53 Amendments of Manuela RIPA related to 2020/2260(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that EU trade policy hascan play a major role to play in the transition towards more sustainable agri-food systems, in line with the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal; expects the ongoing Trade Policy Review to give the highest priority to anchoring EU trade policy into the European Green Deal Objectives;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes with concern that research continues to affirm a worrying link between zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19, and deforestation, climate change and biodiversity loss; Notes also with concern that commercial export- oriented agriculture remains a major driver of global deforestation; underlines the importance of measures ensuring that demand is in line with sustainability goals, as the EU is a significant importer of commodities associated with deforestation, such as soy, palm oil, eucalyptus, rubber, maize, beef, leather and cocoa;
Amendment 18 #
1b. Regrets that the strategy does not address the potential inconsistencies between its goals and the trade agreements currently negotiated by the EU; proposes that the Commission takes the objectives of its farm to fork strategy as a reference in its ongoing and future trade negotiations in order to ensure that wellbeing of people and the natural environment is secured;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the EU internal market is the world’s biggest importer and exporter of agri-food products; is convinced that the EU should use this position to set the benchmark in terms of standards for sustainable food systems, based on the precautionary principle, environmental protection and animal welfare as well as respect of labour rights; further considers that protection of standards in these areas should be enshrined throughout trade agreement provisions and should not be considered as a technical barrier to trade;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that sustainable production, including a phase out of chemical pesticides, should become a key characteristic of EU agri-food products, expanding the concept of quality to social and environmental aspects;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – point a (new)
Paragraph 3 – point a (new)
(a) Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to promote the global phase- out of pesticides no longer approved in the EU and its commitment to ensure that hazardous pesticides banned for use in the EU are not exported outside the EU; urges the Commission to present a legislative proposal to that end as soon as possible; welcomes the Commission’s announcement to review import tolerances for substances meeting the „cut-off-criteria“, and urges the Commission to implement a zero- tolerance policy towards residues of those substances; encourages the Commission to also require that standards are applied that prevent contamination of workers and residents from pesticide use;
Amendment 71 #
4. Calls on the Commission to pursue the objectives of the Farm to Fork Strategy through the development of Green Alliances in all relevant forums, including the UN Food Systems Summit 2021; considers that EU should seek to ensure that the 2021 Summit builds on the voices of smallholder women food producers and family farming; equally considers that EU should reconfirm the mandate of the Committee on World Food Security as the foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental policy platform on food security and nutrition;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. EWelcomes the ambition of the Farm to Fork Strategy to ensure ambitious and fully enforceable sustainable development chapters in all EU bilateral trade agreements; emphasises the importance of strengthening enforceableility of Trade and Sustainable Development chapters in trade agreements to promote biodiversity, animal welfare, raise labour standards, foster more sustainable agri-food production and stop EU-driven global deforestation; points out that the enforceability of the trade and sustainable development chapters could be significantly improved through various enforcement methods, including a sanctions-based mechanism as a last resort; calls for “trade and sustainable development” chapters to include roadmaps with milestones subject to ex- post Sustainability Impact Assessments and that the lowering of (non)tariff barriers be made conditional thereon; expects the Chief Trade Enforcement Officer to fully play its role in strengthening enforcement of TSD chapters, in particular by ensuring appropriate follow up of civil society complaints regarding human rights, environmental concerns and animal welfare concerns; urges support for developing countries to promote food security and alignment with European standards for sustainability;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point a (new)
Paragraph 5 – point a (new)
(a) Notes that Trade and Sustainable Development chapters do not address the potential negative impacts of Trade agreements on land use change, deforestation or climate change; considers that European and international environmental, safety, animal welfare and social standards should apply comprehensively in all chapters in trade agreements, in order to preclude any other trade provisions from undermining these standards;
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Is convinced that legislation for mandatory EU-level horizontal due diligence throughout the supply chain for EU and foreign companies operating within the single market is necessary to achieve the SDGs, to promote good governance, to increase traceability and accountability in global supply chains;
Amendment 107 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Calls for better traceability of ingredients and products within the whole food chain, which would help to combat fraud and prevent contaminated products from reaching consumers; calls for greater attention to controls on imported goods from third countries and their compliance with EU standards on food and feed safety;
