News

On 24/11/2022, the European Parliament adopted the Resolution of the European Parliament on the protection of farm animals and large carnivores in Europe. Against the odds and to the great surprise of Greens and environmental organisations, MEPs on 24/11/2022 backed a revision of key European environmental legislation - the Habitats Directive - to downgrade the protection status of large carnivores.
More information is available here and here.

The European Commission published on 18/11/2022 the latest balance sheets on protein feed in the EU. Based on available data for 2022-2023, feed demand is expected to remain stable at 72 million tonnes of crude protein. EU self-sufficiency for all protein sources will remain at 77%, despite lower maize availability due to this year's drought.
More information is available here.

India, the world's second largest consumer of coal, called on participating countries during the UN Climate Change Conference - COP27 in Egypt to agree on a phase-down of all fossil fuels, rather than the narrower coal phase-down agreement reached at last year's COP26. Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for EU climate policy, confirmed on 15/11/2022 that the European Union supports India's call to phase out fossil fuel consumption at COP27, provided it does not weaken previous agreements to reduce coal consumption.
More information is available here.

The largest political faction of the European Parliament, the EPP, strives to mitigate and limit the negative impacts of the presence of large carnivores, including wolves and bears, on the agricultural sector in the European Union. According to the EPP, traditional alpine pastures and meadow grazing systems are increasingly being abandoned by farmers due to environmental, agricultural and socio-economic problems associated with agricultural activities taking place in close proximity to the presence of large carnivores, which, according to the EPP, is in opposition to the European Union's nature conservation objectives. The EPP group therefore demands a reduction in the protection status of wolves under the Bern Convention on the Conservation of Wild Plants, Wild Animals and Natural Habitats. The European Union should also, according to the EPP, recognize that growing carnivore populations lead to several environmental, agricultural and socio-economic measures, and that therefore additional measures should be taken to limit it. The topic will be discussed at the EP plenary session in the week of 21/11/2022.

The Appellate Committee for GMOs, composed of representatives of the EU states, did not reach the necessary majority in the vote on 15/11/2020 to extend the license for the use of glyphosate as an active substance in plant protection in the EU by one year, i.e., until 15/12/2023. The current license is due to expire on 14/12/2022, but a re-evaluation of the active substance by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will not be available until July 2023. BE, CZ, DK, EE, EI, ES, NL, PT voted for the extension, IT, RO, FI, SE, BG, EL, CY, LV, LT, HU, AT, PL and SK. HR, LU and MT were against, and FR, DE and SI abstained, which was enough to block the proposal. But in this case, the European Commission used its powers and, despite the indecision of the Member Sstates, decided on a temporary one-year extension of the license for the use of glyphosate, which can now be used until 15/12/2023, to allow the EFSA to carry out a proper evaluation of the substance.
More information is available here.