The report made it to Politico, see below in yellow ☺ Congrats to everyone involved!
Unfortunately, the sentence on Austria is a bit misleading, as it can read like we would have a limit on patents on GMOs also (I think it should be “limit patents to genetically engineered seeds”), but great that it got so much space.
Best, D*
Von: Mute Schimpf mute.schimpf@foeeurope.org Gesendet: Dienstag, 15. Oktober 2024 09:56 An: Dagmar Urban dagmar.urban@arche-noah.at Betreff: you made it to Politico
-------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Forget about de-polarization, MEPs say Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2024 05:01:10 +0000 From: POLITICO Pro Morning Agri & Food Europe morningagrifood@politico.eumailto:morningagrifood@politico.eu To: matilda.flemming@foeeurope.orgmailto:matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org
The source for European policy news from farm to market and everything in between. By PAULA ANDRÉS with BARTOSZ BRZEZIŃSKI SNEAK PEEK — European Parliament lawmakers turn strategic dialogue discussion into battleground, to the dismay of participants. — Europe’s rivers and lakes are under unprecedented pressure due to pollution, water use and the climate crisis, EU environmental agency report warns. — The Greens are warming to the idea of a EU farm budget reshuffle, says MEP. Welcome to Morning Agri!. Send tips, comments and scoopy documents to: Bartosz, Paula and Alessandro | Follow us @ThisIsBartosz, @paulandresr and @FordAlessandro. DRIVING THE DAY ‘DE-POLARIZING’ FARM REPORT FORESHADOWS POLARIZED FUTURE FOR CAP TALKS: The tense debate in the European Parliament’s agriculture committee on the Strategic Dialogue report gave a taste of things to come in the upcoming farm policy negotiations, as one lawmaker after another asserted their territorial claims. What happened: During the nearly three-hour session on Monday, AGRI lawmakers had a field day denouncing the recommendations of the report, which was co-authored by 29 agri-food organizations and chaired by Prof. Peter Strohschneider (who joined the hearing online). As per the dialogue speakers: While some of the dialogue’s participants focused in their speeches on points relevant to their sectors, others stressed that the report should be seen as the sum of its parts and a first step toward overcoming polarization and policy stagnation. Look to the future: Peter Meedendorp, president of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), urged lawmakers to “appreciate this report for what it is: a consensual foundation to build upon the next mandate,” adding that “we owe it to them [young farmers] not to turn this report into a political battleground.” To no avail. Tainted dialogue: Immediately after the participants were done speaking, center-right MEP Herbert Dorfmann of the European People’s Party started the finger-pointing. “Was it intentional that he [Strohschneider] has been kept far away from us?” the Italian lawmaker said, referring to the chair’s absence. Others, such as liberal Ciaran Mullooly and leftwing Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan also slammed Strohschneider’s absence. “He can run but he can’t hide. Some of his virtual dialogue raises more questions than answers,” Mullooly posted on social media. Flanagan, on the other hand, showed outrage at the professor’s alleged salary. Who’s to blame? The invitation from the Parliament was only sent last Thursday, giving Strohschneider limited time to plan, and it expressly gave him the option of joining online. He had been expecting to attend on Sept. 26 — but Dorfmann’s EPP asked to move the meeting due to his group’s trip to Napoli. So is it the EPP’s fault? “At least he could stay connected for the panel,” Dorfmann said. A European Commission spokesperson said Strohschneider couldn’t travel to Brussels for “personal reasons.” Our house, our rules: Perhaps missing the point of the whole exercise and its varied participants, Dutch EPP MEP Sander Smit had this to say about the report on social media: “Legislation/policy is made by the co-legislator [European Parliament], not by (vegetarian) NGOs.” On your behalf: The Greens picked the fight over the participants’ representation in the hearing, which featured a majority of farm lobbies and economic interests despite environmental NGOs, consumer groups and others also playing an active part in the dialogue. Green MEP Thomas Waitz used his turn to speak to read a statement from European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC), a small farmers’ group, calling on AGRI lawmakers to “send a clear message to farmers and other stakeholders that the strategic