concerning core human rights (including certain principles of international humanitarian law enshrined in those conventions), labour rights, climate and environmental protection, and good governance, so as to promote the objectives of those conventions. Tariff preferences under the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance should be temporarily withdrawn if the beneficiary country does not respect its binding undertaking to maintain the ratification and effective implementation of those conventions or to comply with the reporting requirements imposed by the respective conventions, or to maintain the effective implementation of the plan of action provided in its request to benefit from the arrangement or if the beneficiary country does not cooperate with the Union's monitoring procedures as set out in this Regulation. The temporary withdrawal should continue until the reasons justifying it no longer apply. In situations characterised by an exceptional gravity of the violations, the Commission should have the power to respond rapidly by adopting measures within a shorter timeline. Under the Union’s zero tolerance approach for child labour the reasons for temporary withdrawal should include exports of goods made by internationally prohibited child labour, as well as forced labour including slavery and prison labour, as identified in the relevant Conventions in Annex VI.
Amendment 23 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Recital 26
Amendment 26 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
Amendment 28 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) In order to achieve a balance between the need for better targeting, greater coherence and transparency on the one hand, and better promoting sustainable development and good governance through a unilateral trade preference scheme on the other hand, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amendments to the Annexes to this Regulation and temporary withdrawals of tariff preferences due to serious and systematic violations of the principles set out in the relevant conventions with respect to human and labour rights, climate and environmental protection, and good governance and other relevant grounds set out in this Regulation, as well as procedural rules regarding the submission of applications for the tariff preferences granted under the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance, the conduct of a temporary withdrawal and safeguard investigations in order to establish uniform and detailed technical arrangements. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making21 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. In order to provide a stable framework for economic operators, the power to adopt an act in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of repealing a decision on temporary withdrawal under the urgent procedure before that decision to temporarily withdraw tariff preferences becomes applicable, where the reasons justifying temporary withdrawal no longer apply. The Commission should also be empowered to adopt delegated acts to postpone the date of application of an act imposing the temporary withdrawal, or to modify its scope, for reasons related to a global sanitary emergency or other exceptional circumstances. _________________ 21 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.
Amendment 29 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) a special arrangement for the least- developed countries (Everything But Arms (‘EBA’))and least developed regions.
Amendment 30 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) a special arrangement for the least- developed countries (Everything But Arms (‘EBA’))and least developed regions.
Amendment 31 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
(5) ‘EBA beneficiary countries’ means beneficiary countries of the special arrangement for least developed countries and least developed regions as listed in Annex I;
Amendment 32 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
(5a) Least developed region' means a customs union where the majority of the members are least-developed countries or a free trade area where the majority of the members are least-developed countries and all members have committed to form a customs union among themselves through a legal instrument that is legally binding among those members with timeframes for implementation.
Amendment 33 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new)
(10a) ‘plan of action’ means a priority- oriented list of measures - including legislative ones - to be adopted and actions to be taken by a beneficiary country which are considered necessary to effectively implement the core international conventions referred to in Annex VI; for each listed objective, the plan of action shall include a timeframe, benchmarks and shall identify as precisely as possible the relevant institution or structure responsible for its implementation and oversight;
Amendment 34 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 b (new)
(10b) ‘enhanced engagement’ means a dialogue aiming to facilitate and incentivise countries benefitting from the arrangements referred to Article 1 paragraph 2 to implement effectively the Conventions;
Amendment 35 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 c (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 c (new)
(10c) ‘list of issues’ means a list of objectives to effectively implement the core international conventions relevant to the GSP+ arrangement, as identified by the monitoring bodies and any information submitted by third parties, including civil society, human rights defenders and trade unions;
Amendment 36 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12
(12) ‘complaint’ means a complaint submitted to the Commission through the Single Entry Point. by third parties, including stakeholders or civil society established in the EU or in the beneficiary countries covered by the schemes referred to Article 1 paragraph 2 and relating to conditions and reasons referred to Articles 9 and 19;
Amendment 38 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) there is sufficient ground to consider that shortcomings and violations of the conditions set out in Article 19.1 points (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) exist.
Amendment 39 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b b (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b b (new)
(bb) it has not ratified the conventions listed in Annex VI within five years upon the application of the preferences,
Amendment 40 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. EU development finance programming shall support countries benefitting from the standard arrangement referred to in paragraph 1 aiming to ratify and implement the conventions listed in Annex VI.
Amendment 41 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. The Commission shall regularly consult with the advisory body referred to in Article 13a during the monitoring process.
Amendment 42 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 c (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. The Commission and, where applicable, the European External Action Service, shall make sure that countries that benefit from the standard arrangement referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article have ratified the conventions listed in Annex VI within the five years upon the application of the preferences;
Amendment 43 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. Points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 shall not apply to least-developed countries, as identified by the United Nations, or least-developed regions.
Amendment 44 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) it has ratified all the conventions listed in Annex VI (the 'relevant conventions') and the Commission has not identified, based on available information, in particular the most recent available conclusions of the monitoring bodies under those conventions, a seriousincluding information provided by civil society organisations, human rights defenders and trade unions, a failure to effectively implement any of those conventions;
Amendment 47 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) it has adopted a National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in conformity with the Guidance on National Action Plans of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights;
Amendment 48 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) it gives a binding undertaking to maintain ratification of the relevant conventions and to ensure the effective implementation thereof, accompanied by a time-bound plan of action, which shall include a roadmap and benchmarks for the effective implementation of the relevant conventions. Once agreed between the EU and the GSP beneficiary, the plan of action should be made publicly available;
Amendment 51 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 a (new)
Article 9 a (new)
Article 9a EU development finance programming shall prioritise support to countries benefitting from the special arrangement referred to in article 9 aiming towards the ratification and the effective implementation of the Conventions listed in Annex VI.
Amendment 52 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 2
2. The requesting country shall submit its request to the Commission in writing. The request shall provide comprehensive information concerning the ratification of the relevant conventions and shall include the binding undertakings referred to in Article 9, pointes (d), (e), and (f), including a finalised plan of action.
Amendment 54 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
1. As of the date of the granting of the tariff preferences provided under the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance, the Commission shall, with regard to each of the GSP+ beneficiary countries, keep under review and monitor the status of ratification of the relevant conventions and their effective implementation, as well as the cooperation of the GSP+ beneficiary country with the relevant monitoring bodies. In doing so, the Commission shall assess the progress made by the GSP+ beneficiary countries in implementing their plans of action, as well as examine all relevant information, in particular the conclusions and recommendations of the relevant monitoring bodies as well as duly substantiated information submitted by civil society organisations, representatives of trade unions, human rights defenders and other relevant stakeholders. The information may also be submitted via the Single Entry Point, which shall be accessible to stakeholders from both the Union and GSP+ beneficiary countries. The Commission, including through the EEAS and the delegations, should hold regular contacts with local and international civil society to assess the beneficiary countries’ implementation of the conventions listed in annex VI. A cycle of 3 years for the review, monitoring and assessment (hereinafter monitoring cycle) is hereby established.
Amendment 55 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 56 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2
Article 13 – paragraph 2
2. A GSP+ beneficiary country shall cooperate with the Commission and provide all information necessary to assess its respect of the binding undertakings referred to in Article 9, points (d), including the implementation of its plan of action, (e), and (f) and its situation as regards Article 9, points (b) and (c).
Amendment 57 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 60 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. In drawing their conclusions concerning effective implementation of the relevant conventions, the Commission and where appropriate the European External Action Service shall assess the implementation of the plans of action, also based on the conclusions and recommendations of the relevant monitoring bodies, as well as, without prejudice to other sources, information submitted by the European Parliament or the Council as well as third parties, including governments and international organisations, civil society, and social partners. The Commission and where appropriate the European External Action Service shall provide recommendations on issues and actions to be prioritised in the following monitoring cycle. In case of failure to effectively implement the plans of action, the report shall indicate which measures the country shall undertake in order to comply with obligations under Article 9(d).
Amendment 62 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 1
1. The special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance shall be withdrawn temporarily, in respect of all or of certain products originating in a GSP+ beneficiary country, where that country does not respect its binding undertakings as referred to in Article 9, points (d), (e) and (f), including in case of failure to implement the plan of action referred to in Article 9 point (d) are identified, or the GSP+ beneficiary country has formulated a reservation which is prohibited by any of the relevant conventions or which is incompatible with the object and purpose of that convention as established in Article 9, point (c).
Amendment 63 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3
Article 15 – paragraph 3
3. Where, either on the basis of the conclusions of the report referred to in Article 14 or on the basis of the evidence available, including evidence submitted through a complaint, the Commission has a reasonable doubt that a particular GSP+ beneficiary country does not respect its binding undertakings as referred to in Article 9, points (d), (e) and (f), including with regards to the implementation of its plan of action, or has formulated a reservation which is prohibited by any of the relevant conventions or which is incompatible with the object and purpose of that convention as established in Article 9, point (c), it shall, in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 39(2), adopt an implementing act to initiate the procedure for the temporary withdrawal of the tariff preferences provided under the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council thereof. In its assessment of whether the GSP+ beneficiary country does not respect its binding undertakings referred to in Article 9 point (d), the Commission will in particular take into account whether the relevant monitoring bodies, treaty mechanisms and supervisory mechanisms have signalled potentially failure to effectively implement the relevant conventions of Annex VI, based on a set of identified indicators to report on progress.
Amendment 64 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the advisory body referred to in Article 13a (new) about the complaints received. The Commission shall inform the complainant, the European Parliament, the Council and the advisory body referred to in Article 13 a (new) where it decides that the complaint does not provide sufficient evidence in relation to the indicators referred to in this article.
Amendment 65 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 6
Article 15 – paragraph 6
6. The Commission shall seek all information it considers necessary including, inter alia, the conclusions and recommendations of the relevant monitoring bodies. In drawing its conclusions, the Commission shall assess all relevant information, including from civil society organisations, human rights defenders and social partners.
Amendment 66 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 9
Article 15 – paragraph 9
9. Where the Commission considers that the findings justify, based on the outcome of the cooperation and engagement and the findings referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6, and after consulting the advisory body referred to in Article 13a (new), that temporary withdrawal is justified for the reasons referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, it is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 36, to amend Annex I and Annex II in order to temporarily withdraw the tariff preferences provided under the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance referred to in Article 1(2), point (b). The Commission shall clearly and publicly state the grounds for withdrawing preferences and set clear benchmarks that the beneficiary country should meet for the preferences to be reinstated. In adopting the delegated act the Commission may, when appropriate, consider the human rights and socio- economic effect of the temporary withdrawal of tariff preferences in the beneficiary country, including with regard to impacts on women’s employment and empowerment and accordingly, consider a partial withdrawal, with a view to minimising the negative socio-economic impact on the GSP+ beneficiary country's population while maximising the leverage on its government.
Amendment 68 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 10 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. During the application of a temporary withdrawal, the Commission shall continue the dialogue with the beneficiary country, including in the framework referred to in Article 18a, aiming at remedying the reasons for the withdrawal referred to in paragraph 3. The Commission shall regularly assess the effects of the withdrawal on remedying the violations, including in the report referred to in Article 14. The Commission shall regularly consult with the advisory body referred to in Article 13a.
Amendment 69 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 17 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Commission and, where applicable, the European External Action Service, shall make sure that countries that benefit from the special arrangement referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall ratify the conventions listed in Annex VI and plan their effective implementation. EU development finance programming shall prioritise support to countries benefitting from the special arrangement referred to in paragraph 1 of this article aiming towards the ratification and the effective implementation of the Conventions listed in Annex VI.
Amendment 70 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Chapter V – title
Chapter V – title
V TEnhanced engagement and temporary withdrawal provisions common to all arrangements
Amendment 71 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph -1 (new)
Article 19 – paragraph -1 (new)
-1. In the framework of a Cooperation, Partnership or Association Agreement the EU has concluded with a beneficiary country, a general review of the status of the country in the framework of the preferential arrangements referred to in Article 1(2)shall be conducted yearly and in consultation with the European Parliament. To that purpose, the Commission, and where relevant the European External Action Service, and the beneficiary country shall review the issues pertaining to the conditions referred to in Article 19(1), including in relation to any complaints received by the Commission. The Commission, where relevant the European External Action Service, and the beneficiary country shall also review the status of the ratification of the conventions listed in Annex VI as referred to in Article4(1) point (c) and progress towards ratification and effective implementation of the conventions listed in Annex VI as referred to in Article 17(1a).
Amendment 72 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The preferential arrangements referred to in Article 1(2) may be withdrawn temporarily, fully or partly, in respect of all or of certain products originating in, or of all or some economic sectors of a beneficiary country, for any of the following reasons:
Amendment 73 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) serious and systematic violation ofviolation of and failure to implement effectively the principles laid down in the conventions listed in Annex VI;
Amendment 77 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) serious shortcomings in customs controls on the export or transit of drugs (illicit substances or precursors), or related to the obligation to readmit the beneficiary country’s own nationals or serious failure to comply with international conventions on antiterrorism or anti-money laundering;
Amendment 78 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) serious and systematic unfair trading practices including those affecting the supply of raw materials, which have an adverse effect on the Union industry and which have not been addressed by the beneficiary country. For those unfair trading practices, which are prohibited or actionable under the WTO Agreements, the application of this Article shall be based on a previous determination to that effect by the competent WTO bodyas established by WTO appeal mechanism;
Amendment 81 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
(ea) For the purpose of applying point 1(a), the Commission will in particular take into account whether the relevant monitoring bodies, treaty mechanisms and supervisory mechanisms have signalled potentially violations of the principles of the relevant conventions of Annex VI, based on a set of identified indicators.
