EU green deal Archives - Page 3 of 8 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

A Frugal Farm to Fork – Update on Pesticides, new GMOs, Animal Welfare & Sustainable Food Systems

October 20, 2023 Natasha Foote

No progress for the Sustainable Food System Law and only the transport aspect of the animal welfare legislation surviving. Some progress is being made to move the SUR – Sustainable Use of Pesticides regulation – on, though member states and the environment committee in the Parliament may be pushing in opposite directions. And somehow, Parliament is finding time to really push hard and fast for new GMO’s. […]

A Sustainable Food Systems Law – Important for People & Planet, Stalled by the Commission

October 17, 2023 Mathieu Willard

The Sustainable Food System Framework (SFS) was promised, and it must be upheld. As it appears that the SFS is losing its place in the commission’s legislative priorities, this two-part series aims to reaffirm the vital role this law could – and should – play. We are advocating for the SFS, which, in our view, forms the cornerstone of the Farm to Fork strategy. It represents the Commission’s first real opportunity to deliver a fully comprehensive food policy and could serve as the catalyst for a substantial reform of the CAP. Part 1 of two from Mathieu Willard. […]

Commission Doubles Down on Glyphosate Re-Authorisation

October 9, 2023 Natasha Foote

The European Commission has doubled down on its stance to renew the authorisation of the controversial herbicide glyphosate for another decade despite mixed reactions from EU lawmakers, dismissing concerns over identified scientific data gaps. […]

Šefčovič’s First Green Dealing Fails to Impress

October 4, 2023 Natasha Foote

European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič’s pitch to take over as Green Deal chief has fallen flat after failing to answer MEPs calls for details and timelines of the core sustainability files still missing in action. The Sustainable Food Systems Law and Animal Welfare legislation overhaul came in for particular attention. Natasha Foote reports. […]

EU Green Deal – How are the Agri Elements Progressing?

October 1, 2023 Natasha Foote

With a number of key agrifood files missing-in-action or still jumping through legislative hoops as EU elections loom, the coming months will be the defining moment for the legacy of the Green Deal, the EU’s flagship policy for environmental sustainability. […]

European Parliament Adopts a Weakened Nature Restoration Law – next step Trilogue

July 12, 2023 Oliver Moore

The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) has survived the European Parliament’s Plenary vote today, Though the Parliament adopted a significantly weaker NRL, the Council’s position is more environmental ambitious – and the Council tends to have the upper hand in these negotiations. This augers well for the NRL coming into force. […]

Commission Releases Slew of Agri-Food Documents before Summer – here’s what you need to know.

July 10, 2023 Oliver Moore

School’s out for summer – and soon, the Brussels bubble will check out too. But not before a slew of new and updated regulations and legislations, impact assessments and more, all have their moment in the sun. Soil, seeds and NGTs, food waste, pesticides and of course the nature restoration law – it’s all coming thick and fast in these heady days. Oliver Moore and Ashley Parsons guide you through the brimming lunchboxes of the Brussels bureaucrats in these final days before summer break. […]

New Genetic Engineering – Small Cause, Big Effect

July 7, 2023 Benedikt Haerlin

The European Commission is proposing that plants that have been genetically modified at up to 20 different sites of the genome should be “considered equivalent to conventional plants”. This would be the end of the precautionary principle and transparent genetic engineering legislation as we know it. Op-ed by Benny Haerlin. […]

EU Seed Law Reform and New Genetic Engineering – Double Attack on our Seeds

July 5, 2023 ARC

July 5 2023, ARCHE NOAH today released a statement in response to the EU Commission’s proposals for revised seed marketing legislation and the deregulation of “new genomic techniques”. Seeds4All
supports the statement, which raises the alarm about the threat these proposals present to the future of genetic diversity in Europe and calls on agriculture ministers and MEPs to protect farmers, consumers and biodiversity. […]

ENVI Committee Votes Down Nature Restoration Law Report – what happened and what’s next?

June 27, 2023 ARC

Today, the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety (ENVI) finished voting on amendments to the Nature Restoration Law. No majority was found for the law as amended, as the vote was once again split 44-44. So what happened and what’s next? […]

Draft new GMO Regulation: Key elements and First Reactions

June 19, 2023 Mathieu Willard

Last week, we unveiled the draft regulation on NGTs (New Genomic Techniques) by the European Commission. What is being proposed exactly? And what are the first reactions? Let’s delve into a brief overview. […]

Nature Restoration Law avoids rejection in Parliament’s Environment Committee – what’s next?

June 15, 2023 ARC

The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) continues its perilous path towards enactment, surviving the first major hurdle at the Environment Committee in the European Parliament on the morning of today, Thursday 15th June. So what happened, and what’s next? […]

Nature Restoration Law | No, 10% of land will NOT be abandoned under NRL

June 11, 2023 Oliver Moore

Good news! The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) won’t, can’t and couldn’t cause the abandonment of 10% of Europe’s perfectly good farmland. This is important to know in advance of the vote on the 15th in the European Parliament’s Environment Committee. If this committee doesn’t pass the compromise NRL text, its likely over. So if you are contacting MEPs on the ENVI Committee – or if indeed you are one of those 88 MEPs – rest assured. These is no land abandonment in the NRL. Explainer by Oliver Moore. […]

Rewetting Survives, Natura 2000 areas ringfenced in Environment Committee Text

June 8, 2023 ARC

The Environment Committee’s compromise text on the Nature Restoration Law sees few significant changes to the main targets, including in the contentious area of rewetting organic soils. Other relevant restoration actions are however more restricted to Nature 2000 sites than in the Commission proposal. Oliver Moore reports. […]

Nature Restoration Law News – Environment Committee Edging Towards Deal as EPP walks out

May 31, 2023 ARC

The main groups in the Environmental Committee have reached an agreement text on the Nature Restoration Law late this evening: “This evening the ENVI shadow rapporteurs of the Nature Restoration Law arrived at a package deal, which will be brought to the vote in the ENVI committee on 15th June” a short joint statement reads. […]