dialogue results will translate into action and not just empty words.” Thanks for nothing: “Today’s hearing was an appalling and embarrassing show of how poor politics can be,” Greenpeace’s and dialogue participant Marco Contiero told Morning Agri. “Most Agri MEPs have shown to be actively trying to re-create polarization on an issue that stakeholders from the food and agriculture sectors have managed to depolarise.” ICYMI: Read our takeout on the backlash among Copa-Cogeca’s members against the results of the Strategic Dialogue. CHEMICALS EUROPE’S UNDER (TOXIC) WATER: Europe’s water is under unprecedented pressure from pollution, habitat degradation, climate change and over-use of freshwater resources, the European Environmental Agency has warned — and governments aren’t doing enough to fix it, our colleague Leonie Cater reports. The EEA report out on Monday shows the bloc is on track to miss clean water targets under EU law, revealing “serious challenges to water security, both today and in the future,” the EEA’s Trina Christensen told reporters. Case in point: Europe’s rivers and lakes are turning brown, most protected fish and amphibian species in the EU risk becoming locally extinct, and harmful blooms of cyanobacteria are on the rise. Only 37 percent of Europe’s surface water bodies achieved “good” or “high” ecological status, under the EU’s Water Framework Directive and only 29 percent achieved “good” chemical status from 2015 to 2021. Ramping up pressure: The EEA is calling on countries and sectors with a “heavy impact” on water like agriculture, energy and transport to “accelerate implementation [of environmental policies and initiatives] to deliver more tangible environmental improvements.” The agricultural sector's intensive use of nutrients and pesticides is severely impacting the quality of surface and groundwaters — and it's “by far” the highest net water consumer in Europe. In the pipeline: The report comes as EU co-legislators prepare to go head-to-head over new EU standards for monitoring water pollutants. EU countries have come under fire for trying to introduce more flexibility to the rules — while the Parliament wants to make them more ambitious. In addition, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to come forward with a European Water Resilience Strategy, after failing to produce a promised Water Resilience Initiative in her previous mandate amid farmers’ protests earlier this year. Read the full story from Leonie here. SIX EU COUNTRIES BACK EU EXPORT BAN ON ILLEGAL CHEMICALS: Denmark’s environment minister on Monday called for an EU ban on exporting chemicals that are illegal within the EU. He received backing from France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and Ireland. Swedish Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari noted the remarks “with interest” and said “we intend to look further into this topic.” More here. BUDGET GREENS WARM TO VDL’S BUDGET REFORMS: The Commission found in the Greens an unlikely ally in its quest to link key planks of its next seven year-budget, including agricultural subsidies, to the completion of economic reforms. Open arms: “Rejecting the ideas outright is not the right reflex, we should use the ideas as a starting point for discussion,” the Green’s budget point-person Rasmus Andresen wrote to POLITICO. Is it all about CAP? The pro-farmers European People’s Party (EPP) ― from which von der Leyen hails ― criticized the plans on the grounds that they would sideline Parliament. The Greens on the other hand pushed for radical change and said that “grandfathering (the practice of keeping ad hoc old rules in a new system) with regard to the CAP … will not help us.” DEFORESTATION MEPS BLAST COMMISSION OVER HANDLING OF DELAY TO ANTI-DEFORESTATION RULES: Lawmakers across the political spectrum ripped into the European Commission during a meeting of the Parliament’s environment committee (ENVI) on Monday for what they consider to be poor management of the implementation of the European Union’s new rules to fight trade-associated deforestation. Context: The new rules will force firms to track and trace their supplies of key commodities and show they haven’t been sourced from recently deforested areas. They were originally expected to kick in on Dec. 30, but pushback from companies, trading partners and agriculture ministers led the Commission to propose a one-year phase-in period, which the Parliament and the Council of the EU now need to sign off on. Up in arms: All the political groups criticized the Commission’s management of the file, but for different reasons. Christine Schneider of the center-right European People’s