Amendment 82 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 19 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 83 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 3
Article 19 – paragraph 3
3. Where the Commission, acting upon a complaint or on its own initiative, considers that there are sufficient grounds justifying temporary withdrawal of the tariff preferences provided under any preferential arrangement referred to in Article 1(2) because the beneficiary country has failed to deliver in the framework of the enhanced engagement or on the basis of the reasons referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article it shall adopt an implementing act to initiate the procedure for temporary withdrawal in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 39(2). The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the adoption of that implementing act.
Amendment 84 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 19 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Where the Commission, acting upon a complaint or on its own initiative, considers that there are sufficient grounds justifying temporary withdrawal of the tariff preferences provided under any preferential arrangement referred to in Article 1(2) because the beneficiary country has failed to deliver in the framework of the enhanced engagement or on the basis of the reasons referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article it shall adopt an implementing act to initiate the procedure for temporary withdrawal in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 39(2). The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the adoption of that implementing act.
Amendment 85 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 10
Article 19 – paragraph 10
10. Where the Commission considers that the findings justify temporary withdrawal for the reasons referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, it is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 36, to amend Annex I and Annex II, in order to temporarily withdraw the tariff preferences provided under the preferential arrangements referred to in Article 1(2). In adopting the delegated act the Commission may, where appropriate, consider the socio-economic effect, including with regard to impacts on women’s employment and empowerment, of the temporary withdrawal of tariff preferences in the beneficiary country and accordingly, consider a partial withdrawal, with a view to minimising the negative socio-economic impact on the GSP+ beneficiary country's population while maximising the leverage on its government.
Amendment 87 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 12 a (new)
Article 19 – paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. During the application of a temporary withdrawal, the Commission shall continue the dialogue with the beneficiary country, including in the framework referred to in Article 18a, aiming at remedying the reasons for the withdrawal referred to in paragraph 1. The Commission shall regularly assess the effects of the withdrawal on remedying the violations, and shall consult with the advisory body referred to in Article 13a.
Amendment 91 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 a (new)
Article 33 a (new)
Article 33a Funding Enhanced social and environmental conditionality to benefit from preferential trade preferences should be embedded into the technical and financial assistance projects under the NDICI-Global Europe instrument. Given their vulnerability and lack of economic diversification, EU development finance should prioritise support to countries benefiting from the special arrangements, aiming to support them to ratify and implement the conventions listed in Annex VI and adopt a National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Amendment 93 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex VI – subheading 1 a (new)
Annex VI – subheading 1 a (new)
UNDRIP-UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and its principles on Free Prior and Informed Consent (2007)
Amendment 94 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex VI – paragraph 1 a (new)
Annex VI – paragraph 1 a (new)
UNDROP-UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People in Rural Areas (2018).
Amendment 95 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex VI – paragraph 1 b (new)
Annex VI – paragraph 1 b (new)
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998)
Amendment 96 #
2021/0297(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex VI – paragraph 1 c (new)
Annex VI – paragraph 1 c (new)
VGGT - Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (2012).
Amendment 6 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) In its communication on the Farm to Fork Strategy, aiming at fostering a transition toward sustainable European food systems, the Commission set a target of 20% reduction in the use of fertiliser. The European Parliament acknowledged this reduction pathway. As synthetic fertiliser accounts for 1/40 of global GHG emissions, a reduction in farmers' dependency on these inputs is relevant from a climatic perspective. This reduction in fertiliser use could also mitigate the impact of an increase in synthetic fertiliser price on farmers’ income. The funds of the CAP, particularly its second pillar, and the NextGenerationEU can be put towards this goal, and in support of farmers' positive shift.
Amendment 16 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) While the objective of the CBAM is to prevent thelower global carbon emissions and support the implementation of the goals of the Paris Agreement, including by preventing any risk of carbon leakage, this Regulation would also encourage the use of more GHG emissions-efficient technologies by producers from third countries, so that less emissions per unit of output are generated.
Amendment 21 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13 a (new)
Recital 13 a (new)
(13 a) Least developed countries (LDCs) are accountable for only 1.1% of the world CO2 emissions from fossil-fuels combustion and industrial processes[1].While LDCs and Small Islands Developing States bear the least historical responsibility for climate change, they are on the front lines of the climate crisis, worsening existing inequalities and creating extreme poverty.To avoid such negative effects, they should be given a special treatment concerning carbon pricing in the frame of the CBAM.LDCs, as defined by the UN, are granted an exemption period from CBAM to avoid any additional burden that would prevent them from efficiently and swiftly achieve their climate transition towards climate neutrality.This exemption should be carefully monitored through market surveillance by the Commission to avoid circumvention. [1] “Smallest footprints, largest impacts: Least developed countries need a just sustainable transition”, UNCTAD, 2019, https://unctad.org/fr/node/34943
Amendment 22 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) This Regulation should apply to goods imported into the customs territory of the Union from third countries, except where their production has already been subject to the EU ETS, whereby it applies to third countries or territories, or to a carbon pricing system fully linked with the EU ETS. This Regulation should also not apply to third countries classified as “least-developed” by the United Nations.
Amendment 28 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) The CBAM seeks to replace these existing mechanisms by addressing the risk of carbon leakage in a different way, namely by ensuring equivalent carbon pricing for imports and domestic products. To ensure a gradual transition from the current system of free allowances to the CBAM, the CBAM should be progressively phased in while free allowances in sectors covered by the CBAM are phased out. The combined and transitionalthat the application of EU ETS allowances allocated free of charge and of the CBAM should in no casedoes not result in more favourable treatment for Union goods compared to goods imported into the customs territory of the Union, free allocation is to end upon application of the CBAM in 2025.
Amendment 32 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55
Recital 55
(55) As the CBAM aims to encourage cleaner production processes, the EU stands ready to work with low and middle- income countries towards the de- carbonisation of their manufacturing industries. Moreover, the Union should support less developed countries with the necessary technical assistance in order to facilitate their adaptation to the new obligations established by this regulation and provide them. with the necessary technical assistance and with the sharing or GHG-abating technology in order to facilitate their adaptation to the new obligations established by this regulation. Least Developed Countries have limited capacity to decarbonise their industries, and compliance with the CBAM obligations would be highly demanding for them. Moreover, manufacturing capacities and associated emissions in those countries are negligible on a global scale. In order not to place a disproportionate burden on those countries, and in line with the ‘common but differentiated responsibility’ principle, as stated in Art 2. 2. of the Paris agreement, the CBAM will not apply to them. However, to prevent risks of circumvention, the Commission will set up a market surveillance monitoring system and will take measures, where appropriate.
Amendment 35 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) As an instrument to prevent carbon leakage and reduce GHG emissions the CBAM should ensure that imported products are subject to a regulatory system that applies carbon costs equivalent to the ones that otherwise would have been borne under the EU ETS. The CBAM is a climate measure which should prevent the risk of carbon leakage and support the Union’s increased ambition on climate mitigation, while ensuring WTO compatibility. Support measures for farmers in adapting to changes in fertiliser price or sourcing shall be made available under existing appropriate instruments, notably the CAP and the NextGenerationEU, rather than compromising the efficacy and WTO compatibility of the CBAM itself.
Amendment 37 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55 a (new)
Recital 55 a (new)
(55 a) Revenues from the CBAM should flow into the general budget of the Union and should constitute internal assigned revenue for the purpose of Article 21(3) of the Financial Regulation. To further ensure that the aim of the CBAM is solely to reduce global carbon emission, those new resources should contribute to supporting the implementation of the Green Deal by stepping up the Union’s contribution to international climate finance and help to Least Developed Countries.
Amendment 43 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) The GHG emissions to be regulated by the CBAM should correspond to those GHG emissions covered by Annex I to the EU ETS in Directive 2003/87/EC, namely carbon dioxide (‘CO2’) as well as, where relevant, nitrous oxide (‘N2O’) and perfluorocarbons (‘PFCs’). The CBAM should initially apply to direct emissions of those GHG from the production of goods up to the time of import into the customs territory of the Union, and after the end of a transition period and upon further assessment, as well to indirect emissions, mirroring the scope of the EU ETS.
Amendment 43 #
2021/0214(COD)
1. This Regulation establishes a carbon border adjustment mechanism (the ‘CBAM’) for addressing greenhouse gas emissions embedded in the goods referred to in Annex I, upon their importation into the customs territory of the Union, in order to prevent thereduce global carbon emissions and support the implementation of the goals of the Paris Agreement by preventing any risk of carbon leakage.
Amendment 47 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 3
Article 2 – paragraph 3
3. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, this Regulation does not apply to goods originating in countries and territories listed in Annex II, Section A and in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) as designated by the United Nations.
Amendment 48 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 24 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 52 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 5
Article 27 – paragraph 5
5. Where the Commission, taking into account the relevant data, reports and statistics, including when provided by the customs authorities of Member States, has sufficient reasons to believe that the circumstances referred to in paragraph 32 are occurring in one or more Member States, it can proceed according to the following options: (a) it is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 28 to supplement the scope of this Regulation as necessary in order to include slightly modified products for anti-circumvention purposes. additional products for anti-circumvention purposes and if necessary it may adopt a new legislative proposal; (b) if in particular the practices of circumvention referred to in point (c) of paragraph 2 materialise in a Least Developed Country, the Commission may, if appropriate, temporarily remove the relevant exemption from the CBAM referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 2; (c) in particular for the practices of circumvention referred to in point (d) of paragraph 2, the Commission shall introduce a tariff-rate quota based on export levels during the three preceding years. Beyond the level set by the tariff- rate quota, the exemption from the CBAM for the country in question shall cease to apply.
Amendment 58 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) In particular, organic chemicals are not included in the scope of this Regulation due to technical limitations that do not allow to clearly define the embedded emissions of imported goods. For these goods the applicable benchmark under the EU ETS is a basic parameter, which does not allow for an unambiguous allocation of emissions embedded in individual imported goods. A more targeted allocation to organic chemicals will require more data and analysis, and a report assessing the possibilities to extend the scope to include organic chemicals is to be provided by the end of the transition period.
Amendment 59 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) However, aluminium products should be included in the CBAM as they are highly exposed to carbon leakage. Moreover, in several industrial applications they are in direct competition with steel products because of characteristics closely resembling those of steel products. Inclusion of aluminium is also relevant as the scope of the CBAM maywill be extended to cover also indirect emissions in the future.
Amendment 66 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37 a (new)
Recital 37 a (new)
(37a) The inclusion of the fertiliser sector in this Regulation will have an effect on fertiliser price leading to an increase of European farmers’ production costs. While avoiding carbon leakage from the fertiliser sector, this could ultimately result in carbon leakage in the food production due to climate dumping from third countries. One solution could be the inclusion of agricultural products in the scope of the CBAM. However, agricultural products are not included in the EU ETS and their inclusion would cause methodological problems in terms of emission accounting. Therefore, the impacts of the CBAM on the agricultural sector should be mitigated via other climatic legislation such as the Effort Sharing Regulation, trade measures in line with the Joint Statement on External Trade for the Achievement of the European Green Deal of 25th June 2021, and by pursing the goal of the Farm to Fork Strategy on reducing the use of synthetic fertiliser1a. _________________ 1aCommunication of the Commission on a Farm to Fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system (COM(2020)381), and European Parliament Resolution of 20 October 2021 on a Farm to Fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system (P9-TA(2021)0425
Amendment 102 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 3
Article 1 – paragraph 3
3. The mechanism will progressively become an alternative toreplace the mechanisms established under Directive 2003/87/EC to prevent the risk of carbon leakage, notabamely the allocation of allowances free of charge in accordance with Article 10a of that Directive.
Amendment 114 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) the total number of CBAM certificates corresponding to the total embedded emissions, to be surrendered, after the reduction due on the account of the carbon price paid in a country of origin in accordance with Article 9 and the adjustment necessary of the extent to which EU ETS allowances are allocated free of charge in accordance with Article 31.
Amendment 160 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 2
Article 30 – paragraph 2
2. Before the end of the transitional period, the Commission shall present a reportproposal to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Regulation. The report shall contain, in particular, the assessment of the possibilities toproposal shall further extend the scope of embedded emissions to indirect emissions and to other goods at risk of carbon leakage than those already covered by this Regulation, in particular organic chemicals, as well as an assessment of the governance system. It shall also contain the assessment of the possibility to further extend the scope to embedded emissions of transportation services as well as to goods further down the value chain and services that may be subject to the risk of carbon leakage in the future.
Amendment 164 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31
Article 31
Amendment 170 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 36 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) Articles 32 to 34 shall apply until 31 December 20254.
Amendment 173 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 36 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) Article 35 shall apply until 28 February 20265.
Amendment 174 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 3 – point c
Article 36 – paragraph 3 – point c
(c) Articles 5 and 17 shall apply from 1 September 20254.
Amendment 177 #
2021/0214(COD)
(d) Articles 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 3127 shall apply from 1 January 20265.
Amendment 19 #
2021/0211(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9 a (new)
Recital 9 a (new)
(9 a) Low income, lower-middle income and Least Developed Countries are the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Although their shares to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are very small or even negligible, they tend to be heavier exposed to impacts of climate change, notably in view of the state of their infrastructure and their peoples’ living conditions. Those countries are now in a calamitous situation by the combination of the global failure to curb GHG emissions, which raises their adaptation needs and costs ever higher, and the public finance crises caused by the COVID-pandemic and the associated ‘debt pandemic’.
Amendment 20 #
2021/0211(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9 b (new)
Recital 9 b (new)
(9 b) Significant financial resources are needed to implement the Paris Agreement. The EU remains committed to contributing towards the developed countries’ goal of jointly mobilising from different sources USD 100 billion per year by 2020 to support developing countries. The goal was extended until 2025 before a new collective goal is set.The funding will come from a wide variety of sources – public and private, bilateral and multilateral, and alternative sources of finance. However, this goal remains unmet. The EU should step up its support for these countries including through the ETS in order to strengthen their ability to adapt and their resilience to climate change.
