News

The members of the EP Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) voted on 31/01/2023 on a draft own-initiative opinion on the Commission Communication on ensuring accessibility and affordability of fertilisers. Committee members approved the own motion by 38 votes to 7, with 2 abstentions. In their opinion, MEPs called on the European Commission to support the switch to organic fertilisers. According to COMAGRI's opinion, all fertilisers, except those from Russia and Belarus, should continue to be temporarily exempted from import duties to stabilise prices and reduce dependence on fertiliser imported from Russia. In the approved proposal, MEPs call on Member States to use their CAP strategic plans, in particular through eco-schemes, to promote organic fertilisers. They also call on the European Commission to present an EU strategy for soil and sustainability by June 2023 and to develop a long-term EU-wide fertiliser strategy. Committee members also asked the Commission to compensate for the reduced CAP budget in the mid-term review of the EU's multiannual financial framework, which is taking place this year. The same proposal is likely to be voted on in the EP Plenary as soon as possible in February.
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Great Britain on 23/01/2023 authorized the emergency use of banned neonicotinoids for 2023 for sugar beet seed treatment. Neonicotinoids are used as prevention against a plant disease called viral yellowing of beets. The permit was issued despite objections from the UK's Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP). Environmental organization Pesticide Collaboration described the UK's decision as hypocritical and a failure of responsibility towards third countries, especially considering Britain's recent support for pesticide reduction at the UN COP15 biodiversity talks.
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In the Farm to Fork strategy, the European Commission announced its intention to present a revision of animal welfare rules, and a proposal for animal welfare labelling should also be part of the revision proposal. The submission of the revision is planned for the second half of this year, according to preliminary information, the Commission could publish the proposal in September 2023. The European Commission will assess the suitability of the current rules in the area of animal transport, slaughter, but also in the area of breeding conditions on farms. Member States and European non-governmental agricultural organizations are already discussing the topic. In the past week, a total of eight EU Member States (Portugal, France, Spain, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania) warned against a potential proposal to ban the transport of live livestock over long distances and to countries outside the European Union, according to these countries, the ban would lead to damage to the competitiveness of the livestock industry. On the contrary, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg support the ban on the transport of live animals throughout the EU.
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The occurrence of bird flu was also newly confirmed in the German state of Bavaria. On 18/01/2023, an outbreak of bird flu was detected and officially confirmed in the district of Schwandorf on a duck farm where all 70,000 ducks will be culled. In the district of Tirschenreuth, a case of H5N1 avian influenza was officially confirmed in a domestic poultry flock in the town of Waldsassen. About 100 poultry were killed. A protective zone and a surveillance zone were established around the farms with the outbreak. The observation area also extends to the Wunsiedel district and the Czech Republic. In Munich, the first cases of bird flu were detected in wild birds, specifically in swans.
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The Court of Justice of the EU ruled on 19/01/2023 that Member States cannot issue emergency permits for the use of banned neonicotinoids to treat sugar beet seeds. The decision concerned six recently issued emergency permits in Belgium, the annulment of which was requested by the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) and Nature & Progrès Belgium at the Belgian Administrative Court. The case was subsequently referred to the Court of Justice of the EU, which ruled that seed treatment does not fall under plant protection emergencies and called on all Member States to use any other plant protection methods than chemical ones. The International Confederation of European Beet Growers has identified neonicotinoid seed treatment as a necessary plant protection against aphids that transmit plant disease called viral yellowing. According to the confederation, some emergency situations arise repeatedly within the season, so they do not agree with the Court's decision.
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