Party said that Brussels created “a lot of uncertainty” by waiting to announce the delay and added that her group would have preferred “a couple of years of delay” to legislation that poses “a great threat to our trade.” Beatrice Timgren of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists also said the Commission shouldn’t have waited “until the last minute” to announce the delay and called for the regulation to be revised entirely, arguing it creates unnecessary bureaucracy for companies. The centrist Renew Europe’s Pascal Canfin was critical of the Commission chief, saying “the technical work had been done ... and remained for several weeks, even months, on the desk of President Ursula von der Leyen, and the result? The companies didn’t have access to the technical elements that would enable them to implement the text, and now they’re saying ‘oh well, it’s too late, we’ll have to postpone it.’ It’s like a snake biting its own tail,” he argued. Canfin added that his group would oppose any amendments to the substance of the text. Both points were echoed by the center-left Socialists and Democrats’ Delara Burkhardt. Commission on the defensive: Sarah Nelen, acting director for green diplomacy and multilateralism at the Commission’s environment department, insisted that the EU executive's proposal to amend the legislation was “very exceptional” and that the institution is committed to implementing it in full. “The [Commission] really foresees one year and not more than that,” she said, adding that “our intention is not to touch a comma on substance.” Nelen also pushed back against the accusation that the regulation would increase red tape. “The basic principle is that the companies need to [make sure] they have clarity [on] where they are sourcing their commodities from,” she said. GENE EDITING PATENT AMENDMENTS TO NGT RULES TOOTHLESS, REPORT SAYS: The European Parliament and Council’s attempts to ban the patenting of seeds obtained using new genomic techniques (NGTs) are toothless because they fail to reflect the complexity of Europe’s intellectual property laws, according to a new report by an NGO coalition. What’s this about: The Parliament adopted an amendment to the draft NGT rules earlier this year banning the patenting, but the change has been rebuffed as lacking any legal basis. In the Council, the Belgian EU Presidency, in an attempt to overcome Polish opposition, proposed a work-around that would have excluded the patentability of NGTs benefiting from a lighter and faster regulatory approval, but without having to confront Europe’s highly complex patent rules head on. Good for naught: Like the Parliament’s proposal, the Belgian work-around is little more than window dressing, the No Patents on Seeds coalition concluded in a report released on Monday. An effective ban would require changes to the EU patent directive — which lawmakers have so far ruled out under the NGT rules — and the wider European Patent Convention, which alone could take up to 10 years. Look to Vienna: For more immediate impact, the EU could learn from Austria, the report says, which has already successfully amended its national patent law to limit patents on genetically engineered seeds. Yes, no, maybe: The report also finds that although conventionally bred agrifood products are technically not patentable, the European Patent Office granted 20 patents for such products last year alone, including varieties of cucumbers, corn, melons and peppers. GAZA ISRAEL STRIKES FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTER: Palestinian medics reported 10 people killed and over 30 injured as a result of Israeli airstrikes on a food distribution centre in the besieged Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Monday morning. Al Jazeera reported witnesses saying that Israeli forces fired artillery shells at civilians waiting for flour, adding that ambulances and medical teams were unable to access the area to move victims to hospitals because of restrictions imposed by the Israeli army. Context: The Israeli army launched another major ground invasion in northern Gaza 10 days ago. More than 300 people have been killed during the siege, health officials say. At the same time, no food has entered northern Gaza since Oct. 1, according to the U.N. food agency. “The rapid deterioration in the north comes as aid entering Gaza overall is at its lowest level in months, and commercial goods are barely trickling in,” the agency said in a statement. “These parcels – containing pasta, rice, oil and canned meat – are a lifeline for many families,” it adds. THANKS TO: Gregorio Sorgi, Eddy Wax, Louise Guillot and Leonie Cater.
