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Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, who took over the European Green Deal agenda after the resignation of Frans Timmermans, pledged last week to defend the EU's climate ambitions, despite opposition from conservative lawmakers and some EU member states. But Šefčovič added that he also plans to hold a series of dialogues with industry and civil society representatives to better address some of the concerns surrounding the European Green Deal and its implementation. It is not yet clear what Šefčovič will do with the proposals that fall under the European Green Deal and which the Commission has planned to present in autumn 2023 - for example, the revision of animal welfare rules or the introduction of a new legal framework for a sustainable food system. The post of Commissioner for the Netherlands is to be filled by Wopke Hoekstra, the Dutch Foreign Minister, whose nomination has already been approved by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Hoekstra now must go through the traditional grilling in the European Parliament, a process in which MEPs ask the candidate questions about his future focus at the European Commission, which should be climate initiatives. The grilling will take place in the EP's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (COMENVI), the date has not yet been set.
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The European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) adopted its opinion on carbon decarbonisation certification on 30/08/2023. The opinion, whose rapporteur is Czech MEP Martin Hlaváček (Renew Europe), was adopted by 31 votes to 6 with 2 abstentions. The COMAGRI opinion calls for a clear distinction between permanent carbon sequestration and carbon management; for considering not only the removal but also the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by broadening the definition of what can be considered carbon farming; and for the possibility of monetising and trading certificates on carbon markets. The COMAGRI report also restricts certification to land and forest operators only, unlike the Commission proposal, to prevent speculation by non-agricultural operators, and calls for the use of existing CAP registers and databases, to significantly reduce the administrative burden and costs of setting up a completely new system. The report also stipulates that existing certifications today will first have to be assessed and approved for the future EU system. Those certifications that do not meet the future criteria should not be recognised by the EU scheme. In addition, until the EU-wide rules on green claims come into force, farmers should also be able to use certificates as voluntary climate claims. The EP Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety is the main committee responsible for drawing up the Parliament's position and will adopt its opinion on 02/10/2023. The EP plenary is then expected to decide on its position probably in mid-October 2023.
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The European Commission is preparing a proposal on the possible renewal of the authorisation of glyphosate in the European Union, to be presented on 15/09/2023 during the meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCOPAFF). The Commission's proposal should be based on the assessment of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). EFSA issued its assessment report in early July 2023, according to EFSA's conclusions, no areas of critical concern have been identified in relation to the use of glyphosate, thus glyphosate should be safe for agricultural use. Czech MEP Veronika Vrecionová (ECR) called on the European Commission to actually take EFSA's conclusions into account when preparing its proposal for licence renewal. The current licence for the use of glyphosate in agriculture expires on 15/12/2023, and a possible extension/renewal of the licence will be discussed in the coming months.
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On 16/08/2023, the European Commission launched an investigation into suspected customs fraud in EU biofuel imports, in which biodiesel was allegedly produced in Indonesia and shipped via China and the UK to avoid anti-subsidy duties of 8-18%. According to Ethanol Europe's policy advisor James Cogan, certification systems for biofuel imports into the EU fail to prevent fraud, so measures to ensure the integrity of imports into the EU single market are not fit for purpose as the origin of biofuel feedstock is too easy to falsify. The European Commission is expected to conclude its investigation into the alleged fraud in May 2024, and if suspicions are confirmed, duties will also be applied to biofuel imports from China and the UK.
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European Commission executive vice-president Frans Timmermans resigns as commissioner to run for the post of Dutch prime minister. The Left Alliance has formally confirmed Timmermans as leader of the alliance for the upcoming Dutch parliamentary elections, but his participation in the national elections does not allow him to remain as commissioner. Timmermans was in charge of the European Green Deal, its development and implementation. Timmermans' portfolio, that is the whole of the European Green Deal, will now be taken over by the Slovak Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, at least until the Dutch Government appoints Frans Timmermans' successor as Commissioner. This could be Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra. Frans Timmermans' successor must first be appointed by the Dutch Government and then approved by the European Parliament. In Hoekstra's case, approval by the European Parliament might not be smooth, given his previous work at Shell. If approved by the European Parliament, he could be put in charge of his predecessor's portfolio, the European Green Deal, but this is not an obligation - it will be up to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to decide on the allocation of the portfolio. The current Commission's mandate ends at the end of next year.
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