17 Amendments of George LYON related to 2011/2056(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Supports the analysis provided by the Commission with regard to agricultural products in the context of global food security, with diminishing global food reserves and increasing hunger, and from aas regards market perspectives, underlining the extreme price volatility in food and feed, prices and the imperfections of the food and feed chains; and the role oflso recognises that financial instruments and speculative behaviour asmight prove useful to mitigate the effects of market instability as cause of ould regulation against abilityusive speculative behaviour;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Notes the lack of evidence there is to establish a systematic link between financial speculation and long-term price trends of food commodities and agricultural raw materials; considers, therefore, that a thorough analysis aiming at gaining a better understanding of the multiple factors that affect short and long-term food commodities and agricultural raw materials price trends could provide a useful basis for adopting adequate measures to mitigate the effects of extreme price volatility;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Asks the Commission, together with other international bodies, to refine their analysis on the causes explaining market fluctuations and seek greater clarity on the interactions between speculation and agricultural markets, as well as energy markets and food commodities prices; Stresses that those steps should be taken as part of the efforts to regulate the financial markets at global and EU level;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Demands that careful attention be given to the fundamental uncertainty surrounding the increasing interaction between the price movements of energy and non-energy commodities, especially food;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. With regard to food security, supports the finding of the Communication that without a Common Agricultural Policy and a direct support mechanism, European agriculture is unlikely to survivefood production capacity across the whole of Europe would be put at risk; agrees, furthermore, that the EU does and should continue to play a role in ensuring sufficient food for a growing world population; is therefore supportive of a strategy on raw materials and commodities that is based on an integrated approach which encompasses agricultural, financial, environmental and trade and development policy concerns;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Emphasize the importance of phosphorus to the agricultural sector; calls on the Commission to put forward a Strategy on Phosphorus, which should include initiatives on resource-efficiency, recycling and a life cycle approach to the sustainability of fertilizers;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Stresses that successful EU policies on raw materials must be tied into Europe’s policies on industry, research, energy, biodiversity, trade, development, agriculture, innovation, transport and the Europe 2020 strategy; sound and strategic management of raw materials, coupled with real reform of the internal market, would put Europe well on its way to becoming a competitive player in tomorrow's global economy;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Reaffirms its commitment to free and fair trade, which is a prerequisite for European farmers to get access to raw materials and energy;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Insists, in line with the Commission, that the international community must adopt a long-term coordinated approach for global food security, including increased research efforts and investment in the agricultural sector in developing countries, notably through development policy priorities in order to increase resilience and adaptability to food shocks;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reaffirms its support for a system of global food reservesConsiders that the setting-up of a system of global emergency stocks for agricultural basic commodities should be examined, and recalls that its future scope, purpose and functioning mechanisms have yet to be defined in a coordinated manner, under the aegis of the UN system of institutions, and believes the EU should play a leading role in promoting this initiative; is supportive of the recent efforts undertaken by the G20 towards more information exchange in food production forecasts;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission to include incentive based initiatives in the CAP and the raw materials strategy aimed at unlocking the full potential of farmers to increase their production of sustainable energy, which is currently underexploited; thereby creating new rural jobs and adding an additional revenue stream to the income of farmers;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Welcomes the joint communiqué of the 3rd Berlin agriculture ministers' Summit of 22 January 2011 signed by 48 countries which called for an improved ability of agricultural markets to function properly and recognised the importance of trade to create a balance between the different actors in agricultural markets and to improve farmers' access to raw materials and energy;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Expects the raw materials strategy to align with the Europe 2020 strategy priorities of smart, inclusive and sustainable growth; believes that the proposals should include the agriculture sector's use of raw materials, soil and water resources;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates its commitment to tackling extreme price volatility, given market behaviour in the case of agricultural commodities; recalls the fact that the market for agricultural products is structurally volatile, with seasonality of production, climatic events and other factors that prevent producers from adapting to demand fluctuations in a short time; recalls that agriculture is a sector of strategic interest and that its functioning may not be left only to market forces; stresses thatthe raw materials strategy should emphasize better market access for farmers; stresses that reforms in the food chain should aim at making sure higher prices for agricultural commodities rarely result in higher incomes for farmers;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. With regard to financial instruments, supportnotes the recent Commission proposals on regulating OTC derivatives and on public consultation on the MiFID Directive; believes thatrequests that the Commission investigate whether limiting speculative behaviour on derivatives markets for commodities should be limited; supports in this context the measures requiring additional information that contributes to market transparency and the proposal for position limits, both aimed at limiting massive speculative behaviouagricultural commodities would result in reduced price volatility; is in favour of increased transparency and effective regulation of financial markets ; asks the Commission for an evaluation regarding future derivatives and commodities regulation as to whether separate regulation is needed for the agricultural commodities, given the specificity of the sector;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls that commodity derivatives markets initially fulfilled the purpose of hedging against risk, as well as providing the possibility of raising funding from the market, both of which serve the interests of farmers; notes with concern, however, that most investors now have no direct link to agriculture and that the number of contracts concluded exceeds many times the global production of food, paving the way forotentially contributing to creating the conditions for the development of speculative bubbles;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Deplores the fact that too much agricultural waste is currently not used to its full potential; considers that agricultural waste should be seen as an asset and therefore asks the Commission to investigate new means of using it as raw materials for other sectors;