The source for European policy news from farm to market and everything in between. [POLITICO Pro Morning Agriculture and Food] [https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/headphones2_25.png%5DView in your browser or listen to audiohttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fwww.politico.eu%2Fpro%2Fforget-about-de-polarization-meps-say%2F/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/T5sr5gBxxuVYIdFbz2NrDzrM2rE=395
By PAULA ANDRÉS
with BARTOSZ BRZEZIŃSKI SNEAK PEEK
— European Parliament lawmakers turn strategic dialogue discussion into battleground, to the dismay of participants.
— Europe’s rivers and lakes are under unprecedented pressure due to pollution, water use and the climate crisis, EU environmental agency report warns.
— The Greens are warming to the idea of a EU farm budget reshuffle, says MEP.
Welcome to Morning Agri!. Send tips, comments and scoopy documents to: Bartoszhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=mailto:bbrzezinski@politico.eu/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/kK3gWmXvBFJf16xMIEVXl5V5JZ4=395, Paulahttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=mailto:pandres@politico.eu/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/CVLvysrD5ojTkYjEuJjJXWjRk9c=395 and Alessandrohttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=mailto:aford@politico.eu/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/23YKqhlh4zpAqBc4proMppy6Xi0=395 | Follow us @ThisIsBartoszhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fthisisbartosz%2F/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/shg56pIXnfpErIgGYLGdeiCnY6s=395, @paulandresrhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fpaulandresr_/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/rl2y7gZEBiACDKjUhmQnR5hujbA=395 and @FordAlessandrohttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FFordAlessandro/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/_CL_zbGD5o2N5sBh3NdWJGYezjs=395. DRIVING THE DAY
‘DE-POLARIZING’ FARM REPORT FORESHADOWS POLARIZED FUTURE FOR CAP TALKS: The tense debate in the European Parliament’s agriculture committee on the Strategic Dialogue report gave a taste of things to come in the upcoming farm policy negotiations, as one lawmaker after another asserted their territorial claims.
What happened: During the nearly three-hour session on Monday, AGRI lawmakers had a field day denouncing the recommendations of the report, which was co-authored by 29 agri-food organizations and chaired by Prof. Peter Strohschneider (who joined the hearing online).
As per the dialogue speakers: While some of the dialogue’s participants focused in their speeches on points relevant to their sectors, others stressed that the report should be seen as the sum of its parts and a first step toward overcoming polarization and policy stagnation.
Look to the future: Peter Meedendorp, president of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), urged lawmakers to “appreciate this report for what it is: a consensual foundation to build upon the next mandate,” adding that “we owe it to them [young farmers] not to turn this report into a political battleground.” To no avail.
Tainted dialogue: Immediately after the participants were done speaking, center-right MEP Herbert Dorfmann of the European People’s Party started the finger-pointing. “Was it intentional that he [Strohschneider] has been kept far away from us?” the Italian lawmaker said, referring to the chair’s absence.
Others, such as liberal Ciaran Mullooly and leftwing Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan also slammed Strohschneider’s absence. “He can run but he can’t hide. Some of his virtual dialogue raises more questions than answers,” Mullooly postedhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fx.com%2Fciaranmullooly%2Fstatus%2F1845846261301125263/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/PVb4cQcr3wci478dUudiR1W_9vo=395 on social media. Flanagan, on the other hand, showed outrage at the professor’s alleged salaryhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F186495/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/wPDxUvNwWymbKEOwvglA5YyubMg=395.
Who’s to blame? The invitation from the Parliament was only sent last Thursday, giving Strohschneider limited time to plan, and it expressly gave him the option of joining online. He had been expecting to attend on Sept. 26 — but Dorfmann’s EPP asked to move the meeting due to his group’s trip to Napoli.https://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F186591/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/K41Iz-8RL2Ul7quINRMpnI85unE=395 So is it the EPP’s fault? “At least he could stay connected for the panel,” Dorfmann said.
