52 Amendments of Juozas OLEKAS related to 2020/2260(INI)
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights,
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
- having regard to its resolution on European protection of cross-border and seasonal workers in the context of the COVID-19 crisis adopted on 19 June,
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Europe’s food system should deliver food and nutrition security in a way that contributes to social well- being and, maintains human and animal health and restores ecosystem health; whereas currently, the food system is responsible for a range of impacts on human and animal health and on the environment, the climate and biodiversity; whereas the way in which we produce and consume food needs to transform in order to ensure coherence with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity and EU policies, particularly in the areas of sustainability, the environment, climate, public health, animal welfare, working conditions, food and economic sustainability for farmers;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. considering that the EU is the only agricultural actor worldwide, that has significantly reduced greenhouse gas and nitrate emissions coming from agriculture, as well as the use of antibiotics in livestock; and that the new commitments expected from the sector to adapt to the requirements of the European Green Deal should take into account the achievements of EU agriculture in recent decades;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the farm-to-fork strategy recognises the substantial efforts made to reduce the use of antimicrobials in animals, further strengthened by the new EU Regulations on Veterinary Medicinal Products and Medicated Feed, thus contributing to the global effort to reduce antibiotic resistance; whereas the EU must ensure that treating animals with antimicrobials remains possible where needed to ensure that the health and welfare of animals is protected at all times;
Amendment 353 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas the European Commission’s One Health Action Plan Against Antimicrobial Resistance recognises that immunisation through vaccination is a cost-effective public health intervention with proven economic benefits and a control measure for AMR;
Amendment 355 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas the uptake of smart and digital farming technologies to continuously monitor animal health and welfare has the potential to ensure effective disease prevention and the implementation of animal welfare standards;
Amendment 356 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas it is necessary to ensure consistency and coherence amongst the measures envisaged by the farm to fork strategy and the CAP and CFP, the Trade Policy, the EU biodiversity strategy , as well as other related EU policies and strategies;
Amendment 378 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas it is important that consumers are trained, informed and enabled to take responsibility for the consequences of their choice of food stuffs, including the price, on the whole food system, from production to processing and distribution; whereas this requires a healthy and sound food environment which ensures that the healthy and sustainable choice is also the easy and affordable choice, and fosters and encourages consumption patterns, available for all consumers, that support human health while ensuring the sustainable use of natural and human resources and animal welfare;
Amendment 412 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the European food system has played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating its resilience with farmers and their cooperatives or producers organisations, workers employed along the food value chain, processors and retailers working together under difficult conditions and sanitary risks, including lockdowns, to ensure that European consumers continue to have access to safe, affordable, and high quality products without impediment;
Amendment 491 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the farm to fork strategy as an important step in ensuring a sustainable, fair and resilient food system, which is central to achieving the goals set out in the European Green Deal, the European Pillar of Social Rights and in the SDGs; emphasises the inextricable links between healthy people, decent working conditions, healthy societies and a healthy planet, encourages the Commission to translate the strategy into concrete legislative and non-legislative action as soon as possible, involving not only farmers but all actors in the food chain, including consumers;
Amendment 531 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that the contribution to climate change mitigation and the viability of the European model of agriculture, as well as the resilient supply of sustainable and safe food, are not mutually exclusive objectives and can be achieved with a balanced and evidence- based approach;
Amendment 543 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Welcomes the Commission's proposal to develop a contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security in order to coordinate a common European response to crises affecting food systems ; insists that a prevention approach is needed to avoid panic movements and overreactions by people, firms or Member States; considers that it will be an adequate response to the growing expectations about food security that are to be addressed at European level; urges the Commission to consider strategic food stock issues in the way that it does for strategic petroleum stocks across European Union;
Amendment 548 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Urges the Commission to integrate food aid issues in the farm to fork strategy since 33 millions of Europeans suffer from lack of food, especially single parent families and students, and the social and economic consequences of the pandemic will increase that figure; recognises the unique role of the food aid associations across the European Union that need to be more supported because of the growing number of people who need help; considers that the resilience of our food system need to increase the connections between food policies and agricultural policies at every level from the local to the European level;
