19 Amendments of Britta REIMERS related to 2010/2111(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission communication of 16 July 2010 entitled "The TSE Road map 2. A Strategy paper on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies for 2010-2015" (COM(2010)384),
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the study by the directorate general of the European Commission for agriculture and rural development on the "Economic Impact of Unapproved GMOs on EU Feed Imports and Livestock Production", 2007,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, historically, this significant deficit in protein crop production goes on the one hand back to previously established international trade agreements, especially with the United States, which allowed the EU to protect its cereal production and in return allowed duty-free imports of protein crops and oilseeds into the EU (GATT and 1992 Blair House Agreement), and is on the other hand related to significant progress in the efficiency of protein crop production and the use of new technologies outside the EU, leading to a competitive disadvantage of EU farmers who find protein crop production economically unattractive,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas 70% (452 million tonnes in 2009) of the protein crops consumed in the EU today, especially soy beans, are imported, mainly from Brazil, Argentina and the USA, the bulk of them being used; whereas approx. 60% of these imports (26 million tonnes) are by-products derived from vegetable oil production and are used as meals, especially soymeal, for animal feed,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the high degree of imports of protein crops for animal feed has made the entire EU livestock sector extremelyis vulnerable to price volatility and trade distortions, reflecting the consequences of increasingly liberalised agricultural marketand depends on affordable and high quality protein imports; whereas the sector's competitiveness is undermined by the additional costs of protein imports for feed incurred by the lack of an EU technical solution to the current zero tolerance policy on low level presence of unapproved GMOs,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas farmers‘ knowledge of sustainable practices which link crop and livestock production through balanced crop rotation and adequate use of grassland areas is beingcould be lost, and whereas domestic protein crop quality consequently does not offer the quality of compound feed needed in the various animal production sectors,
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas, in the context of climate change, the production of protein crops substantiallycan contribute to reduces greenhouse gas emissions through the assimilation and fixation of nitrogen in the soil (amounting to up to 100 kgN/ha per month) and the subsequent reduction in the use of nitrogen fertiliser,
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O a (new)
Recital O a (new)
Oa. Whereas soy imports cannot be fully replaced by domestic proteins such as peas, beans and lupins, as they are not nutritionally equivalent, have lower total protein content, different amino acid profiles and are therefore not appropriate substitutes for all animals; whereas the 2007 DG AGRI report suggests that at most 10-20% of the EU imports of soybeans and soymeal could be replaced by an increase in domestic oilseed and protein seed acreage,
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas the ban on the use of animal protein in animal feed made of swill, bone and meat meal must remain in place as long as there is no guarantee that forced cannibalism or transmission of diseases can be ruled out, was introduced in times of crisis, it should be reconsidered for animals other than ruminants, provided that forced cannibalism or transmission of diseases can be ruled out; such measures would reduce the EU's dependency on protein imports and improve the sustainability of the EU feed and livestock chain,
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital S
Recital S
S. whereas the Commission report on the impact of CAP measures in the protein sector revealed that there are three main areas in which it is advantageous for farmers to grow protein crops in several areas: on- farm animal feed production using mixed crops such as cereals and beans; protein production for human consumption; and organic farmingall kinds of sustainable agriculture,
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital U
Recital U
U. whereas, instead of further encouragingnext to cereal and maize monoculturescultivation for feed and energy production, the use of extended crop rotation systems, on-farm mixed cropping and grass-clover mixtures has greatercan have environmental and agronomic benefits, since the growing of leguminous crops as part of a rotation system can prevent diseases and regenerate the soil,
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to ensure that its legislative proposals for CAP reform include adequate measures and instruments which integrate protein crop production into improvedfor improved crop rotation and research into plant breeding, with the aim of a more efficient protein crop protaduction systems so as to overcomreduce the current protein deficit, improve farmers‘ revenues and address the key challenges agriculture is facing, such as climate change, the loss of biodiversity and soil fertility and the protection and sustainable management of water resources;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission swiftly to submit to Parliament and to the Council a report on the scope forfeasibility of increasing domestic protein crop production in the EU, including the potential extent for substituting imports, the potential effect on farmers‘ revenues, the contribution it would make to climate change mitigation, the effect on biodiversity and soil fertility, and the potential for reducing the necessary external input of mineral fertilisers and pesticidelant protection products;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to carry out an appraisal evaluating the effects of current import tariffs and trade agreements on the various oilseed and protein crops, and to review the current strategies adopted proceed in the ongoing multilateral trade negotiations as regards so-called ‘non-trade aspects’, which include the agri-environmental effects of increased crop rotation, while paying due attention to the EU's agriculture interests;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Commission to ensure an unhindered supply of soya to the EU market by providing a technical solution on the low level presence of GMOs for protein crops for food and feed imported in the EU; recalls that shortages of soya imports impose an additional cost burden on the EU livestock and feedstuffs sectors, and puts the economic viability of domestic meat production at risk;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to revise the definition of good agricultural practices, includingencourage the use of mandatory crop rotation with domestic protein crops as a precautionary measure against crop disease and price volatility in the animal production sectorwhere soil conditions allow;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to submit a report to Parliament on the current use of slaughter offal, swill, meat and bone meal and other animal protein sources in the Member States in accordance with the EU legislation on animal by-products, including, an overview (dates etc.) of calories used, and to propose options for the treatment and use of such protein sources in biogas plants, incineration and animal feed; urges the full application of the precautionary principle in relation to the possible use of animal proteins in any kind of animal feed, but calls on the Commission to - as suggested in the TSE Road map 2 - work towards the lifting of the suspension of the use of processed animal protein in feed for all animals other than ruminants, provided that the ban on intra-species recycling is maintained;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to introduce a framework programme for decentralised agricultural research as part of research on agriculture and rural development andto improve European and international collaboration in agricultural research including on-farm training programmes on improving the breeding of locally adapted protein plants so as to ensure the applicability of new research in the field;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission to introduce a top-up payment for farmers cultivatingensure that any support for the production of protein crops, including clover grass, as 10% of thei the European Union complies with WTO rules in that it does not have trade distorting effects, and should not be discriminatory against farmers who manage soils that are not suitable for protaein crop production;