The European Parliament has been calling for many years for a plan to secure self-sufficiency in proteins and a report on this issue will be presented in autumn of this year, MEPs Eric Andrieu (S&D, France) and Jean-Paul Denanot (S&D, France) said on Friday 16 June.
They were speaking against the background of Parliament’s adoption on Wednesday 14 June of the delegated act banning the use of pesticides on ecological focus areas (EFAs) – a measure linked to the greening of agricultural aid (see EUROPE 11808 and 11804).
Andrieu and Denanot argue that, if an ambitious budget for the next common agricultural policy (CAP) is to be maintained, greening is needed. “If better results aren’t achieved on greening and biodiversity, Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan will face a very difficult task in getting his colleagues to agree to an appropriate level of funding for agriculture. Pretending not to realise this is playing with fire and running the risk of a massive cut in public aid”, they said. The issue of self-sufficiency in vegetable protein is vital but it is one that will not be resolved simply through EFAs. The two MEPs call on the Commission to propose without delay a European action plan for becoming self-sufficient in vegetable protein in order to reduce soya imports for animal feed. The EU imports over 75% of its vegetable protein.
Denanot is the Parliament’s agriculture committee rapporteur on vegetable protein. In Luxembourg on Monday 12 June, Germany and Hungary presented a European soya declaration (see EUROPE 11807). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)