Amendment 574 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the announcement of an impact-assessed proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems that should be based on transparent data and take into account the latest scientific knowledge; invites the Commission to use this proposal to set out a holistic common food policy in which all actors make their contribution, aimed at reducing the environmental and climate footprint of the EU food system in order to make Europe the first climate- neutral continent by 2050 and strengthen its resilience to ensure food security in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, leading a global transition towards sustainability from farm to fork, based on the principle of a multifunctional and competitive agricultural sector while ensuring consistency between policdifferent EU policies and strategies by taking into account the existing legislation in order to enable all actors in the European food system to develop long-term plans based on realistic and transparent objectives that respond to rational criteria based on the best scientific knowledge; suggests that the respective base lines and progress achieved in each Member State be taken into account, while promoting the exchange of know-how and best practices between Member States; stresses the need to include the entire food and beverage chains including processing, marketing, distribution and retail;
Amendment 634 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that the Commission should, for the remaining legislative proposals announced in the strategy, rely on scientifically sound ex-ante impact assessments describing the calculation methods for each target and the baselines and reference periods for each of them, taking into account the cumulative effects of the legislative proposals and the need to adapt them to the reality of each Member State;
Amendment 666 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Recalls that the social dimension must be fully integrated in all future initiatives of the farm to fork strategy along with the economic and environmental dimensions to achieve a much-needed policy coherence for sustainable development; insists that improvement of working conditions, in line with the 8 ILO core Convention, collective bargaining, social protection, investment in public services, inclusive governance and fair taxation should be included as sustainability criteria;
Amendment 668 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Recalls that for the FAO, agroecology is a fundamental part of the global response to climate change and for the creation of sustainable food and agricultural systems, the new legislative framework for sustainable food systems, to be proposed until 2023, must be based on the principles and elements defined by the FAO as agroecology in order to trigger a true agroecological transition;
Amendment 689 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Building the food chain that works for consumers, workers, producers, climate and the environment
Amendment 730 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 803 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Considers that the reduction targets for phytosanitary products that will finally be established should be accompanied by sustainable alternatives available on the market with equivalent effectiveness in the protection of plant health, in order to avoid the lack of necessary treatments for crops in the EU and the proliferation of organisms harmful to plants;
Amendment 834 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Recalls that simply reducing the volume of phytosanitary products will not automatically reduce the resulting environmental impact; notes that tools and technologies already exist and are under development to reduce their impact on the environment or on human health and asks the European Commission to take them into account when revising the Directive;
Amendment 866 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Recalls that in order to achieve an effective reduction of plant protection products we need to apply all the tools at our disposal without excluding those offered by sustainable biotechnology, which includes new genomic techniques for which a legislative framework should be established for their implementation in the EU;
Amendment 872 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3e. Emphasises the need to improve policy coordination between agricultural legislation, particularly legislation on plant protection products, biocides and fertilisers, and, inter alia, water legislation, in order to ensure the protection of our water resources, particularly those used for drinking water supply , from overexploitation and agricultural pollution;
Amendment 938 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises the importance of recognising the significant impact of agriculture and especially animal production on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions andefforts made by European agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the need to make further progress in reducing them and in reducing the impact of agricultural activity on land use; stresses the need to enhance natural carbon sinks and reduce agricultural emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, in particular in the feed and livestock sectors; calls for regulatory measures and targets based on scientific knowledge to ensure progressive reductions in all GHG emissions in these sectors;
Amendment 1074 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the notion of rewarding carbon sequestration in soils; stresses, however, that intensive and industrial agriculture and farming models with negative impacts on biodiversity should not receive climate funding or be incentivised; calls for the proposals to be in line with the environmental objectives and the ‘do no harm’ principle of the Green Deal; calls on the European Commission together with the Member States to define what kind of production models are considered as intensive and industrial and to provide instruments to bring about change on those farms to become consistent with the principles and objectives defined in the Green Deal;
Amendment 1247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for CAP National Strategic Plans to ensure adequate financial support and incentives to promote new ecological ‘green’ business models for agriculture and artisanal food production, notably through fostering short supply chains and quality food production, such models should support farmers in the transition towards climate neutrality;
