The EU Commission is initiating infringement proceedings against Belgium and France for breaches of the EU Nitrates Directive and the EU Drinking Water Directive. Nitrate levels in groundwater are too high in the Belgian region of Flanders and in drinking water in France.In Germany, the EU limit value for groundwater bodies under the EU Nitrates […]
Mr. Özdemir, your ministry is inviting international agricultural policy-makers to the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin this week. Over the last 30 years, agricultural losses caused by droughts and floods have increased to 3.8 trillion dollars. How much awareness is there that climate change renders the global food supply insecure?One in […]
Shortly before the end of the year, the Council of EU Member States could see some movement on EU genetic engineering legislation. On Thursday, the Permanent Representatives Committee is to vote unofficially on the Commission’s proposal for liberalization of EU law. Supporters of a relaxation hope that the balance of power in the Council will […]
The EU Commission’s plans to liberalize EU genetic engineering legislation have met with criticism from EU agriculture ministers. This was revealed at a Council meeting in Brussels on Monday. In a written statement, Croatia expressed doubts as to whether NGT-1 plants and organic farming could coexist. However, the ban on the NGT-1 category in organic […]
The Brussels authority responded promptly on Thursday. After no qualified majority was reached among EU member states for a renewed approval of the controversial herbicide in the appeal committee, the EU Commission announced its decision to approve the active ingredient glyphosate for another ten years. In Germany, plant protection products containing the active ingredient glyphosate […]
EU member states were unable to reach an agreement at the expert level on the future of the controversial herbicide. The Commission’s proposal for a renewed authorization did not find a qualified majority in the vote on Friday in the Standing Committee on Plant, Animal, Food and Feed (SCoPAFF). Now the agriculture ministers of the […]
During the pre-vote on the future of glyphosate, there was no qualified majority for or against the Commission’s proposal. Germany, as well as France and Italy, reportedly abstained in the vote in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food, and Feed (SCoPAFF). The positions of other EU member states are still unconfirmed.A similar voting pattern […]
On Friday, the EU member states will vote on the future of glyphosate in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food, and Feed (SCoPAFF). The proposal from the EU Commission to extend the controversial herbicide’s approval for another ten years is on the table. A preliminary vote is expected within the committee on this Thursday, […]
Glyphosate remains a bone of contention for the time being. The EU Commission is shifting responsibility to the EU member states and squandering the opportunity to introduce harmonized rules for the protection of biodiversity. “The proposal contains several legally non-binding restrictions for member states”, criticizes Viennese researcher Johann Zaller of the University of Natural Resources […]
Mr. Özdemir, agriculture is already directly affected by climate change and will have to protect itself from weather extremes in the coming decades. As Federal Minister of Agriculture, are you doing enough to ensure that this succeeds in both the short and long term?Cem Özdemir: Few sectors of the economy feel the climate crisis and […]