Agriculture and Fisheries

Fighting the EU's hypocrisy on GMOs

The European Parliament will vote tomorrow on whether to allow the import of a new GM soybean into the EU

There is a terrible hypocrisy at the heart of the EU’s policy on GMOs. This is largely invisible from EU citizens, as it does not affect the labelling of food. To discover it, you‘d have to take a dive into the story of the more than 70 GM crops which are allowed to enter the EU to feed our farm animals.

Better cooperation needed to stop further food scandals

Fipronil eggs scandal

Following a request from the Greens/EFA group, the European Parliament will hear Council and Commission Statements today on the Fipronil eggs scandal. You can follow the debate live from around 10.15am on the European Parliament website.

Health and safety of citizens must come first

EU-Japan food controls

The Greens/EFA group has today won the support of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee for its objection to proposals to change the rules on the import of food from the Fukushima area of Japan.

Bayer/Monsanto merger

The Commission recognises that the Bayer/Monsanto merger would be highly problematic

It is clear from the Commission judgement on the potential merger that they share our concerns, as Greens, about risks of further consolidation in the market for seeds and pesticides.

EU Member States should listen to the parliament on GMOs

Environment committee rejects GMOs

"The European Parliament has consistently made clear its opposition to GM authorisations. I hope that the Member States will take this into account when they come to make their own decision tomorrow," says Bart Staes.

Contamination concerns cannot be ignored

Food safety / EU-Japan trade deal

Greens/EFA MEP Michèle Rivasi has written to the Chair of the European Parliament's Environment and Public Health Committee, objecting to the Commission's proposals to lift import controls on food from Japan put in place after the Fukushima disaster (1). The proposals, which come at the same time as the Commission approves a free trade deal with Japan, would reduce the safeguards designed to prevent radioactive elements (cesium 134 and 137) in foodstuffs from being imported into the EU.

5 GMOs authorized for import in the EU without any political support

5 GMO authorizations were published on 4 July 2017, without any political support, neither from the Member States nor from the European Parliament. This is further proof that the decision process concerning GMOs needs to be changed quickly to a more democratic and more transparent one. The Greens/EFA are actively working to that end.

Member States fail to protect public health and environment from endocrine disrupters

Toxic substances

The Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed has today voted to approve new criteria determining hormone-disrupting chemicals used in pesticides. The European Commission's criteria will make it very difficult to identify endocrine disrupters, meaning that few if any products would be removed from the market.

Clear consensus on the need to end planned obsolescence

Consumer goods and the environment

The European Parliament has adopted an own-initiative report from Pascal Durand aimed at extending the life of products to the benefit of consumers and businesses, their employees and the environment.

The European Patent Office’s new rules are unacceptable

Patents on “natural” seeds

The European Patent Office (EPO) has missed the opportunity to change its internal rules in a way that would have clearly prevented the granting of patent on non genetically modified seeds.

We want to get rid of conflict of interests in the EU agencies!

As the debate over independence and conflicts of interest in scientific assessments continues to heat up, Members of the EU Parliament’s Environment committee organised an exchange of views this morning with the Court of Auditors and the European agencies on Medicines, Chemicals and Food (EMA, ECHA, and EFSA respectively). The aim of the meeting was to undertake a comprehensive analysis of these agencies’ approach in dealing with potential conflicts of interest. Greens/EFA MEPs called for more stringent measures to avoid any corporate bias in the agencies’ evaluations and conclusions.

Copernican revolution of the CAP needed

Cut the spraying, shift the spending!

Deliver food security, create long term jobs all across the EU, mitigate climate change, reduce air pollution, protect animal welfare and at the same time improve soil fertility, water management and biodiversity: mission impossible?