Amendment 21 #
2021/0211(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9 c (new)
Recital 9 c (new)
(9 c) LDCs are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change and are responsible only for a very low level of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, particular priority should be given to addressing the needs of LDCs through the use of EU ETS allowances to fund climate action, in particular adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Collective pledging by the EU would increase EU influence in the UNFCCC negotiations while contribution through the Green Climate Fund would also encourage others to contribute a portion of their own carbon pricing schemes to the Fund.
Amendment 22 #
2021/0211(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9 d (new)
Recital 9 d (new)
(9 d) All revenues (or the equivalent in financial value) from EU ETS should be earmarked for climate action and 50% should be dedicated to EU’s collective contribution to international climate finance.
Amendment 31 #
2021/0211(COD)
(11) Article 10 is amended as follows: All revenues (or the equivalent in financial value) from EU ETS should be earmarked for climate action and 50% should be dedicated to EU’s collective contribution to international climate finance, to support in priority adaptation to climate change, in particular for Least Developed Countries and Small Islands Developing States, as well as in low income and lower-income countries, and loss and damage, which are of peculiar importance for vulnerable developing countries.
Amendment 16 #
2021/0031(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) Regulation (EC) No 138/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council17 sets up the economic accounts for agriculture (EAA) in the Union by providing for the methodology and the time limits for the transmission of the agricultural accounts. The economic accounts for agriculture are satellite accounts of national accounts, as defined by ESA 2010, with the purpose of obtaining results that are harmonised and comparable between the Member States in order to draw up the accounts for the purposes of the Union. In 2016, the European Court of Auditors published a special report on the Commission’s system for performance measurement in relation to farmers’ incomes. That report includes sound and relevant observations and recommendations regarding the economic accounts for agriculture and Regulation (EC) No 138/2004. _________________ 17Regulation (EC) No 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 December 2003 on the economic accounts for agriculture in the Community (OJ L 33, 5.2.2004, p. 1).
Amendment 20 #
2021/0031(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Statistics are no longer considered to be just one among many sources of information for policymaking purposes but instead play a central role in the decision- making process. Evidence-based decision- making requires statistics that meet high- quality criteria, as set out in Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council18 , in accordance with the purposes they are serving. High-quality statistical data are a central tool for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the CAP and the fulfilment of its specific objectives. The regional economic accounts for agriculture are also crucial for assessing accurately the contribution of the agricultural sector to the achievement of the European Green Deal, in particular the Farm to Fork Strategy. _________________ 18Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1101/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community Statistics, and Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities (OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164).
Amendment 28 #
2021/0031(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EC) No 138/2004
Article 3 a (new)
Article 3 a (new)
-1 Article 3a Dissemination of statistics 1.The data transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat) in accordance with Article 3 shall be actively disseminated by the Commission (Eurostat) online, free of charge, excluding confidential data in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 read in conjunction with Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006. 2. The public shall be granted access to the data collected under this Regulation that have not been proactively published in application of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 3, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
Amendment 53 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) A transparent and reliable statistical knowledge base is necessary to design, implement, monitor, evaluate and review policies related to agriculture in the Union, in particular the sustainable use of pesticides policy (‘SUD’)1a, the common agricultural policy (‘CAP’), including rural development measures, as well as Union policies relating to, among other things, the environment, climate change, land use, regions, public health and the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. _________________ 1aDirective 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides (OJ L 309, 24.11.2009, p.71)
Amendment 58 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The collection of statistical data, in particular on agricultural input and output, should aim, among other things, to inform the decision-making process with updated data to support the European Green Deal with the related ‘farm to fork’ and ‘biodiversity’ strategies and future CAP reforms. In particular, the present regulation aims at establishing a fully operational and transparent system for the regular collection of statistical data on pesticide use and other chemicals inputs relied on in agriculture. The goal is to ensure that the data needed to establish the impacts of occupational and non- occupational exposure to pesticides on human and animal health, and presence of pesticide residues in the environment, especially in soil and water is finally available.
Amendment 65 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) Agriculture can have a major positive or negative impact on natural ressources, biodiversity and climate. A key element for the achievement of the Green Deal objective is the transition toward a multifunctional agriculture capable of producing safe and sufficient food while providing positive environmental outputs. This Regulation can make crucial step toward this objective by monitoring these benefits as agricultural outputs.
Amendment 66 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) High quality harmonised statistical data are important to assess the state and trends of agricultural input and output in the Union, in order to provide meaningful and precise data on the pressures from agriculture on the environment and human health and the pace of the transition to sustainable agricultural practices. The data collected also should inform on the functioning of markets, and food security and to assess the sustainability as well as the environmental, economic and social impacts of Union and national policies. Those data include, but are not limited to, livestock and meat statistics, the production and use of eggs, and the production and use of milk and milk products. Statistics on the area, yield and production of arable crops, vegetables, various permanent crops and grasslands and commodity balances are also important. Increasingly, sStatistics on the sales and use of plant protection products and fertilisers are neededsynthetic inputs, including plant protection products, biocidal products, veterinary medicinal products and fertilisers are fundamental considering these inputs constitute key pressures on the environment and public health. Statistics on agricultural practices using minimal chemical inputs are the pre-condition to a basic understanding of the pace of the transition to sustainable practices and the need for further actions to accelerate this transition.
Amendment 88 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 a (new)
Recital 16 a (new)
(16a) Statistics on the placing on the market and use of synthetic inputs must be detailed up to the level of the active substances and product for the data to allow a meaningful assessment of trends of the reliance on chemicals inputs in agriculture. It is indeed considered a priority to remove restrictive aggregation requirements for synthetic inputs to ensure publication of more useful statistics and the development of more meaningful harmonised risk indicators under Directive 2009/128/EC to assess the progress made towards the policy objectives.
Amendment 100 #
2021/0020(COD)
(22) Where EU law requires professionals to keep records of inputs and outputs, these records shall be used for collection of data under this regulation. Mandatory data collection is recommended as the best option because it allows the development of accurate and reliable data on the placing on the market and use of inputs quickly and cost- efficiently. In order to ensure flexibility and to reduce the administrative burden on respondents, NSIs and other national authorities, Member States should be allowed to usesupplement this mandatory data through the use of statistical surveys, administrative records and any other sources, methods or innovative approaches, including scientifically based and well documented methods such as imputation, estimation, citizen science and modelling. The quality, and in particular the accuracy, timeliness and comparability of statistics based on these sources, should always be ensured.
Amendment 104 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23 a (new)
Recital 23 a (new)
(23a) On 25 June 1998 the Community signed the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (hereinafter the Aarhus Convention). The EU approved the Aarhus Convention on 17 February 2005. Provisions of EU law shall be consistent with that Convention. The Aarhus Convention calls for public access to environmental information either following a request or by active dissemination by the authorities covered by the Convention.
Amendment 106 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23 b (new)
Recital 23 b (new)
(23b) Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 and Directive 2003/4/EC on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention, include provisions on the collection, public access and dissemination of environmental information. In particular, this Regulation and Directive provide that an overriding public interest in disclosure shall be deemed to exist where the information requested relates to emissions into the environment, even if disclosure would undermine the protection of commercial interests, including the public interest in maintaining statistical confidentiality.
Amendment 107 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23 c (new)
Recital 23 c (new)
(23c) To ensure consistency with the Aarhus Convention, the present regulation specifies, regarding the data collected on chemicals input (fertilisers, plant protection products, biocidal products and veterinary medicinal products), the level of details to which the data collected must be published proactively by Eurostat. Such proactive dissemination will also prevent the administrative burden for Eurostat and national authorities of handling multiple access to document requests.
Amendment 113 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) This Regulation should apply without prejudice to bothRegulation (EC) 1049/2001, Directive 2003/4/EC (27 ) and Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 (28 ). This means in particular that the public shall be granted access upon request, in accordance with Regulation (EC) 1049/2001, Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 and Directive 2003/4/EC, to data collected under this regulation that have not been proactively published. _________________ 27Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC (OJ L 41, 14.2.2003, p. 26). 28 Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies (OJ L 264, 25.9.2006, p. 13).
Amendment 121 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. For the domain of environmental outputs of agriculture as referred to in Article 5(1), point (ca) the data shall cover 95% of the total utilised agricultural area (excluding kitchen gardens) of each Member State and the related environmental externalities.
Amendment 122 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. For the topic of plant protection producsynthetic inputs as referred to in Article 5(1), point (d) (iii), the data shall cover (a) 100% of the plant protection products placed on the market as defined in Article 3, point 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 . and the records of all professional users in accordance with Article 67 of Regulation 1107/2009; (b) 100% of the biocidal products placed on the market as defined in Article 3, point 1 of Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 for use on or in the vicinity of premises containing food-producing animals; (c) 100% of the veterinary medicinal products placed on the market as defined in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6 for use in food-producing animals and the records in accordance with Article 57 of Regulation 2019/6;
Amendment 130 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) environmental outputs of agriculture (i) biodiversity related outputs (ii) soil related outputs (iii) water related outputs (iii) climate related outputs
Amendment 134 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d – introductory part
(d) statistics on nutrients and plant protection productsynthetic inputs and nutrient balances
Amendment 136 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d – point iii a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d – point iii a (new)
(iiia) biocidal products
Amendment 140 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d – point iii b (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d – point iii b (new)
(iiib) veterinary medicinal products
Amendment 142 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(da) statistics on the transition towards minimal use of chemical inputs including integrated pest management practices within the meaning of Directive 2009/128EC
Amendment 145 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 5
Article 5 – paragraph 5
5. Regional data shall be provided at NUTS2 level as defined in Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 except if a more precise level (such as NUTS3) is specified in the Annexes.
Amendment 147 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 6
Article 5 – paragraph 6
6. Where a variable has low or zero prevalence in a Member States, the values of that variable may be excluded from the transmitted data sets, if the Member State concerned has duly justified its exclusion to the Commission (Eurostat). Such exclusion cannot apply to the data collected on synthetic inputs and nutrient balance as defined at Article 5(1)(d).
Amendment 152 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 8
Article 5 – paragraph 8
8. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14 amendding the detailed topics set out in theto Annex I.
Amendment 153 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 9 – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 9 – introductory part
9. The Commission may adopt implementing acts to define the data sets to be transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat). TUnless already specified in Annex Ia, those implementing acts shall specify the following technical elements of the data to be provided, where appropriate:
Amendment 177 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 2
2. A Member State may be exempted from certain regular transmissions of the data where the impact of the Member State on the EU total of a variable is limited. Such exemption cannot apply to the data collected on synthetic inputs and nutrient balance as defined at Article5(1)(d). The Commission may adopt implementing acts defining thresholds for variables according to specific methodology in such a way that the application of those thresholds does not reduce the information on the expected EU total of the variable in the reference year by more than 5%. The thresholds shall be revised so that they correspond to the trends of EU totals, initiated by the Commission (Eurostat).
Amendment 179 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. For the purpose of obtaining statistics related to the inputs and outputs of agricultural activities, except if specified otherwise in paragraphs 3 to 6, Member States shall use one or more of the following sources or methods, provided that the information allows for the production of statistics that meet the quality requirements laid down in Article 10:
Amendment 181 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Article 8 – paragraph 3
3. The statistics on the use of plant protection products as referred to in Article 5(1), point (d)(iii) shall be provided primarily using the records kept and made available in accordance with Article 67 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 and Article 5 of Regulation No 183/2005 (in particular Annex I part A, point II 2 (a)), complemented by any further sources and methods according to paragraph 1.
Amendment 185 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 4
Article 8 – paragraph 4
4. For that purpose, the Member States shall request from professional users of plant protection products, in electronic format, records covering at least the name of the plant protection product, the dose of application, the maintime of application, the area and the crop where the plant protection product was used in accordance with this Regulation.
Amendment 188 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. The statistics on biocidal products as referred to in Article 5(1), point (d)(iiia), shall be provided using, as the minimum, the records kept in accordance with Article 68 of Regulation (EU) 528/2012 and Article 5 of Regulation No 183/2005 (in particular Annex I part A, point II 2 (a)). By 2023 the Commission shall present a legislative proposal to create new record keeping obligations to cover all professional users of biocidal products in agriculture.
Amendment 191 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 4 b (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. The statistics on veterinary medicinal products as referred to in Article 5(1), point (d)(iiib) shall be provided using, as the minimum the records kept in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/6, including its Article 57 and 108.
Amendment 196 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 6
Article 8 – paragraph 6
6. National authorities responsible for complying with the requirements of this Regulation, as well as other national authorities that require this data to perform their public mission relating to environmental and public health monitoring and protection from hazardous chemicals, including the European Environment Agency, shall have the right to access and use, promptly and free of charge, data, including individual data on enterprises and agricultural holdings in administrative files compiled on their national territory pursuant to Article 17a of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.. The national authorities and the owners of the administrative records shall establish the necessary cooperation mechanisms for such access. That access shall also be granted in cases where the competent authority has delegated tasks to be carried out on its behalf to private or semi-public bodies.
Amendment 202 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 9 a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. The Commission (Eurostat) shall publish online, free of charge, the quality report provided by Member States, other reports or information provided by Member States in application of this article, as well as any request of the Commission (Eurostat) for clarification.
Amendment 205 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 a (new)
Article 10 a (new)
Article 10a Dissemination of statistics 1. The data collected on external inputs as defined in Article 5(1)(d), including all the variables described in Annex II, shall be actively disseminated by the Commission (Eurostat) online, free of charge, at the following level of aggregation: (a) Per active substance (b) Per plant protection, biocidal, veterinary medicinal and fertiliser product (c) Per crop and animal specie Data shall be aggregated at regional level NUTS3 and on a per year basis. 2. The data collected on topics other than synthetic inputs under this regulation shall be actively disseminated by the Commission (Eurostat) excluding confidential data in accordance with Regulation (EC) 223/2009 read in conjunction with Regulation(EC) No 1367/2006. 3. The public shall be granted access to the data collected under this regulation that have not been proactively published in application of paragraphs 1 and 2, in accordance with Regulation (EC) 1049/2001, Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 and Directive 2003/4.
