On Tuesday 7 November, members of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) expressed their support for the main objective of the new deal for pollinators proposed in January (a revision of the 2018 initiative) to reverse the decline in wild pollinators by 2030 (see EUROPE 13106/10), while stressing the importance of giving the EU the means, including financial, to achieve this objective.
The amended draft resolution from the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left groups was adopted by a large majority (65 in favour, 1 against and 3 abstentions) (see EUROPE 13242/4). In it, the ENVI Committee highlights the importance of pollinators for human well-being, agricultural productivity, food security and nature, and recalls the resolution passed by the European Parliament in October 2019 (see EUROPE 12355/11).
In the text adopted on Tuesday, MEPs call on the Commission and Member States to rapidly and fully implement the EU biodiversity strategies for 2030 and the Farm to Fork strategy, and to commit to substantial and additional measures for nature conservation.
In particular, the Commission has been asked to assess the conformity of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plans with the objectives of the EU pollinator initiative.
The Commission and Member States are called upon to create a specific chapter within the CAP to set out concrete measures to protect wild pollinators, given their importance as providers of agricultural input.
MEPs also call on the Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to promote the transition towards a more holistic and contextualised assessment of the environmental risks of pesticides to insects, including pollinators (see EUROPE 13286/10) and refer to EFSA’s revised guidance document on the subject (see EUROPE 13225/8).
They are also calling for an end, by 2027, to EU imports of agricultural products treated with pesticides that are toxic to pollinators and that are banned in the European Union for reasons of human health and the protection of biodiversity.
With regard to funding, MEPs want the European Commission to evaluate new ways of financing the measures needed to achieve the objectives of the revised pollinator initiative, including by creating a Nature Fund in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. They also want the Commission to propose a specific budget line to support systematic biodiversity monitoring, indicators and reports on status, trends and pressures in all EU countries.
The European Parliament will vote at its plenary session from 20 to 23 November.
See the adopted compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/9el (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)