A European Commission spokesperson said Strohschneider couldn’t travel to Brussels for “personal reasons.”
Our house, our rules: Perhaps missing the point of the whole exercise and its varied participants, Dutch EPP MEP Sander Smit had this to sayhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fx.com%2Fsandersmitwzn%2Fstatus%2F1845866033975881939/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/jwFX-X8SLEriLfN3w4MiMEF1ZXY=395 about the report on social media: “Legislation/policy is made by the co-legislator [European Parliament], not by (vegetarian) NGOs.”
On your behalf: The Greens picked the fight over the participants’ representation in the hearing, which featured a majority of farm lobbies and economic interests despite environmental NGOs, consumer groups and others also playing an active part in the dialogue.
Green MEP Thomas Waitz used his turn to speak to read a statement from European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC), a small farmers’ group, calling on AGRI lawmakers to “send a clear message to farmers and other stakeholders that the strategic dialogue results will translate into action and not just empty words.”
Thanks for nothing: “Today’s hearing was an appalling and embarrassing show of how poor politics can be,” Greenpeace’s and dialogue participant Marco Contiero told Morning Agri. “Most Agri MEPs have shown to be actively trying to re-create polarization on an issue that stakeholders from the food and agriculture sectors have managed to depolarise.”
ICYMI: Read our takeouthttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fnext.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F187163/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/KOqXRNDUoM8oF_ABA81azB5yb-M=395 on the backlash among Copa-Cogeca’s members against the results of the Strategic Dialogue. CHEMICALS
EUROPE’S UNDER (TOXIC) WATER: Europe’s water is under unprecedented pressure from pollution, habitat degradation, climate change and over-use of freshwater resources, the European Environmental Agency has warned — and governments aren’t doing enough to fix it, our colleague Leonie Cater reports.
The EEA reporthttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fpress%2F203724/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/P8sYNtnosX7xz3cST7Ntw0PgyhU=395 out on Monday shows the bloc is on track to miss clean water targets under EU law, revealing “serious challenges to water security, both today and in the future,” the EEA’s Trina Christensen told reporters.
Case in point: Europe’s rivers and lakes are turning brown, most protected fish and amphibian species in the EU risk becoming locally extinct, and harmful blooms of cyanobacteria are on the rise. Only 37 percent of Europe’s surface water bodies achieved “good” or “high” ecological status, under the EU’s Water Framework Directive and only 29 percent achieved “good” chemical status from 2015 to 2021.
Ramping up pressure: The EEA is calling on countries and sectors with a “heavy impact” on water like agriculture, energy and transport to “accelerate implementation [of environmental policies and initiatives] to deliver more tangible environmental improvements.” The agricultural sector’s intensive use of nutrients and pesticides is severely impacting the quality of surface and groundwaters — and it’s “by far” the highest net water consumer in Europe.
In the pipeline: The report comes as EU co-legislators prepare to go head-to-head over new EU standards for monitoring water pollutants. EU countries have come under firehttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fwww.wwf.eu%2F%3F14137891%2FEU-Member-States-seek-to-quietly-dismantle-EU-rules-protecting-water/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/oPymnSwIEvC_5ZblD-6bsVcQzx8=395 for trying to introduce more flexibility to the rules — while the Parliament wants to make them more ambitious.
In addition, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to come forward with a European Water Resilience Strategy, after failing to produce a promised Water Resilience Initiative in her previous mandate amid farmers’ protestshttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F177639/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/31lzCEu4rGFJdiwKJ2-Abm03Wqo=395 earlier this year.
Read the full story from Leonie herehttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fnext.politico.eu%2Fnews%2Feurope-river-sick-government-fail-fix-water-quality/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/-PQWJvfb9NTrIpH21uRb4eE-jWQ=395.