Amendment 213 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Where the application of this Regulation or of the implementing measures and delegated acts adopted pursuant to them necessitates major technical adaptations in a national statistical system of a Member State, the Commission may adopt implementing acts granting derogations to Member States for a maximum duration of two years, non- renewable. The notion of necessary major technical adaptations in a national statistical system of a Member State must be interpreted strictly. Such derogation cannot apply to the data collected on synthetic inputs and nutrient balance as defined at Article 5(1)(d).
Amendment 233 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex – point c a (new)
Annex – point c a (new)
(ca) Environmental outputs of agriculture Topic Detailed topics Transmission Reference periods frequencies Biodiversity Agricultural diversity Annually Calendar year related outputs1a Natural vegetation, trees Annually Calendar year and pollinators presence Farmland birds presence Annually Calendar year Soil related Soil structure Calendar year outputs1b Degree of compaction Annually Calendar year Status of residues Annually Calendar year Soil Organic Carbon Annually Calendar year Content Water retention Annually Calendar year Soil cover Annually Calendar year Soil erosion Annually Calendar year Presence of invertebrates Calendar year Microbiological activity Annually Calendar year Water related Volume of water abstracted Annually Calendar year outputs for use in agriculture Water agricultural pollution Annually Calendar year Climate related Gross greenhouse gas Annually Calendar year outputs emissions Net greenhouse gas Annually Calendar year emissions ––––––––––––––––––––––– 1a Based on TAPE (FAO, 2019). 1bBased on the SOCLA methodology described in Nicholls et al (2004) taken up by TAPE (FAO, 2019).
Amendment 236 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex – point d
Annex – point d
Amendment 241 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex – point d a (new)
Annex – point d a (new)
(da) Statistics on the transition uptake of practices allowing a minimal use of synthetic chemical inputs Topic Detailed topics Transmission Reference periods frequencies Integrated pest Crop rotation Annually Calendar years management Use of adequate Annually Calendar years practices and other cultivation techniques practices Use of Annually Calendar years resistant/tolerant cultivars and standard/certified seed and planting material Use of balanced Annually Calendar years fertilisation, liming and irrigation/drainage practices Preventing the Annually Calendar years spreading of harmful organisms by hygiene measures Protection and Annually Calendar years enhancement of important beneficial organisms Pest monitoring Annually Calendar years results, methods and decision criteria for establishing treatment need
Amendment 244 #
2021/0020(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex 1 a (new)
Annex 1 a (new)
Amendment 4 #
2021/0019(COD)
(5a) Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/941a highlights the need to safeguard agricultural production through an authorization for farmers to use the product of the harvest for propagation under certain conditions. It seems necessary for balance to allow farmers to have such an authorization for the species asparagus, and the species groups flower bulbs, woody small fruits and woody ornamentals during the five year extension of the term of the Community plant variety rights. ____________________ 1a Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 of 27 July 1994 on Community plant variety rights (OJ L 227, 1.9.1994, p. 1).
Amendment 9 #
2021/0019(COD)
Article 3a Derogation from Community plant variety right During the extension of the term provided for in Article 2, Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 shall apply to the plant varieties concerned.
Amendment 3 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas EU fishing, aquaculture and processing sectors need to subscribe to the highest standards of environmental and social sustainability throughout the entire value chain, including labour rights and to a lesser extent animal health and welfare, and provide high-quality seafood products, thus playing a fundamental role in food security andin the European Union and to a smaller extent to the nutritional wellbeing to an ever increasing population; whereas by restricting fishing, a number ofthe most destructive fishing techniques, several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are jeopardiscan be aligned;
Amendment 16 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas EU fishers and fish farmers play an essential role across the Union and must continue providing social and economic support to many coastal and inland communities while adhering to Union environmental legislation;
Amendment 20 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas fishers, guardians of the sea, are present on a daily basis, ought to alert the authorities whenever they see any environmental degradation and are takingideally taking further steps to conserve the marine environment;
Amendment 27 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the EU Biodiversity Strategy does not take into account at all that there have been considerable improvements in EU fish populations; whedue to the implementation of improved management measureas in the north-east Atlantic there has been a 50 % increase in the number of fish at sea in only 10 years and overfishing in the EU is at an all-time low, whereas almost 100 % of the landings from EU- regulated stocks for which the respective scientific assessments are available come from stocks fished at the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels, whereas in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea fish stocks remain overexploited;
Amendment 33 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas scientific studies on the subject have raised concerns about the long-term negative impact that certain techniques used by fisheries, such as bottom-contacting gear and fish aggregating devices (FADs), have on stocks, ocean biodiversity and the marine environment;
Amendment 37 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas light pollution alter the natural night lighting levels for humans, animals and plants, thus negatively affecting biodiversity in the sea and deep sea, lakes, inland waterways and coastal areas;
Amendment 47 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that effectively managed fished populations are often more productive than non-fished ones; stresses, therefore, the fact that, in certain cases, closing fishing areas might notcan be compatible with social welfare and economic prosperity – essential components of sustainability – and with the SDGs on food security and poverty alleviation, emphasises that international scientific studies clearly indicate that protected areas provide spawning grounds and shelter for juveniles, and that the cost of non-action could be much higher;
Amendment 61 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that marine protected areas (MPAs) are a tool, not an objuseful and effective per setool; underlines the fact that setting a protection objective through the means of a conservation figure (i.e. a percentage) is irrelevantshould be based on the best available scientific advice, since the most important thingobjective is to ensure that the established protection zones truly cover anare fully implemented and truly cover an sufficiently large area with an ecological value that needs to be protected;
Amendment 65 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Highlights that, when successful, marine protected areas offer large socio- economic benefits, especially for coastal communities and the fisheries and tourism sector, and that MPAs can perform key ecological functions for the reproduction of fish stocks (providing spawning grounds and nurseries) and improve their resilience;
Amendment 70 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Points out that setting abstract, arbitrary, rigid, unrealistic annumerical targets based non- achievable numerical targets undermines the best available scientific advice are an example of good legislation and the credibility of lawmakers;
Amendment 75 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that in addition to expanding protected areas, the strengthening and to efficiently implementing existing closed areas would be much more efficientremains effective, necessary and meaningful;
Amendment 78 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Urges Member States to expedite the development and submission of Joint Recommendations for the management of fisheries in their marine protected areas under Article 11 of the Common Fisheries Policy; Calls on the Commission to follow scientific advice when assessing proposals and to systematically reject inadequate measures, including the use of destructive fishing gears inside marine protected areas;
Amendment 83 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses the importance of including in the EU Biodiversity Strategy ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ provided for by the Convention on Biological Diversity1 ; considers that these ‘other measures’ sometimes offer a higher level of protection than those provided for by an MPAas well as measures to counter the negative effects of noise and light pollution on marine biodiversity; _________________ 1https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop- 14/cop-14-dec-08-en.pdf
Amendment 87 #
Amendment 94 #
Amendment 95 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Emphasises the importance and usefulness of no-take zones where all catches and economic activities are banned;
Amendment 96 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Amendment 97 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Welcomes that 10% of European waters will benefit from a high level of protection, including areas where all catches and all economic activities are prohibited (no-take zones);
Amendment 98 #
Amendment 99 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Stresses that the deep sea is home to the greatest diversity of species and ecosystems on Earth, provides critical environmental goods and services, including long-term carbon sequestration, and is characterized by environmental conditions that make it highly vulnerable to human disturbance; scientists have warned that deep seabed mining will cause biodiversity loss, both by destroying seabed life where mining would take place, with little prospect of recovery, and by generating plumes, light, toxins and noise that could impact both benthic and mesopelagic marine life far beyond actual mining sites; and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for protection of the ocean, building resilience and restoration of degraded ecosystems and sustainable consumption and production of resources.
Amendment 100 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish a moratorium in EU waters and to support an international moratorium on deep seabed mining, to refrain from adopting regulations for deep-sea mineral exploitation including by the International Seabed Authority, to cease subsidising licences for mineral prospecting and extraction in areas beyond national jurisdiction, to cease funding for the development of seabed mining technology; and to not issue exploitation or new exploration contracts including for mining national continental shelves unless and until the environmental, social and economic risks are comprehensively understood; deep seabed mining can be managed to prevent the loss of marine biodiversity, ensure the resilience of and prevent degradation of marine ecosystems; the free, prior, informed consent from potentially affected communities is obtained; efforts to develop circular economies and better materials resource use are underway; and the reform of the structure and functioning of the International Seabed Authority to ensure a transparent, accountable, inclusive and environmentally responsible decision- making is achieved.
Amendment 102 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the importance of proper and inclusive spatial planning, which takes sufficiently into account the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture, pointing to the need for allocating space to existing and new fishing grounds and aquaculture farm as well as the status and sensitivity of habitats, pointing to the need for a transparent and participate mechanism following the Marine Spatial Planning Directive for allocating space to all economic stakeholders;
Amendment 108 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls that the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) provides for a robust regulatory framework with sophisticated tools, which has set down the dates of publication of specific reports: the Commission is to report to Parliament and to the Council on the functioning of the CFP by 31 December 2022; recalls that Article 8 of the CFP on Fish Stock Recovery Areas has not been implemented as of today;
Amendment 110 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that, according to the new Technical Measures Regulation2 , the Commission must submit a report to Parliament and the Council by 31 December 2020, and th[1] that covers the taking and landing of fisheries resources as well as the operat ionly in cases where of fishing gear and there is evidence that the objectives and targets have not been met, the Commission may propose measures; _________________ 2nteraction of fishing activities with marine ecosystems, the Commission must submit a report to Parliament and the Council by 31 December 2020; OJ L 198, 25.7.2019, p. 105.
Amendment 116 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 126 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Expresses its deep regret over the obvious discriminatory treatment of fisheries compared to that of agricultureHighlights that apart from fisheries also other anthropogenic impacts such as from agriculture, IUU fishing, maritime transport, offshore oil and gas drilling, submarine pipelines and pollution caused by industrial, urban and plastic waste have a detrimental impact on the marine environment; urges to address all such impact in a holistic manner; welcomes the fact the proposed strategy outlines that ‘the progress towards the targets will be under constant review, and adjustment if needed, to mitigate against undue impact on biodiversity, food security and farmers’ competitiveness’; notes, however, that this sentence, which is a necessary safety net, is clearly discriminatory since it fails to mention fishers and aquaculture producers;
Amendment 132 #
Amendment 139 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Strongly denounces the excessivNotes the focus on fishing and its connection with the failure to achieve the good ecological status in marine ecosystems and the lack of consideration given to other sources of pressure and degradation, such as oil, gas, dredging or shipping;
Amendment 144 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Strongly denouncNotes the fact that the strategy accusehighlights bottom trawling, as ‘the most damaging activity to the seabed’, without any in-depth analysis to back it up;
Amendment 150 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses that gears and techniques should not be demonised; recalls that while bottom trawling can also enhance biodiversity in certain sandy seabeds and thatis one of the most common fishing gears in Europe it ihas one of the most common and most regulated fishing gears in Europevertheless a highly detrimental impact on marine ecosystems; stresses that it is the only viablea way to catch many key species that we eat and that almost all of them for which scientific assessments exist are fished at MSY levels and that manyseveral of them are Marine Stewardship Council certified, recalls nevertheless that bottom trawling has been identified by FAO as the gear type that contributes most to annuals levels of discards;
Amendment 157 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
Amendment 163 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers that ecosystem services provided by certain aquaculture activities, of which the maintenance of biodiversity is an important one, must be taken into consideration and supported, especially low-impact aquaculture;
Amendment 165 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes proposals to reduce and limit the use of pesticides and other chemicals to protect biodiversity; underlines the impact of agriculture on marine ecosystems; calls for a proper assessment in the of the ecotoxicity of pesticides in marine environments before any market authorisation; recalls that the overuse of nitrogenic fertilisation is one of the main driver of the eutrophication of aquatic environments strongly believes, however, that such measures should be pre-assessed diligently and should include cumulative impact assessments taking in account environmental costs and benefits;
Amendment 167 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Embraces the ambitions set out in the Water Framework Directive3 and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive4 ; recalls in this respect that the 2020 objective to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) for European Seas has not been achieved by 2020; highlights that the river and basin management plans are supposed to achieve the objectives of the Water Framework Directive by 2027; highlights that aquaculture can play a role in restoring degraded marine and freshwater ecosystems; _________________ 3 OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p.1. 4 OJ L 164 25.6.2008, p. 19.