Amendment 1281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Welcomes the explicit recognition of a safeguard of the social rights of workers in the food chain; recalls that this has been endorsed by the European Parliament with the introduction of the social conditionality for the CAP basic payment in its position on the national strategic plans Regulation;
Amendment 1287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Underlines that the COVID 19 pandemic presents the EU with the unique opportunity to rethink the European agriculture and food systems with a more sustainable and socially just vision;
Amendment 1298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that the European food system delivers a sufficient and varied supply of safe, nutritious, affordable and sustainable food to people at all times and underlines that increasing the economic, environmental and social sustainability of food producers will ultimately increase their resilience; encourages the Commission and Member States to consider the food supply chain and its workers as a strategic asset for the safety and well-being of all Europeans; and to ensure that working and social protection conditions throughout the EU food supply chain meet national, EU and international standards for all workers;
Amendment 1398 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Expresses its deep concern about the emergence of zoonotic diseases that are transferred from animals to humans (anthropozoonoses), such as Q fever, avian influenza and the new strain of influenza A (H1N1), which is exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change, the destruction; calls for a better management of the veterinary prevention and promotion of high standards of animal health and animal welfare also with trading partners in order to prevent spread of zoonotic diseases and to promote the high levels of bBiodiversity, environmental degradation and our current food production systemssecurity developed in EU as the best practice at global level;
Amendment 1457 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Urges the Commission to propose mechanisms that support cooperation between the various links in the chain, for example, by prioritizing stable market- oriented trade relations; considers that collaboration between the different segments of the food chain will be essential in the future, as it has been during the worst months of the covid-19 crisis;
Amendment 1480 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the Commission to follow up on Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair trading practices22 and the EU code of conduct on responsible business and marketing practices by producing a monitoring framework for the food and retail sectors and providing for legal action if progress in integrating economic, environmental and social sustainability into corporate strategies is insufficient, and in so doing promoting and rewarding the efforts of sustainable agricultural producers while increasing the availability and affordability of healthy, sustainable food options and reducing the overall environmental footprint of the food system; stresses the importance of halting and addressing consolidation and concentration in the grocery retail sector in order to ensure fair prices for farmers; recalls the importance of making farmers more resilient in the market by getting more value out of the food chain, which is achieved by encouraging their participation in producer organisations or cooperatives; _________________ 22 OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, p. 59.
Amendment 1513 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to bring forward proposals for better cooperation between farmers, already allowed under competition rules, and to support investment in improving production and marketing structures to make them more robust, stable, secure and profitable for farmers as means of helping strengthen their position in the chain;
Amendment 1519 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Recognises that retailers and wholesalers can help move sustainable products away from market niches and into mainstream markets; highlights their growing commitment to create transparency, promote healthy diets through consumer information, reformulation, promotion of organic products and treatment of food waste, which they offer in response to the already strong demand from its customers;
Amendment 1521 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Calls for the recognition of the food distribution system, based on the proximity of retail outlets to consumers, both in urban and rural areas, as essential to ensure access to food to all European citizens, avoiding the so-called food deserts that occur in the USA;
Amendment 1650 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for measures toat European level to encourage product reformulation of products not covered by EU quality schemes and reduce the burden that highly processed foods with high salt, sugar and fat content place on public health; regrets that the introduction of nutrient profiles is greatly delayed and stresses that a robust set of nutrient profiles must be developed to restrict or prohibit the use of false nutritional claims on foods high in fats, sugars and/or salt; calls for a mandatory EU-wide front-of-pack nutrition labelling system based on independent science and urges Member States to support the implementation of the upcoming EU system and refrain from unilateral actions that could hinder the harmonization work of the European Commission;
Amendment 1703 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the European Commission to consider digital consumer information as a key element in making information on healthy and sustainable diets available to consumers in the EU;
Amendment 1710 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the EU single market and provide clarity and simplicity for all players in the food sector, offering a more harmonised and science-based approach, which is currently lacking, in areas such as front-of-pack labelling, origin labelling, waste management, food donations, to name but a few, so that Europe can uphold sustainability standards in the food chain at the international level;
