With European Parliament, Council and European Commission negotiators due to meet again in Tuesday 27 March to thrash out a compromise on the renewable energy II directive (RED II) (see EUROPE 11941), the think tank Farm Europe presented a report, “Proteins and Renewable energy – One and the same challenge”, on Monday 26 March to inform the debate on the strategic plant protein development plan for the EU which is being drafted by the European Commission.
Five European “protein plans” have been launched in the last 30 years without any real impact on the EU’s dependence on imports, particularly of soybeans, Farm Europe states. The EU is structurally deficient in protein and imports 70% of its protein crops. Some 30 million tonnes (Mt) of soybeans were imported in the 2016-2017 marketing year.
Biofuel production delivers the co-generation of 13 Mt of protein-rich products per year (52% of EU protein production), Farm Europe points out. It argues, therefore, that, by casting doubt over so-called first generation biofuels as part of RED II, the Commission would also be casting doubt over the independence of the EU in plant proteins for animal feed.
“It is therefore urgent, in order to develop a real European protein strategy by 2020, to build on the efforts made in recent years, not by destabilising the European biofuel sector but, on the contrary, enhancing and valuing the protein dimension of the co-generation of green energy”, Farm Europe states. This position is shared by the European vegetable oil and protein meal sector (FEDIOL) in a paper, published on Thursday 22 March, setting out its position.
European Parliament adopting its position. In contrast, no reference is made to biofuels in the draft non-legislative resolution on an EU strategy for the promotion of protein adopted by the European Parliament’s agriculture committee on 20 March.
The draft resolution is expected to be put to a vote in the plenary session in Strasbourg on 16-19 April. Rapporteur, Jean-Paul Denanot (S&G, France) is convinced that “this ‘protein plan’ must form part of the new common agricultural policy through a raft of measures in both first and second pillars”.
MEPs argue for: - voluntary coupled payments for all protein crops in all regions of the EU, not simply those experiencing difficulty; - plant protein production in ecological focus areas, in both organic and conventional farming; - a leguminous plant component in rotation systems in arable land.
The resolution adopted by the agriculture committee calls for an EU platform to be set up, supported by the European arable crop market observatory, to identify protein crop areas, determine production capacities and bring together all the research carried out hitherto in this area.
Lastly, for its supply in soybeans and other plant proteins, the EU must cooperate more closely with neighbouring countries and diversify its imports, the committee also argues, adding that imports into the EU must meet European social and environmental standards and, preferably, be GMO-free.
The Farm Europe report can be viewed at: https://bit.ly/2DVSXR7 (Original version in French)