Amendment 172 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Stresses the importance of adequate funding, including for the artisanal component of the fishing sector in the transition towards more selective and less damaging fishing techniques, through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund in order to achieve the EU’s goals on biodiversity;
Amendment 178 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the high level of ambition when setting targets; strongly recommends, however, that such targets should not be legally binding, and that they should be set on a case-by-case basrequire follow-up action to ensure their implementation is, adapted to local specificities and to the level required to protect nature and biodiversity; recommends that such targets should also take into account socio-economic considerations and the need to ensure a long-term resilience of the natural systems that provide the basis for the fisheries and aquaculture value chain, be proportionate with the objective pursued and have a solid scientific basis; calls on the Commission to develop a robust reporting process with criteria to count officially marine protected areas against international targets only once they are actively managed;
Amendment 187 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses the importance of the constructive, effective and equal consultation of all relevant stakeholders, including fishers and aquaculture producers, in any decision related to biodiversity; recalls that the success of MPAs and other protected areas lies in them being accepted and embraced by fishers, coastal communities and other stakeholders; calls on the Commission to consider the need to facilitate the active participation of the fisheries sector, including its artisanal component, the local communities and all relevant stakeholders in the design, management and monitoring of MPAs when drafting the Action plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems;
Amendment 192 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses the need to conduct comprehensive impact assessments that take into account the impact on small-scale fishers and small and medium-sized enterprises in particular and) that consider the accomplishments achieved to date and the availability of alternative products, economic impacts alongside effects on food security and food safety, with a view to guaranteeing the preservation of biodiversity together withas a basis for the competitiveness of the seafood value chain;
Amendment 201 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. NotWelcomes the Commission’s remark that in order ‘to have healthy and resilient societies we need to give nature the space it needs’; stresses, however, that if we are to have healthy and resilient societies not only do we need to give nature the space it needs, but also fishermen and aquaculture producers the space they need;
Amendment 204 #
2020/2273(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
Amendment 1 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Whereas FAO estimates that about 75 % of plant genetic diversity has been lost worldwide; whereas wide-scale genetic erosion increases our vulnerability to climate change and to the appearance of new pests and diseases;
Amendment 2 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1 a. Whereas industrial agriculture and breeding are driving habitat loss and creating conditions for viruses, such as Covid-19, to emerge and spread;
Amendment 3 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 b (new)
Paragraph -1 b (new)
-1 b. Whereas consolidation of the food sector, including through patenting, is driving a reduction in seed and livestock genetic diversity;
Amendment 4 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 c (new)
Paragraph -1 c (new)
-1 c. Whereas farmers’ rights were established under the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in 2004, but whereas Intellectual Property rules have often worked in contradiction to them, putting local, traditional and indigenous seed systems at risk;
Amendment 11 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that the disruptions triggered by COVID-19 have shone a spotlight on the vulnerabilities of the global food system; but recalls that family farmers and smallholders have demonstrated their ability to provide diversified products and to increase food production sustainably; accordingly, urges a shift away from trade- oriented agricultural policies and towards support for food sovereignty and local and regional markets; recalls that agroecology’s capacity to reconcile the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability has been widely recognised in landmark reports, notably from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the World Bank and FAO-led global International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD);
Amendment 25 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Insists that EU funding for agriculture must be in line with Agenda 2030Stresses that short supply chains hold major potential to address current food system failures; and recalls that climate-friendly agriculture entails i.e. to reducing dependence on fossil fuel energy, including the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers; but notes with concern that most agricultural development funding in Sub-Sahara Africa still supports Green Revolution approaches, where the use of public finances to unlock private investment opportunities (e.g. PPPs, blended finance models) mostly target export commodity production and agropoles, and is increasingly conductive to food system industrialisation, while smallholders, and particularly women, struggle in the meantime to access the credit and financial support[1]; insists that EU funding for agriculture must be in line with Agenda 2030, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity and prioritise investments in agroecology, agroforestry and crop diversification; stresses the importance of preserving agricultural biodiversity, local animal and plant breeds and local varieties;recalls that agricultural expansion and unsustainable agricultural intensification practises are major causes of biodiversity degradation worldwide, including genetic erosion of crop and livestock varieties; therefore, stresses the importance of preserving agricultural biodiversity, local animal and plant breeds and local varieties to secure nutritious, safe, affordable and high quality food throughout the year, preserve biodiversity and increase climate resilience; [1] Sources: International Panel of Experts on SustainableFood Systems - IPES Food, « The added value(s) of agroecology : Unlocking the potential for transition in West Africa”, July 2020.
Amendment 36 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Recalls that the majority of smallholder farmers in developing countries are women, and that the promotion of a long term strategy of conservation, improvement and management of genetic resources diversity for food and agriculture requires the recognition of their role and knowledge as food providers and producers; urges the EU and its Member States to strive, notably through development aid, for their active participation as decision makers, and to help addressing the discriminations they face, notably regarding access of women farmers to land, productive resources and financial services;
Amendment 44 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regrets that increasing vertical and horizontal concentration in the agri-food sector, reinforces the industrial food and farming model; believes that the Green New Deal requires the creation of a new anti-trust environment; , at the expense of small farmers and breeders in Europe and abroad; highlights that industry consolidation enhances the risks of human rights abuses along their supply chains; reminds equally that while the livestock industry experiences further vertical integration, zoonotic and food- borne disease risks to proliferate; in contrast, stresses that development and dissemination of livestock species are maintained by small-scale producers and pastoralists; against this backdrop, believes that the Green New Deal requires the creation of a new anti-trust environment, where the impacts of concentration on production and processing activities are assessed and monitored, including on social, environmental and public health;
Amendment 50 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Recalls that seed diversity is vital in building resilience of farming to climate change; calls for the EU to support intellectual property rights regimes that enhance the development of locally adapted seed varieties and farmer- saved seeds;
Amendment 51 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Notes with concern that EU free trade agreements (FTAs) require Parties to ensure the protection of plant varieties in accordance with the revised 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), which is incompatible with the provisions of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), which safeguards the rights of farmers to maintain genetic resources for purposes of food security and climate change adaptation; reminds that farm-saved seeds are estimated to account for over 80% of farmers’ total seed requirements in some African countries; therefore, urges the EU to refrain from influencing seed law reform, notably in Africa, through the adoption of 1991 UPOV provisions;
Amendment 53 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Calls on the EU to support developing countries to adopt appropriate national legislation with the view to protect threatened genetic resources for food and agriculture, guarantee their continued use and management by local communities, indigenous peoples, men and women, and ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use;
Amendment 54 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Highlights the risks relating to the development of genome editing on small farmers and breeders; calls for a global moratorium on gene drive research linked to the development of applications and on releases of gene drive organisms into nature, including field trials, and to uphold the precautionary principle, as enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity;
Amendment 55 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3 e. Recalls Europe’s dependence on overseas land for its livestock and aquaculture production; acknowledges the devastating environmental impact of genetically modified (GM) soya for animal feed; stresses that transgenic crops are not compatible with agro-ecological and organic agriculture, as they are, almost without exception, either herbicide tolerant (including to glyphosate) or produce their own toxic insecticides, or both; but recalls that more diverse farming systems based on agro-ecology provide a natural defence against pests; calls on the Commission to no longer authorise Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) crops that are either herbicide tolerant or which produce their own pesticides, either for import or cultivation in the EU, due to biodiversity damage and health risks;
Amendment 56 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3 f. Urges the Commission to set up a European vegetable protein production and supply strategy, with the view to become less dependent on genetically modified (GM) feed imports and to create shorter food chains and regional markets;
Amendment 60 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the EU-Mercosur Agreement is inconsistent with the Farm to Fork Strategy, in particular its objectives of reduction of dependence on animal feed (including soybeans grown on deforested land), and the shift to a more plant-based diet and shorter supply chains and to become global standard for sustainability; deplores, in particular, that it boosts embodied deforestation; facilitates the importation of genetically modified foods containing residues pesticides, the production and/or use of which is prohibited on European soil and provides for the removal of barriers to trade in chemical pesticides;
Amendment 69 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that EU free trade agreements (FTAs) should not disrupt local agriculture, damage small producers or exacerbate dependency on food imports; calls into question international trade rules which allow dumping through the WTO green box; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to compliance of EU trade agreements with the Paris Agreement,more specifically, calls on the EU to embark on a modification of the current WTO definition of dumping, with the aim to cover cases where subsidies enable export sales to take place at below the costs of production; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to compliance of EU trade agreements with the Paris Agreement by turning it into an “essential clause”; stresses that to be enforceable, environmental objectives set in EU FTAs must be clear, measurable, verifiable and include sanctions for non-compliance; and calls for market access in FTAs to be conditional on compliance with process and production methods criteria, with reference to environmental sustainability and climate change;
Amendment 74 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Highlights that trade agreements can have a negative impact on food security in developing countries; recalls as well that EU consumption represents around 10% of the global share of deforestation, through its high import dependency of agricultural commodities such as palm oil, meat, soy, cocoa, maize, timber, rubber; in addition, notes with concern that biodiversity of cultivated crops and farmed animals has decreased because of international trade, while specialisation in agriculture has a downside negative effect for ecosystem, that are less diverse, and therefore less functional and less resilient;
Amendment 77 #
2020/2260(INI)
5 b. Urges the EU to guarantee the coherence of European agricultural and trade policies in line with the commitments to Policy Coherence for Development (PCD); calls for a fully- fledged sustainability ex ante and ex post impact assessment of EU free trade agreements (FTAs); more broadly, calls for the EU to support developing countries’ demands to protect their food production and to safeguard their population from the potentially destructive effects of cheap imports, notably through the revision of their common external tariffs within the remit of revised economic partnership agreements (EPAs); which shall support effectively the integration of regional market;
Amendment 81 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Denounces the EU’s double standards on pesticides, which allow the export from the EU of hazardous substances banned in the EU.Recalls that “Farm to Fork” strategy aims to gradually ban hazardous pesticides from agriculture and promote alternative practises; denounces the EU’s double standards on pesticides, which allow the export from the EU of hazardous substances banned in the EU. recalls EU’s commitments towards the “do-not-harm principle”; demands the modification of the current EU rules to eliminate this legal incoherence, in line with the Rotterdam Convention of 1998 and the Green Deal;
Amendment 88 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
- having regards to Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms,
Amendment 88 #
2020/2260(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Recalls that progress still needs to be made for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements to become truly sustainable, highlights that these agreements must be in line with best available scientific advice and must neither threaten the small-scale fisheries sector in third countries nor undermine local food security;
Amendment 390 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas genome editing methods have a high technical potential to make the whole genome available for genetic changes, very often resulting in complex patterns of genetic change (genotypes) and profound intended changes in the biological characteristics (phenotypes), even if no additional genes are inserted; whereas organisms derived from genome editing are covered by the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol of the Convention on Biological Diversity;
Amendment 796 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Urges the Commission to strengthen Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market, by means of more comprehensive, rigorous and independent scientific assessments covering all the substances contained in the commercial product for which a marketing authorisation application has been made, and a more transparent procedure not subject to any conflicts of interest;
Amendment 1164 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the importance of seed security and diversity, notably of promoting EU-grown plant proteins to deliver locally sourced food and feed stuffs with high nutritional value while granting farmers access to quality seeds for plant varieties adapted to the pressures of climate change, including traditional and locally-adapted varieties, while ensuring access to innovative plant breeding in order to contribute to healthy seeds and protect plants against harmful pests and diseases; raises awareness of the potential negative effects of concentration and monopolisation in the seed sector;
Amendment 1189 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Recalls that the precautionary principle in regard to GMOs has to be applied in accordance with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 25 July 2018 in Case C-528/16, which includes the need for companies to provide methods to identify the relevant organisms as well as mandatory approval process, including risk assessment and labelling.
