Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) adopted (63 votes in favour, 9 against and 7 abstentions) a draft opinion on the EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on Wednesday 27 January, which calls on the parties to aim for a dynamic alignment of their climate and environmental protection objectives.
Although they believe the European Parliament should approve the agreement, MEPs point out some shortcomings in the text with regard to climate and the environment but also public health.
In particular, they regret that the climate objectives for 2030 included in the agreement are, for the EU, a 40% reduction in emissions (and not the objective raised to at least 55%), and, for the United Kingdom, its share of the 40% objective.
Another source of concern is the differences that could emerge between the carbon pricing systems (ETS) of the two parties. Noting that the text provides for the possibility of linking the two systems through the conclusion of a future related agreement, the ENVI Committee believes that such a link should only be made if this does not undermine the integrity and effectiveness of the EU ETS system.
In addition, MEPs regret that the agreement does not address the UK’s compliance by or alignment with the principles of EU taxonomy, nor does it contain clear provisions on how to deal with greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation and maritime sectors.
ENVIRONMENT
On the environment, MEPs are particularly concerned about the UK’s intentions in the field of genetic modification.
“We have already noticed the British government’s willingness to soften its legal framework in several areas, be it on GMO laws or with the reintroduction of neonicotinoids”, said the chairman of the parliamentary committee, Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, France). He therefore calls on the European Commission to monitor the implementation of the agreement and to “be strict” in case of violation.
Public health
With regard to public health, the report deplores the fact that, despite the lessons learned from the current Covid-19 pandemic, EU/UK cooperation on health security will be limited to the evaluation of “significant public health risks” and the coordination of possible health protection measures.
Food security
Finally, MEPs note with concern that the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) provisions of the agreement “largely reflect” the specific rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
However, they welcome the fact that there will be no change in EU food safety standards and that the agreement aims to preserve the EU’s high SPS standards.
The committee’s (ENVI) opinion is sent to the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and international trade (INTA) committees, which are responsible for drawing up a proposal to approve the EU/UK agreement for a vote in plenary session.
See the draft opinion: https://bit.ly/3iQ678f (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)