Amendment 1719 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Recalls the growing importance attached by producers and consumers to origin labelling; insists that such labelling should be established at EU level, should not undermine the smooth functioning of the internal market, be fully verifiable and traceable, and should be compatible with the EU's international obligations;
Amendment 1773 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the fact that the strategy rightly recognises the role and influence of the food environment in shaping consumption patterns and the need to make it easier for consumers to choose healthy and sustainable diets; reiterates the importance of promoting sustainable diets by raising consumer awareness of the impacts of consumption patterns and providing information on diets that are better for human health and have a lower environmental footprint and alerting consumer on the proliferation of ultra- processed products that are presented as healthy copies; underlines that food prices must send the right signal to consumers; welcomes, therefore, the strategy’s objective that the healthy and sustainable choice should become the most affordable one;
Amendment 1894 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Highlights the recognition in the strategy that Europeans’ diets are not always in line with recommendations for healthy eating, and that a population-wide shift in dietary consumption patterns is needed towards more healthy and plant-based foods and less red and processed meat, sugars, salt, and fats, which will also benefit the environment; acknowledges that the healthy choice may not always be the most sustainable and affordable choice and vice-versa; emphasises that EU-wide guidelines for sustainable and healthy diets wshould bring clarity to consumers on what constitutes a healthy and sustainable diet and inform Member States’ own efforts to integrate sustainability elements in national dietary advicee science-based and take into account the cultural and regional diversity of European foods and diets, as well as consumer needs and preferences ; calls on the Commission to develop such guidelines and specific actions to effectively promote healthy plant-based diets;
Amendment 1944 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Considers that the further development of plant protein production and alternative sources of proteincomplementary sources of nutrition for human food and animal feed such as insects or algae, in the EU is a way of effectively addressing many of the environmental and climate challenges that EU agriculture is facing, as well as preventing deforestation in countries outside the EU;
Amendment 2035 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Reiterates its call to take the measures required to achieve a Union food waste reduction target of 30 % by 2025 and 50 % by 2030 compared to the 2014 baseline; underlines that binding targets and common criteria for measuring food waste in the different links of the food chain are needed to achieve this;
Amendment 2068 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Welcomes the proposed revision of EU rules on date marking; stresses that any change to date marking rules should be science based and should improve the use of date marking by actors in the food chain, including Horeca, and its understanding by consumers, in particular ‘best before’ labelling, while at the same time not undermining food safety or quality;
Amendment 2079 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Expresses its concern on the dynamics resulting from the process of concentration and the increasing dominant power of financial investors in the food supply chain, which lead to lower food quality and worsening of working conditions;
Amendment 2119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Underlines the importance EU funding for research and innovation as a key driver in accelerating the transition to a more sustainable, healthy and inclusive European food system while facilitating investments needed to encourage agro- ecological practices in both social and technological innovation, and the crucial role of farm advisory services in ensuring the transfer of knowledge to the farming community, drawing on the existing specialised training systems for farmers in Member States; stresses the strategic importance of collective approaches through producer organisations and cooperatives to bring farmers together in achieving their goals;
Amendment 2147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Notes that in order to achieve the goals set out in this strategy, we must take advantage of scientific and technological progress, highlighting recent advances in both the versatility, safety and sustainability of new technologies for genetic improvement, promoting a legislative process in the EU that provides the necessary certainty for the development of this innovative sector, at the service of a more sustainable and healthy European food system;
Amendment 2176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Recalls that the transition to this system will require significant investments and it cannot be accomplished without the complicity and support of European farmers;
Amendment 2179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 c (new)
Paragraph 25 c (new)
25c. Considers the allocated budget to achieve the ambitions of the EU Green Deal and the Just transition mechanism to be insufficient to deal in a socially sustainable manner with the consequences of the expected transformation; calls for the Just transition mechanism to cover as well agricultural regions that may be adversely affected and underlines the need to ensure the proper involvement of social partners in the definition and implementation of future initiatives of the strategy;
Amendment 2262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Welcomes the explicit reference to the risk of asymmetries between the new requirements for European producers and those for imported products and calls once again on the European Commission to demand effective reciprocity in the negotiation of agreements with third countries;
Amendment 2278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to strengthen control mechanisms both at origin and at the border in trade with third countries to safeguard the animal and plant health of European agriculture and prevent the entry of pests and diseases from outside the EU;