Amendment 1268 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Considers that an ambitious plan for European organic farming is needed to achieve a successful transition, meet growing consumer demand for organic products, take more effective action for the climate and environment, and improve farmers’ incomes and regional economies; suggests that the targets for organically farmed land should be set at 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, and that the simple announcement of the Commission’s future action plan, which is expected in the spring, is not sufficient to explain how those targets will be achieved; notes that it would be highly desirable for the targets for organically farmed land to be clearly set out in the CAP National Strategic Plans that are currently being prepared, and that the Commission should ensure that those targets are met and that the European and national budgetary resources needed to develop organic farming as a whole are sufficient and considerably increased so as to support as many conversions as possible and invest in small processing and marketing structures, advice, research, promotion among European consumers, and food education;
Amendment 1441 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for primary producers to be supported in making the transition to greater sustainability through the encouragement of cooperation and collective actions bas well as through competition rules and the enhancement of possibilities for cooperation within the common market organisations for agricultural, fishered on the consolidation of production, and the adaptation of competition rules applied within the common market organisation (Single CMO) in order to strengthen their market power, generate value based on sustainability and aquaculture products, and thus for farmers’ and fishers’ position lity, and better share that value within the food supply chain to be strengthened in order to enable them to capture a fair share of the added value of sustainable production; calls for the same type of approach to be used for fishers, too;
Amendment 1450 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Believes that it is necessary to create a regulatory environment that encourages the development of sectors in which everyone involved in the food chain is jointly committed, in the long term, to achieving the transition and supplying healthy and sustainable food to all consumers, while reinforcing the resilience of our food system, particularly during times of crisis, as well as our food sovereignty and farmers’ incomes;
Amendment 1610 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls the need to promote effective Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS), enabling all food chain actors to become sustainable by speeding up innovation and accelerating knowledge transfer; recalls, in addition, the need for a farm sustainability and farm and food ‘general accountancy’ data network to set benchmarks for farm performance and document the uptake of sustainable farming practices, while allowing for the precise and tailored application of new production approaches at farm level by providing farmers with access to fast broadband connections;
Amendment 1664 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for measures to reduce the burden that highly processed foods with high salt, sugar and fat content place on public health; calls for product labelling to inform consumers, in bold type, of the number of ingredients that products contain; 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;
Amendment 1763 #
2020/2260(INI)
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; calls, for public health reasons, for all raw and processed foods to have labels indicating the presence of pesticide residues; 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 1792 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Believes that it is essential to respond to the growing demand of consumers, relayed on numerous occasions in European Parliament resolutions, for better information about the origin of all of the food products that they purchase by introducing mandatory labelling, including for seafood and ingredients used in processed products; considers that, with regard to processed products, the number of parties involved in their preparation is also information that should be provided to consumers, given their interest in short supply chains;
Amendment 1870 #
2020/2260(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Highlights the recognition in the strategy that Europeans’ diets are not in line with recommendations for healthy eating, and that a population-wide shift in 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; calls for food product labelling to list natural ingredients separately from artificial ingredients (produced in laboratories or industrially manipulated); emphasises that EU-wide guidelines for sustainable and healthy diets would 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 advice; calls on the Commission to develop such guidelines and specific actions to effectively promote healthy plant-based diets;
Amendment 2211 #
2020/2260(INI)
26. Recalls the global responsibility of European food systems and their key role in setting global standards for food safety, environmental protection, social and labour law, fair trade 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 providehibit them from accessing the EU market if they do not; calls, too, for 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 27 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas the European Parliament voted in October 2020 on the initiative report "Framework of ethical aspects of artificial intelligence, robotics and related technologies";
Amendment 42 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that issues related to the wellbeing of agricultural workers and/or operators, animal welfare, and other ethical aspects should bare a priority when it comes to assessing the applicabilityimpacts of AI in the sector;
Amendment 45 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Affirms that the principle of “public money, public data” should guide the research, development and implementation of artificial intelligence, where public funds are involved; stresses that any public financing of artificial intelligence in agriculture should focus on holistic solutions to common environmental, climate and food security challenges, whilst also integrating its socio-economic impact, in order to put innovation at the service of the common good;
Amendment 58 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that targeted investments should be made in AI and innovative tools intendede need to assess social and environnemental consequences on rural economy before making investments in AI and innovative tools, and that it is also necessary to evaluate if they are able to improve the quality and use of natural resources, such as soil and water for agriculture production in the EU;
Amendment 64 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Considers that the digital divide is an obstacle to sharing the advantages of the artificial intelligence sector; stresses that farmers need to be trained and made aware of their rights and obligations in the use of artificial intelligence, to enable them to harvest potential benefits while ensuring their autonomy; considers that the implementation of artificial intelligence tools is not an end in itself, but should only be driven by the needs asserted by farmers themselves, in a bottom-up participatory process;
Amendment 72 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Stresses that investment in artificial intelligence is a major financial risk and can lead to an exacerbation of the farmers' over-indebtedness, thus increasing their dependence on other actors in the agricultural sector and contributing to a shift of the value produced by farms to agro-equipment suppliers;
Amendment 77 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that robots, automated tractors and drones that rely on artificial intelligence will be an additional factor in the ongoing and large-scale job loss in the agricultural sector and that appropriate measures should be implemented to preserve the family-model of European agriculture should be preserved and that the introduction of AI technologies cshould be harnessed to support the family model and sustain traditional practices;
Amendment 87 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Stresses that AI is built and trained on datasets, both public and private, and enabling sharing and access to essential and well-defined data sets will be key to fully unlock the potential of the Green Deal; calls on the Commission to assess which datasets are essential for the ecological transition in the context of sustainable agriculture, inter alia in production, transportation, carbon, energy and biodiversity impact, as well as end-of life handling; calls on the Commission to consider extending the scope of the high value datasets defined in Directive (EU) 2019/1024 on Open Data to private actors and ensure that public money always result in public results and data;
Amendment 92 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Underlines that the quality of data collection and data sets used to train the AI has a major impact on achieving the efficiency and values we strive for; Call the Commission to ensure standardisation of datasets and a high quality review in order to eliminate biases and incorporate Green deal values in the AI products;
Amendment 104 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Believes that AI technologies can and should be used to improve the traceability of products including issues such as origin or production methods;
Amendment 112 #
2020/2216(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on all Member States not to include in their common agricultural policy strategic plans and rural development plans measures to support the introduction and wider use of safe and reliable AI and innovative tools at affordable rates for beneficiaries as long as ethical, responsibility and insurance questions have not been solved;
Amendment 1 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. whereas the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the vulnerability of the global supply chain, notably in food and health, and the need to build regional value chains and boost regional integration;
Amendment 2 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Welcomes the commitment made by the Commission in its Communication “Trade Policy Review - An Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy “ of 18 February 2021 to make its trade policy coherent with its overarching objective of green transformation of the economy, towards a climate neutral, environmentally sustainable, resource efficient and resilient economy by 2050;
Amendment 7 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented health, economic, social and humanitarian crisis on a global scale, with asymmetric effects for least developed countries (LDCs) whose high vulnerability is linked to poor economic diversification and high dependency on export of raw materials; calls for the EU to tailor its commitments and approach to developing countries and LDCs accordingly;
Amendment 13 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. CRecalls that one of the main challenges for developing countries is to climb up the global value chain through economic diversification, which necessitates fair and pro-development global trade rules; calls on the Commission to mount an assertive and coordinated international trade policy response geared towards a multilateral, resilient and sustainable recovery in developing countries; calls on the Commission to deepen EU-Africa trade relations through economic p, with a view to contributing to the fulfilment of the SDGs and their regional integration process; in this context, highlights limited progress regarding the economic diversification of developing countries covered by Economic Partnership aAgreements, while making the most of the EU’s Aid for Trade Strateg; urges once more the EU and its Member States to acknowledge the difficulties encountered by developing countries related to EPAs, especially in terms of regional integration, industrialisation and economic diversification and to revise EPAs accordingly;
Amendment 26 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Encourages the EU and the Member States to help developing countries and regions to keep their borders open and to set up ‘green corridor mechanisms’ to allow the unhindered flow of essential goods, agri-food products and humanitarian aid across borders, while taking, at the same time, decisive action to mitigate and adapt to climate change, protect the environment and strong social and labour policies;
Amendment 32 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. IStresses that the Covid-19 pandemic has shown the vulnerability of the global value chain systems, in particular the need to diversify production and supply chains; invites the Commission to adapt its trade policy in order to help developing countries to boost the resilience and diversification of their value chains at a global, regional and local level, including reshoring and nearshoring; to this effect, calls on the EU and its Member States not to systematically oppose local content clauses in its partner’s climate policies, as it may be useful in promoting the production and consumption of locally produced goods; recalls equally that trade rules should encourage the sustainable use of resources; to this end, calls on the EU to refrain from adopting a trade policy that prohibits, as a general rule, ACP countries from levying export taxes on raw material insofar as it is WTO- compatible, notably for industrial development and environmental protection purposes;
Amendment 42 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the commitment shown by the EU and its Member States in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response and COVAX initiatives;Stresses that a more equitable distribution of vaccines around the globe is essential to combat effectively the spread of the covid-19 and its mutation; recalls equally that COVID-19 medical tools should be affordable, safe, effective, easily administered and universally available for everyone and everywhere; welcomes, as a first step, the commitment shown by the EU and its Member States in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response and COVAX initiatives; but recalls that vaccines should be declared a global public good; accordingly, urges the Commission and the Member States not to block the TRIPS waiver at the WTO and to support global open access to Covid-19 vaccines to scale up global production, notably through technology transfer; to this end, urges the EU to support developing countries, in particular LDCs, in the effective implementation of flexibilities for the protection of public health provided for in TRIPs agreements, notably compulsory licencing and parallel import; in the meantime, calls on the Commission to coordinate with the World Health Organization and the African Union in order to scale up vaccine production for developing countries;
Amendment 56 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Urges the Commission to identify the appropriate measures to ensure that this pandemic does not precipitate a food crisis in the developing world; supports actions to facilitate tradein this context, recalls the commitment made by the Commission in its Farm to Fork Strategy to support the global transition to sustainable agri-food system, notably by striving to obtain ambitious commitments from third countries in key areas such as animal welfare, the use of pesticides and the fight against antimicrobial resistance; recalls equally its pledge to support small- scale farmers, short-supply chains, agro- ecology and conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; notes, however, that EU trade agreements can have a negative impact on food security in developing countries; calls for the EU to support developing countries’ demands to protect their food production and to safeguard their population from the potentially destructive effects of cheap imports, notably within the remit of revised economic partnership agreements (EPAs); and to supports actions with a view to promoting food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary measures in response to COVID-19, in line with its “Green Deal” commitments, notably its “Farm to Fork Strategy”; stresses that EU FTAs should include specific references to Parties’ rights to invoke the precautionary principle, ass enshrined in the TFEU as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity, with regard to SPS measures;
Amendment 61 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Recalls that seed diversity is vital in building the resilience of farming to climate change; recalls that farm-saved seeds are estimated to account for over 80% of farmers’ total seed requirements in some African countries; calls for the EU to support intellectual property rights regimes that enhance the development of locally adapted seed varieties and farmer- saved seeds, in line with the provisions of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), which safeguards the rights of farmers to maintain genetic resources for purposes of food security and climate change adaptation;
Amendment 63 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Recalls that the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services will undermine progress in approximately 80 % of the assessed targets for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); regrets that dispute settlement systems covering biodiversity and trade provisions in Multilateral Environment Agreements are not binding, unlike the WTO enforcement system, which de facto embodies the supremacy of commercial law over biodiversity; in particular, recalls that current WTO rules limit the possibility of EU Member States of raising tariffs on products that have a negative impact on biodiversity; against this backdrop, welcomes the commitment of the Commission to prioritise effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in trade and investment agreements; and calls on the Commission to advocate reform of the WTO along this line;
Amendment 67 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to collaborate with developing partner countries in order to facilitate digital infrastructure, establish policy strategies and harmonise regulatory frameworks forto seek robust digital standards and regulatory approaches, in full compliance with the EU’s data protection framework, including on provisions on e- commerce., with the aim to ensure a high level of consumer protection;
Amendment 72 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Welcomes the commitment of the Commission to reinforce the sustainability dimension of existing and future trade agreements; accordingly, calls for a fully- fledged sustainability ex-ante and ex-post impact assessment of EU FTAs;
Amendment 73 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to make compliance with the Paris Agreement an “essential clause” of the EU trade agreements; stresses that, in order to be enforceable, the environmental objectives of the EU’s free trade agreements (FTAs) must be clear, quantifiable, verifiable, based on robust, transparent and inclusive ex-ante sustainable impact assessments and include sanctions for non-compliance;
Amendment 76 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Welcomes the Commission's commitment to engage the EU to pursue a strong environmental agenda at the WTO, notably by taking initiatives that promote climate and sustainability considerations in the remit of the WTO; recalls that the objective of sustainable development should become the overriding principle guiding the work of the WTO, whose rules and operations should be designed accordingly, using the Agenda 2030 and Paris Agreement commitments as a minimum benchmark;
Amendment 79 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Believes that parties to the Paris Agreement should have policy space to implement climate response measures in fulfilment of current and future National Determined Contributions (NDC), without risking trade retaliation measures from trading partners; however, stresses the need to take into account the adverse impact of climate-related trade restrictions on developing countries and to take appropriate actions to mitigate them, such as climate funding, insurance, technology transfer and capacity building, in line with UNFCC related commitments and the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDR);
Amendment 81 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 e (new)
Paragraph 7 e (new)
7e. Stresses the need to account for the carbon “embodied” in imported goods and services; along this line, calls on the EU to take steps to re-launch discussions within the WTO on process and production methods to enable products to be differentiated in terms of their carbon footprint, energy footprint or technological standards; insists that such initiative should be accompanied by measures facilitating technology transfer both for climate adaptation and mitigation to accommodate the needs of developing countries;
Amendment 83 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 f (new)
Paragraph 7 f (new)
7f. Underlines that Intellectual Property Rights may hinder transfer of cleaner technologies; recalls that WTO- TRIPS flexibilities could contribute significantly to the transfer of climate- friendly technologies; calls on the EU to take the lead in the identification of the salient barriers to the dissemination of technologies in developing countries to address climate change and to strive to promote the adoption of a Declaration on “IPR and Climate Change” comparable to the Doha Declaration of 2001 on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, to foster the legal transfer of climate- friendly technology to developing countries, in compliance with the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC, notably the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR);along this line, takes the view that EU FTAs with developing countries should include provisions that promote technology transfer and enable local content requirements in their public procurement and investment policies;
Amendment 85 #
2020/2117(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 g (new)
Paragraph 7 g (new)
7g. Calls on the Commission to actively work within the WTO in order to promote multilateral rules for sustainable management of Global Value Chains, including mandatory supply chain due diligence.
Amendment 18 #
2020/2039(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Emphasizes that inequalities in access to land, CAP direct payments and support, both between and within EU countries, are among the issues that need to be addressed in order to halt regional decline, allow older people to retire from agriculture and encourage young people to start farming;
Amendment 20 #
2020/2039(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Draws attention to the importance of ensuring the availability ofservices in the regions, as their decline is encouraging older people to retireearlier and move to cities where these services are easily accessible;
Amendment 41 #
2020/2039(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Underlines the potential of sustainable agriculture in terms of creatingdecent and long-term jobs in rural areas;
Amendment 60 #
2020/2039(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Supports innovation and digitisation with a view to promoting a vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls on the Commission to draw on the smart cities and towns initiatives to develop a new instrument to support start-ups in rural areas, thereby also boosting their economic and productive fabric;
Amendment 62 #
2020/2039(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Highlights that the development of short supply chains and regional food markets could play a central role in providing economic opportunities for rural population in agricultural production, agro-processing and retailing. Investment in this area should become a priority for EAFRD;
Amendment 64 #
2020/2039(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Highlights the central role played by Community Led Local Development initiatives in keeping and restoring living and thriving local rural economies, and the need to keep a sufficient level of funding for LEADER; Calls on the Member states to make full use of LEADER's capacities;
Amendment 66 #
2020/2039(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Notes that an effective mobility system is one of the prerequisites for regional economic development, territorial cohesion and the development of regional potential. It is therefore necessary to provide the necessary funding for the development and maintenance of transport links, which could encourage the older generation to stay in rural areas for longer and attract young people from urban centers to work in the countryside;
Amendment 67 #
2020/2039(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4 d. Calls on Member States to facilitate buying and leasing of farmland byyoung farmers; In this view, calls for farmland to be given special protection with a view to allowing the Member States, in coordination with local authorities and farmers' organisations, to regulate the sale, use and lease of agricultural land;
Amendment 74 #
2020/2039(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Regrets the continuing imbalance between EAGF and EAFRD in the CAP. The basic income support representing the majority of the EAGF having a negative influence on rural populations as opposed to the EAFRD which supports rural development.