SIX EU COUNTRIES BACK EU EXPORT BAN ON ILLEGAL CHEMICALS: Denmark’s environment minister on Monday called for an EU ban on exporting chemicals that are illegal within the EU. He received backing from France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and Ireland. Swedish Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari noted the remarks “with interest” and said “we intend to look further into this topic.” More herehttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fnext.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F187601/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/QidYe1g9aeYcBYz3aLprm5UMzrw=395. BUDGET
GREENS WARM TO VDL’S BUDGET REFORMS: The Commission found in the Greens an unlikely ally in its quest to link key planks of its next seven year-budget, including agricultural subsidies, to the completion of economic reforms.
Open arms: “Rejecting the ideas outright is not the right reflex, we should use the ideas as a starting point for discussion,” the Green’s budget point-person Rasmus Andresen wrote to POLITICO.
Is it all about CAP? The pro-farmers European People’s Party (EPP) ― from which von der Leyen hails ― criticized the planshttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F187553/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/cGSKHJGf7H0_sPBynqBnqBytdiM=395 on the grounds that they would sideline Parliament. The Greens on the other hand pushed for radical change and said that “grandfathering (the practice of keeping ad hoc old rules in a new system) with regard to the CAP … will not help us.” DEFORESTATION
MEPS BLAST COMMISSION OVER HANDLING OF DELAY TO ANTI-DEFORESTATION RULES: Lawmakers across the political spectrum ripped into the European Commission during a meetinghttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fmultimedia.europarl.europa.eu%2Fen%2Fwebstreaming%2Fenvi-committee-meeting_20241014-1500-COMMITTEE-ENVI/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/Uy51U_rdELktLFd32GZTeAGD3a0=395 of the Parliament’s environment committee (ENVI) on Monday for what they consider to be poor management of the implementation of the European Union’s new rules to fight trade-associated deforestation.
Context: The new ruleshttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fbills%2F630028%2Foverview/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/AC7tegQSYbjAYQVlbbTjG0xm7R4=395 will force firms to track and trace their supplies of key commodities and show they haven’t been sourced from recently deforested areas. They were originally expected to kick in on Dec. 30, but pushback from companies, trading partners and agriculture ministers led the Commission to propose a one-year phase-in period, which the Parliament and the Council of the EU now need to sign off on.
Up in arms: All the political groups criticized the Commission’s management of the file, but for different reasons.
Christine Schneider of the center-right European People’s Party said that Brussels created “a lot of uncertainty” by waiting to announce the delay and added that her group would have preferred “a couple of years of delay” to legislation that poses “a great threat to our trade.”
Beatrice Timgren of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists also said the Commission shouldn’t have waited “until the last minute” to announce the delay and called for the regulation to be revised entirely, arguing it creates unnecessary bureaucracy for companies.
The centrist Renew Europe’s Pascal Canfin was critical of the Commission chief, saying “the technical work had been done … and remained for several weeks, even months, on the desk of President Ursula von der Leyen, and the result? The companies didn’t have access to the technical elements that would enable them to implement the text, and now they’re saying ‘oh well, it’s too late, we’ll have to postpone it.’ It’s like a snake biting its own tail,” he argued. Canfin added that his group would oppose any amendments to the substance of the text.
Both points were echoed by the center-left Socialists and Democrats’ Delara Burkhardt.
Commission on the defensive: Sarah Nelen, acting director for green diplomacy and multilateralism at the Commission’s environment department, insisted that the EU executive’s proposal to amend the legislation was “very exceptional” and that the institution is committed to implementing it in full. “The [Commission] really foresees one year and not more than that,” she said, adding that “our intention is not to touch a comma on substance.”
Nelen also pushed back against the accusation that the regulation would increase red tape. “The basic principle is that the companies need to [make sure] they have clarity [on] where they are sourcing their commodities from,” she said. GENE EDITING
PATENT AMENDMENTS TO NGT RULES TOOTHLESS, REPORT SAYS: The European Parliament and Council’s attempts to ban the patenting of seeds obtained using new genomic techniques (NGTs) are toothless because they fail to reflect the complexity of Europe’s intellectual property laws, according to a new report by an NGO coalition.