Amendment 3 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
- having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1241/2019 on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures,
Amendment 5 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
- having regard to Directive 2014/89/EU of 23 July 2014 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning (Maritime Spatial Planning Directive),
Amendment 6 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 b (new)
Citation 4 b (new)
- having regard to the Council Directive of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (91/676/EEC), with regard to fertilizer run-off,
Amendment 7 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 c (new)
Citation 4 c (new)
- having regard to the Regulation (EC) 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents and Regulation (EC) 1367/2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies,
Amendment 10 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard to the Farm to Fork Strategy (COM(2020) 381 final),
Amendment 12 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
- having regard to its Resolution (2017/2055(INI)) on international ocean governance: an agenda for the future of our oceans in the context of the 2030 SDGs,
Amendment 13 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 c (new)
Citation 5 c (new)
- having regard to the 2002 Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and to the report “The Future we Want” of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20),
Amendment 15 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 d (new)
Citation 5 d (new)
- having regard to target 11 of the Aichi Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020,
Amendment 17 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the 2019 IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate,
Amendment 18 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- having regard to the Sustainable Development Goal 14 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, on the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources,
Amendment 20 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
- having regard to the 2020 STECF report on monitoring the performance of the CFP,
Amendment 21 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
- having regard to the 2017 Special report of the European Court of Auditors “More efforts needed to implement the Natura 2000 network to its full potential” (No 1/2017),
Amendment 23 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)
Citation 9 b (new)
- having regard to the Ombudsman’s case 640/2019/FP,
Amendment 24 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 c (new)
Citation 9 c (new)
- having regard to the EEA report No 3/2015 “Marine protected areas in Europe’s seas: An overview and perspective for the future”,
Amendment 26 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to the European Commission Report assessing Member States’ programmes of measures under the MSFD (COM/2018/562),
Amendment 43 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas overcapacity is one of the key drivers of overfishing in Europe and worldwide, and efforts to reduce capacity have been broadly offset by technological progress in fishing efficiency;
Amendment 53 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas the CFP is not fully implemented yet and some of its measures such as the establishment of Fish Stock Recovery Areas haven’t been used;
Amendment 54 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas globally 66% of the marine environment has been altered by human pressure according to IPBES and 34,2% of fish stocks are fished at biologically unsustainable levels according to FAO;
Amendment 61 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas healthy habitats, including sandbanks, seagrass meadows and coral reefs, are essential to the restoration of marine ecosystem functioning and to the replenishment of fish stocks and to providing carbon sinks to mitigate climate change;
Amendment 62 #
2019/2162(INI)
H b. whereas well-managed Marine Protected Areas are essential to enhance biodiversity and to preserve natural habitats of other species such as birds.
Amendment 64 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas there is a strong scientific consensus that MPAs are beneficial to fisheries because of their spillover effect and their positive effects on recruitment, for example through the protection of reproduction sites, protection of juveniles and big mother fishes with high reproductive capacities;
Amendment 67 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas pollution originating from the land, especially in partially enclosed sea basins, and from other marine activities also have an impact on fish stock recovery;
Amendment 71 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
I b. whereas the Ombudsman’s recommendation to proactively make public documents related to the adoption of the TAC regulations was so far not followed by the Council of the EU;
Amendment 86 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Urges the Commission to strengthen the implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management in order to minimise the negative impacts on marine ecosystems, fish stocks and societyf fishing activities and other factors such as climate change on marine ecosystems, fish stocks and society, including by increasingly applying multi- species approaches;
Amendment 101 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the EU should go beyond current fisheries management practices and promote a transition towards low-impact fisheries in order, not only to preserve fish stocks at current levels but, more importantly, to rebuild fish stocks and restore marine ecosystems;
Amendment 130 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Considers that this approach should also be applied to the external dimension of the CFP.;
Amendment 131 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Urges the Commission to tackle the problem of overcapacity, including by requesting the STECF to implement a methodology that takes into account the ‘technological creep’ (i.e. gradual increase in fishing power) when assessing trends in fishing fleet capacity;
Amendment 132 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8 c. Demands that the Council proactively makes public all documents related to the adoption of TAC Regulations in line with the Ombudsman’s recommendation and comply with Regulation (EC) 1049/2001 and Regulation (EC) 1367/2006;
Amendment 137 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Highlights that successful MPAs offer large socio-economic benefits, especially for coastal communities, the fisheries and tourism sector;
Amendment 164 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls for MPAs to be established as part of a coherent network of connected areas, including offshore and deep-sea areas, and with a view to ensure balanced geographic distribution and ecological representativity; recalls the requirement to cease fishing with bottom-contacting gear below 400 m in areas where vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are known to exist or are likely to occur;
Amendment 172 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Urges Member States to set stronger and more effective management plans for the existing MPAs and to put in place stronger control measures to ensure that MPAs are respected, including by involving the fisheries sector, expanding the scope of the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) such as by transmitting vessel position data close to real-time and strengthening of on-the-spot controls;
Amendment 178 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Calls on the Commission to start infringement procedures against Member States that are not respecting their obligations regarding the effectiveness of the protection of MPAs;
Amendment 179 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Calls on the Commission to take action when Member States fail to agree, within one year of ongoing negotiations (informal and formal), on the adoption of joint recommendations for fisheries management measures in offshore MPAs in line with Article 11 of the CFP, including by proposing its own measures or by taking emergency measures to protect the site as long as an agreement has not been reached;
Amendment 180 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15 c. Stresses that greater scrutiny over fisheries management measures within Natura 2000 sites, submitted by EU Member States, is necessary in order to ensure that conservation objectives are achieved in line with Article 11 of the Common Fisheries Policy,
Amendment 181 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 d (new)
Paragraph 15 d (new)
15 d. Emphasises that the designation of areas and development of management measures should be based on the best available scientific advice;
Amendment 194 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Expresses serious concern that 59% of northern Europe's Marine Protected Areas are commercially trawled1a, with average trawling intensity 38% higher than in non-protected areas, suggesting that MPAs do not reduce fishing pressure under current management _________________ 1a"Elevated trawling inside protected areas undermines conservation outcomes in a global fishing hot spot" By Manuel Dureuil, Kristina Boerder, Kirsti A. Burnett, Rainer Froese, Boris Worm, Published in Science 21 Dec 2018 : 1403- 1407
Amendment 196 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Invites the Member States to expand the network of fish stock recovery areas under the CFP, emphasises the need to include the evaluation of designation and success of such areas in the upcoming report on the functioning of the CFP;
Amendment 200 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Calls on the European Commission and Member States to take a proactive role in the creation of new effectively-managed MPAs in the high seas, both in the framework of RFMOs and the upcoming international legally binding instrument under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction;
Amendment 213 #
2019/2162(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20 a. Calls on the European Commission to publish a study on the impact of those diverse sources of pollution on the rebuilding fish stocks and on marine ecosystems;
Amendment 2 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
— Having regard to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 on life below water,
Amendment 4 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 b (new)
Citation 1 b (new)
— having regard to Directive 2008/56/EC establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy ("Marine Strategy Framework Directive"),
Amendment 23 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
— having regard to the report by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) on the assessment of balance indicators for key fleet segments and review of national reports on Member States efforts to achieve balance between fleet capacity and fishing opportunities (STECF-20-11),
Amendment 24 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)
Citation 6 b (new)
— having regard to the 2010 report by the European Parliament Policy Department B titled "Fisheries in the Black Sea",
Amendment 38 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas the Black Sea has since the 1960s undergone dramatic environmental changes resulting from pressures such as eutrophication, introduction of invasive species and overfishing;
Amendment 39 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas the environmental regime shifts in the Black Sea were triggered by the depletion of top predators in the pelagic food web and the subsequent reduction of planktivorous fish;
Amendment 54 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution acts on the mandate of the Black Sea countries (Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine) that signed and shortly thereafter ratified the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (also referred to as "Bucharest Convention”), whereas this Convention requires all contracting parties to prevent, reduce and control pollution thereof in order to protect and preserve the marine environment of the Black Sea;
Amendment 57 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the Black Sea characteristics such as its large drainage basin makes it a particularly sensitive area for marine litter pollution as well as to micro-plastic accumulation, whereas according to the report drawn as part of the EMBLAS-Plus project on the Black Sea, the Black Sea has almost twice as much waste as the Mediterranean;
Amendment 61 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the Black Sea ecosystem depends on major European rivers such as the Danube; whereas this dependency creates a close link between the ecological status of the Danube and others rivers and the one of the Black Sea, whereas these rivers transport large amounts of natural and anthropogenic debris from in-land sources; whereas both the Danube and the Black Sea are home to certain species, including the sturgeon;
Amendment 77 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Highlights that for the Mediterranean and Black Seas, all but one of the 65 fleet segments for which the so-called Sustainable Harvest Indicator could be calculated were out of balance in 2018;
Amendment 82 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that statistics show that a large proportion of key fish stocks are being overfishedonly one stock (sprat) is considered sustainably exploited and that other key fish stocks are being overfished to the extent that some of them are close to depletion; stresses that this has been a growing trend in recent years;
Amendment 86 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the need for funding forat the lack of sufficient information concerning fishing activity, catch quantity, composition and its impact on the current state of the fish stocks are critical issues for the Black Sea region, underlines therefore the need for sufficient funding of the scientific bodies researching stocks both of fish species, including migratory species such as the sturgeon, and non-fish species (veined whelks, mussels, etc.), as well as linked parameters of the marine ecosystem;
Amendment 105 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Recalls that imported products have caused the limitation of traditionally prepared products and the reduction of their price until the limit of profitability, thereby jeopardising traditional fish based business models;
Amendment 121 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Calls for the full and urgent implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive;
Amendment 126 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls for targeted measures and adequate resources to reduce pollution throughout the basin through joint programmes and budgets; calls equally for basin-wide surveys to allow comparisons on marine litter composition and accumulation within and between countries;
Amendment 129 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Calls for the swift setting up of monitoring networks and programmes capable of systematically measuring the state of the environment of the Black Sea as required by the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution;
Amendment 132 #
2019/2159(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10 b. Emphasises that the reduction of land based pollution is crucial to reduce both eutrophication and the presence of harmful substances affecting the status of living marine ressources;
Amendment 1 #
2019/2055(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. RStresses that the Union’s ambition to forge a “partnership of equals” with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries implies full respect of the “ownership principle”, in line with the Union’s international commitments on aid effectiveness; reiterates its concerns as regards the use of development funds for non- development objectives and underlines that funding which does not fulfil official development assistance criteria must be sourced from other instruments than the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI); in particular, urges the Union and its Member States to refrain from imposing aid conditionalities regarding migration and trade reforms, which contravenes the development effectiveness principles; underlines the importance of ensuring human rights standards in all cooperation under the DCI and insists that in order to successfully combat poverty in the long-term, the Union must address the root causes of poverty and inequalities;
Amendment 6 #
2019/2055(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regrets that, in spite of the Union’s commitment to sustainability and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Special Report No 7/2019 of the Court of Auditors shows that the Commission does not report on or monitor how the Union budget and policies contribute to sustainable development and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); notes that the Commission has recently published a reflection paper outlining scenarios for a sustainable Europe; regrets, however, that this paper does not include a gap analysis of what more the Union needs to do in terms of budget, policy and legislation, nor does it present the contribution of Union spending programmes towards implementing the SDGs;
Amendment 8 #
2019/2055(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the use of budget support in general to assist developing countries in their reform efforts and in achieving the SDGs, urges, however, the Commission to more clearly assess and define the development outcomes to be achieved through budget support in each case and above all to enhance control mechanisms concerning recipient states' conduct in the fields of corruption, respect of human rights, rule of law and democracy. ; recalls that domestic resource mobilisation is the centre-piece for sustainable financing of development and one of the five key development challenges to be addressed by budget support; calls on the Commission to adopt a trade and investment policy consistent with this goal, which entails among others taking into account least developed countries concerns of economic partnership agreements regarding the erosion of revenues linked to the removal of custom duties and ensuring fair distribution of taxing rights while negotiating tax and investment treaties with developing countries, notably regarding redistribution of tax revenues from natural resources;
Amendment 13 #
2019/2055(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Urges the Union and its Member States to refrain from supporting practices which facilitate tax dodging by transnational corporations and individuals, in the pursuit of its objective to create a business-friendly environment for private investors in developing countries in the remit of the European Fund for Sustainable Development; in addition, stresses the risk of indebtedness linked to the increased Union recourse to blending, notably in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean countries with limited revenues to service their debt; calls on the Union and its Member States to tackle effectively and consistently tax evasion, aggressive tax avoidance practices and harmful tax competition, in line with the principle of Policy Coherence for Development;
Amendment 4 #
2019/2028(BUD)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Notes that Union budgetary support for environmentally-damaging forms of agriculture leads to externalised costs, which then have to be borne by other public funds; stresses that this does not constitute an efficient use of the budget; notes that whole-system approaches such as agroecology lead to fewer negative externalities and represent a more efficient use of the budget in this respect;
Amendment 5 #
2019/2028(BUD)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)
Paragraph 2 e (new)
2e. Underlines that the Union budget must be coherent with the objectives of the Paris Agreement;
Amendment 6 #
2019/2028(BUD)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 f (new)
Paragraph 2 f (new)
2f. Recalls that, in March 2017, ECOFIN called on Member States to spend a higher amount of the Union budget during the remaining current MFF period on climate financing, given the additional commitments entered into at COP 21 in Paris; expresses concern for this failure to increase spending, given both the Union’s Paris Agreement commitments and the European Parliament’s own target for 30 % climate- related expenditure in the next MFF 2021-2027;
Amendment 7 #
2019/2028(BUD)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 g (new)
Paragraph 2 g (new)
2g. Recalls that, according to the European Court of Auditors (ECA), there is a serious risk that the target of at least 20 % climate-related spending in the Union budget for 2014-2020 will not be achieved; regrets that, with the draft general budget for 2020 as currently proposed, despite its allocation of 21 % for climate-related spending, the Union budget for 2014-2020 will only have achieved 19,7% climate-related spending; notes that this represents a EUR 3,5 billion shortfall in climate-related expenditure compared to the target;
Amendment 23 #
2019/2028(BUD)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. WelcomNotes the Commission proposal to allocate EUR 50 million to ‘Other measures for beef and veal’ in order to support the sector in case of market difficulties linked to the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union; is concerned that that sector will face additional stress from the Union’s trade agreement with Mercosur; insists that, to ensure coherence with climate objectives, support for livestock sectors should not be without condition, and should prioritise those production methods that benefit the climate, environment and biodiversity, such as extensive, pasture-based livestock production;
Amendment 25 #
2019/2028(BUD)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Highlights the budgetary inefficiency in supporting sensitive sectors whilst at the same time opening them up to further competition and risk of market instability, in particular through bilateral free trade agreements; notes in addition the long-term erosion of traditional own resources in the Union budget, caused notably by the decrease in customs duties as a result of free trade agreements;
Amendment 34 #
2019/2028(BUD)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 j (new)
Paragraph 4 j (new)
4j. Notes the adverse weather conditions that European agriculture has faced over recent years, and which are forecast to become more frequent and intense due to climate change; calls for the mobilisation of the agricultural crisis reserve, to support farmers affected by drought this year; stresses, however, that derogations from environmental requirements are likely to prove counterproductive, as they may increase susceptibility to drought;
Amendment 37 #
2019/2028(BUD)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the increased support for research and innovation dedicated to the supply of safe and high quality food; stresses that it is essential that funds earmarked for research in the agri-food sector, in particular from the Horizon 2020 budget, remain fully available as such in order to stimulate innovation and smart solutions in the agricultural and rural development sectors., in particular through agroecological research, with a whole agroecosystem approach, in the agricultural and rural development sectors; underlines the importance of practical applicability of results at farm level and the role of agricultural extension services; highlights that research policy should maintain coherence with environmental, climate, biodiversity, health and welfare policy objectives, and incentivise and support initiatives tailored to the needs of smallholdings without economies of scale, so that they may benefit from new technologies;
Amendment 48 #
2019/2028(BUD)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 h (new)
Paragraph 6 h (new)
Amendment 49 #
2019/2028(BUD)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 i (new)
Paragraph 6 i (new)
6i. Stresses that climate mainstreaming requires consistency and coherence, both within the CAP itself, and between the Union’s agricultural and trade policies; notes that CAP payments, in particular voluntary coupled support for livestock production, should be subject to the necessary conditions to ensure that payments support only those production methods which are positive for climate, environment and biodiversity;
Amendment 34 #
2019/0246(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) Those high nutrient inputs result inter alia from insufficiently implemented directives such as Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources and Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy.