What’s this about: The Parliament adopted an amendmenthttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fnext.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F174660/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/JHlC__EUOkHrrMIvt3KFZZqLpdg=395 to the draft NGT rules earlier this year banning the patenting, but the change has been rebuffedhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F175241/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/gIek5hc7HMAtlwnSUjeQm7AP4d0=395 as lacking any legal basis. In the Council, the Belgian EU Presidency, in an attempt to overcomehttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fnext.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F181980/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/AUcZcPZb4gktQLBGHXdUvp6nSy4=395 Polish opposition, proposed a work-aroundhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F180329/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/xTY2irnMlmMNTK5F_II8MXNnt8Y=395 that would have excluded the patentability of NGTs benefiting from a lighter and faster regulatory approval, but without having to confront Europe’s highly complex patent ruleshttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fnews%2F63106/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/SnIPjSqP7UQzsodtSME0eVo-nCk=395 head on.
Good for naught: Like the Parliament’s proposal, the Belgian work-around is little more than window dressing, the No Patents on Seeds coalition concluded in a report released on Mondayhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fwww.no-patents-on-seeds.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fnews%2F2024%2520Report%2520No%2520patents%2520on%2520seeds_0.pdf/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/mJvuVGMtoHKyi50Ct2ahskvVx5c=395. An effective ban would require changes to the EU patent directive — which lawmakers have so far ruled out under the NGT rules — and the wider European Patent Convention, which alone could take up to 10 years.
Look to Vienna: For more immediate impact, the EU could learn from Austria, the report says, which has already successfully amended its national patent law to limit patents on genetically engineered seeds.
Yes, no, maybe: The report also finds that although conventionally bred agrifood products are technically not patentable, the European Patent Office granted 20 patents for such products last year alone, including varieties of cucumbers, corn, melons and peppers. GAZA
ISRAEL STRIKES FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTER: Palestinian medics reported 10 people killed and over 30 injured as a result of Israeli airstrikes on a food distribution centre in the besieged Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Monday morning.
Al Jazeera reportedhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fnews%2Fliveblog%2F2024%2F10%2F14%2Flive-22-dead-80-wounded-as-israeli-army-shells-gaza-school-shelter/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/Q9aEK61aJNg11aThlcxa_-5fSxg=395 witnesses saying that Israeli forces fired artillery shells at civilians waiting for flour, adding that ambulances and medical teams were unable to access the area to move victims to hospitals because of restrictions imposed by the Israeli army.
Context: The Israeli army launched another major ground invasion in northern Gaza 10 days ago. More than 300 people have been killed during the siege, health officials say. At the same time, no food has entered northern Gaza since Oct. 1, according to the U.N. food agency.
“The rapid deterioration in the north comes as aid entering Gaza overall is at its lowest level in months, and commercial goods are barely trickling in,” the agency said in a statementhttps://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=matilda.flemming@foeeurope.org%26destination=https:%2F%2Fwww.wfp.org%2Fnews%2Fcritical-food-aid-lifelines-northern-gaza-severed/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/Z73E21fUbXubChEu0-jBjw38ZO0=395. “These parcels – containing pasta, rice, oil and canned meat – are a lifeline for many families,” it adds.
THANKS TO: Gregorio Sorgi, Eddy Wax, Louise Guillot and Leonie Cater. Headlines
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Pollution, over-use and climate change threaten wa… https://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fpress%2F203724/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/uzoxNLfNTOWlbqUf8t0srKupBEQ=395 Oct 15, 2024 • European Environment Agency EEA European Environment Agency https://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fpro.politico.eu%2Fdepartments%2F128/1/010201928e8d31c8-091cd8f6-7d0b-486c-8224-7b16bd24cb23-000000/Qb83TFoQOy-akZpas-MT6L1DQgE=395 Decentralised Agencies
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