Amendment 36 #
2019/0246(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The declining condition of Eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) has been linked to that situation. According to ICES, the stock suffers from an unsustainably low biomass due to a combination of declining recruitment, environmental factors, low availability of prey species, and changes in the ecosystem leading to a high natural mortality (about three times the fishing mortality), and an excessive fishing mortality given the status of the stock. The biomass of commercial sized cod is presently at the lowest level observed since the 1950s. Moreover, ICES estimates that the spawning stock biomass will remain below the sustainability reference point in the medium-term (2024) even with no fishing at all. In its stock advice for 2020 ICES therefore advises zero catches.
Amendment 37 #
2019/0246(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) Fisheries management in the Baltic Sea also suffers from an imbalance between active fleet segments and available fishing opportunities as set out in the Commission Communication of 7 June 2019 on the State of Play of the Common Fisheries Policy and Consultation on the Fishing Opportunities for 2020.
Amendment 41 #
2019/0246(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The fishing fleets so far dependent on Eastern Baltic cod do not have the possibility to fish for other stocks as an alternative. It is estimated that offsetting the economic losses caused by the Eastern Baltic cod closure would require additional catches of around 20,000 tonnes in alternative species. However, the Council also agreed severe reductions for other stocks, and notably a reduction of 65% for Western Baltic herring, 60% for Western Baltic cod, 32% for plaice, 27% for herring in the Gulf of Bothnia and 22% for sprat, while not completely following the scientific recommendations.
Amendment 44 #
2019/0246(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Given the serious condition of the Eastern Baltic cod stock additional measures to control the fisheries catching Eastern Baltic cod should be introduced. The threshold quantity as of which a fishing vessel is required to land its catch in a specific place should be reduced to 2500kg. Moreover, masters of fishing vessels having quotas for cod and fishing in areas where Eastern Baltic cod is present are to ensure that their fishing activity can be monitored at any time by the national competent authorities.
Amendment 46 #
2019/0246(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) ICES issued an analytical assessment of Eastern Baltic cod but was not in a position to provide fishing mortality ranges and various reference points because of a lack of required data. Therefore, data collection is to be improved by ensuring that the observer coverage at sea of vessels catching Eastern Baltic cod is at least 230%.
Amendment 50 #
2019/0246(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) Given the fragile ecosystem in the Baltic Sea, support for the permanent cessation of fishing activities should not be granted for the retrofitting of fishing vessels for any other activitiesy than commercial fishing, such as recreational fishing, whicht could have a detrimental impact on the ecosystem. Therefore, such support should only be granted for the scrapping of fishing vessels.
Amendment 55 #
2019/0246(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) 2016/1139
Article 14 – point a
Article 14 – point a
(a) 2500 kilograms of cod;.
Amendment 56 #
2019/0246(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) 2016/1139
Article 14b – paragraph 1
Article 14b – paragraph 1
Union vessels with an allocation of fishing opportunities for cod in ICES subdivisions 22-24 and 24-32 shall be subject to at least 230 % observer coverage at sea..
Amendment 1 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the protocols on the implementation of the Agreements on a Sustainable Fisheries Partnership between the European Union and Morocoo, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau,
Amendment 2 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recommends the establishment of regional management rules on the stock of small pelagics that is shared by Senegal and neighbouring countries;
Amendment 2 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)
Citation 6 b (new)
- having regard to Article 31.4 of the Common Fisheries Policy EU 1380/2013,
Amendment 3 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 c (new)
Citation 6 c (new)
- having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 12 April 2016 on common rules in respect of application of the external dimension of the CFP, including fisheries agreements (2015/2091(INI)),
Amendment 5 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – indent 2
Paragraph 3 – indent 2
– promoting a sustainable blue economy that develops within ecological limits by supporting small-scale local fisheries and strengthening the position of women, who play an important part in marketing and processing;
Amendment 10 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – indent 4
Paragraph 3 – indent 4
– improving scientific knowledge in the region through training of scientific observers and by enabling local scientists to travel on board vessels operating in this area;
Amendment 11 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the fisheries agreements between the European Union and Mauritania, Morocco and Guinea-Bissau, respectively, give access to the stock of small pelagics that is shared with Senegal;
Amendment 16 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for transparency regarding the use of EU sectoral funding in order to allow for better monitoring and improved linkages with other EU and donor activities financed in the fisheries sector; urges in this regard the Commission to provide regular public reports on the use of the sectoral support.
Amendment 25 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Supports the EU strategy of being able to maintain a network of agreements in the region in order to complement actions to promote the sustainability of stocks within regional fisheries organisations (RFOs); underlines the necessity of binding regional rules on the management of small pelagic stocks that are vital to the Senegalese fisheries;
Amendment 29 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes the reduction in the fishing opportunities for deep-sea trawlers (black hake) in line with the scientific opinion of the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) in order to reduce mortality; underlines that there is still a possibility for European vessels to overfish black hake by paying a 95€ fee per ton; recommends to modify this provision by replacing it by a quota reduction in order to fight efficiently against illegal fishing;
Amendment 30 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Welcomes that the Protocol takes into account sensitive species that are caught as by-catch; stresses the need to further enhance measures to protect the marine ecosystem; emphasises the central role of trained scientific observers in the monitoring of the by-catches;
Amendment 40 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – indent 1
Paragraph 10 – indent 1
- improving monitoring, control and surveillance through the rapid modernisation of the Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) and the training of scientific observers;
Amendment 58 #
2019/0226M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses the need to increase transparency and participation in the management of the sectoral support; urges the Commission to provide regular public reports on the use of the sectoral support; recommends that artisanal fishery representatives to be associated to the work of the Joint Commission and any other forum reporting or evaluating on the impacts of the Protocol;
Amendment 1 #
2019/0090M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- Having regard to Article 31.4 of the Common Fisheries Policy EU 1380/2013,
Amendment 2 #
2019/0090M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 b (new)
Citation 7 b (new)
- - having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 12 April 2016 on common rules in respect of application of the external dimension of the CFP, including fisheries agreements (2015/2091(INI)),
Amendment 11 #
2019/0090M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas, in order for the Guinea- Bissau fisheries sector to develop, basic infrastructure needs to be installed, such as ports, landing sites, storage facilities and processing plants, which are still missing, with the aim to attract landings of fish caught in waters of Guinea-Bissau;
Amendment 31 #
2019/0090M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that aWelcomes the transition in the management of fishing opportunities (from fishing effort management to total allowable catch management) poses a challenge to this Protocol; calls on the Commission to; calls on the Commission to facilitate this challenge and promote, without delay, an appropriate and effective transition, which safeguards the necessary reliability and effectiveness of the ERS and the processing of catch data;
Amendment 39 #
2019/0090M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – point b
Paragraph 5 – point b
b. construction of key infrastructure for fisheries and related activities, such as ports (both industrial and artisanal), sites for landing, storing and processing fish, markets, distribution and marketing structures, quality analysis laboratories, with the aim to attract landings of the fish caught in waters of Guinea-Bissau;
Amendment 60 #
2019/0090M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Urges the publication of reports on the actions that have been supported by the sectoral support for greater transparency;
Amendment 63 #
2019/0090M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Emphasises the importance of the surplus requirement for Union vessels fishing in third country waters;
Amendment 65 #
2019/0090M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Urges the inclusion of transparency provisions to publish all agreements with states or private entities granting foreign vessels access to Guinea Bissau’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ);
Amendment 67 #
2019/0090M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Emphasises the importance that the landings of fish in Guinea Bissau ports contribute to local processing activities and food security, both in terms of species and quality;
Amendment 1 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
- having regard to Article 31.4 of the Common Fisheries Policy EU 1380/2013,
Amendment 2 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 b (new)
Citation 4 b (new)
- having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 12 April 2016 on common rules in respect of application of the external dimension of the CFP, including fisheries agreements (2015/2091(INI)),
Amendment 3 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 c (new)
Citation 4 c (new)
- having regard to the February 2018 Ex-post and Ex-ante evaluation study of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Cabo Verde,
Amendment 5 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas 20% of catches are made up of sharks, for which there is a lack of scientific data;
Amendment 6 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the EU-Cape Verde SFPA should promote more effective sustainable development of the Cape Verdean fishing communities and of related industries and activities; whereas the support to be provided under the Protocol has to be consistent with the national development plans and the Blue Growth Action Plan that develops within ecological limits, devised with the United Nations to increase production in, and professionalise, the sector in order to meet the population’s food and employment needs;
Amendment 19 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – introductory part
Paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. Maintains that the EU-Cape Verde SFPA and the Protocol thereto have to be aligned with the national development plans and the Blue Growth Plan for the development of the Cape Verdean fisheries sector that develops within ecological limits, and specifically should:
Amendment 24 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – indent 2
Paragraph 3 – indent 2
- tighten up monitoring, control and surveillance in the Cape Verde EEZ;
Amendment 29 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – indent 5
Paragraph 3 – indent 5
- enable landing quays and ports to be constructed and/or renovated, in particular for the local fisheries, at the port of Mindelo (São Vicente island) for instance;
Amendment 35 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – indent 7 a (new)
Paragraph 3 – indent 7 a (new)
- limit bycatches of sensitive species, such as marine turtles,
Amendment 42 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Expresses its content that the Agreement does not concern small pelagics that are of great importance for the local population and for which there is no surplus;
Amendment 43 #
2019/0078M(NLE)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Expresses its concern about the possibility of detrimental impacts of fishing activities on the shark population in the Cape Verde EEZ;
Amendment 4 #
2018/0356M(NLE)
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas Vietnam was issued a yellow card in 2017 under the Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; whereas this unsustainable practice represents a breach of Article 13.9 of the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter; whereas Vietnam is currently cooperating with the EU on the matter on the basis of 9 recommendations that go with the yellow card and has recently adopted a new framework fishery law together with its implementing decrees;
Amendment 53 #
2018/0356M(NLE)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. requests the Commission to conduct regular impact assessments with regard to environmental and climate impacts after three years of implementation of the FTA in order to ensure full compatibility between trade liberalisation and EU’s climate targets; calls for the immediate activation of the amendment procedure in case of incompatibilities with sustainable development and the SDGs; stresses that Vietnam is currently in violation of the specific measures provided by the Agreement under the TSD chapter to fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU) and that the Commission has issued a yellow card in 2017 in the framework of the EU IUU Regulation; requests that preferential tariffs on fishery products be applied only once the conditions for lifting the yellow cards are met; deplores that while an article of the TSD chapter recalls the importance of responsible and sustainable aquaculture, there is no such an article on responsible and sustainable agriculture, a sector that should benefit strongly from the FTA;