Amendment 109 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Notes the ambition of the farm to fork strategy that imported products must continue to comply with relevant EU regulations and standards; notes that EU rules currently do not apply to all imported goods; asks the Commission to raise the ambition by ensuring that products imported to the EU fully meet relevant EU regulations and standards, in particular in the field of animal welfare, the use of pesticides and the fight against antimicrobial resistance; stresses the importance to provide development assistance and support primary producers from developing countries to meet those standards when they export to Europe; calls for a monitoring method that ensures compliance;
Amendment 111 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Recalls its demands to the Commission on the EU legal framework to halt and reverse EU-driven global deforestation, in particular its call to develop strong legislation on forest risk commodities such as soy, palm oil, rubber, maize, beef, leather and cocoa; Asks that the F2F strategy ensures that all products placed on the EU market are free from deforestation and human rights violations; insists that no trade agreement leading to deforestation should be negotiated by the Commission; stresses the importance of the EU in supporting policies that promote community-based forest management and equitable access of small forest holders to local, regional and global markets;
Amendment 121 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses theNotes the potential risk of putting the EU agri-food sector at a competitive disadvantage in the absence of global convergence of standards, and of leading to increased costs for consumers; calls on the Commission to present a comprehensive impact assessment of the targets envisaged in the Strategy, as well as proportionate measures to maintain the competitiveness of the EU agri-food sector and ensure reciprocity of standards; recalls that impact assessments are an integral part of EU rule making process and that economic effects are taken into account;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 a (new)
Citation 24 a (new)
- having regard to the FAO report Natural Capital Impacts in Agriculture, 2015 on harmful environmental external costs for food consumption,
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 a (new)
Citation 25 a (new)
- having regard to the EUPHA report on healthy and sustainable diets 2017 showing EU meat consumption is twice as high as recommended,
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 36 a (new)
Citation 36 a (new)
- having regard to the 2020 report commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions, entitled “Ending the Cage Age: Looking for Alternatives”,
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 36 a (new)
Citation 36 a (new)
- having regard to the World Bank report Obesity, Health and Economic Consequences of an Impending Global Challenge, February 2020,
Amendment 149 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the proposed new initiative on climate and trade at the WTO and urges the Commission to continue to develop an ambitious, WTO-compatible sustainable trade policy. considers that some of the current WTO rules are an obstacle to the fostering of the ecological transition; underlines that unfair competition from third countries with lower environmental and social standards is a major hindrance to farmers’ acceptance of new ecological measures; calls on the Commission to engage proactively in reforming WTO rules with a view to ensure trade policy coherence with the SDGs;
Amendment 151 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Supports international cooperation on food research and innovation in important areas such as climate change adaptation and mitigation, agro-ecology, sustainable landscape management and land governance, resilience, inclusive and fair value chains, and prevention of and response to food crises; emphasises in particular the need for more research and transfer of knowledge on agroecological practices and territorial markets for agroecological products in parallel with public policies supporting the agroecological transition; recommends that cooperation should also focus on smallholder farmers and small-scale food producers, as these would benefit most from such cooperation;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 37 a (new)
Citation 37 a (new)
- having regard to the Council public consultation for the EU Green Deal carbon border tax adjustment mechanism,
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 38 a (new)
Citation 38 a (new)
- having regard to the proposals for a more beneficial VAT treatment for products with low CO2 emissions, a positive list, in the ECOFIN Report to the European Council on tax issues from June 2020,
Amendment 158 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Welcomes the zero tolerance approach in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; recalls that traceability of supply chains is key to be successful in this fight; underlines that seafood traceability benefits EU consumers as well as third countries;
Amendment 160 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Recommends that trade agreements only grant further trade preferences for animal-based products upon the condition that they respect all EU relevant animal welfare standards, including standards currently not applied to imported products; stresses the need to allocate sufficient resources to the implementation of provisions on animal welfare cooperation and to always include strong and enforceable animal welfare provisions in trade agreements.
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas European citizens are increasingly concerned about the welfare of animals in the agricultural sector and expect the EU to transition away from intensive farming practices, like caged farming; whereas the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “End the Cage Age”, which calls on the EU to phase-out the use of cages in animal farming, has collected nearly 1.4 million certified signatures, qualifying as one of the few successful ECIs; whereas the European Committee of the Regions committed to the objective of ending caged farming and many EU member states already adopted national legislation which goes beyond the minimum EU standards, increasing the urgency for legislative action, at the EU level, to end this inhumane practice and ensuring a level-playing field for farmers across the EU;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the European model of a multifunctional agricultural sector, driven by family farms, continues to ensure quality food production, local supply chains, good agriculture practices, high environmental standards and vibrant rural areas throughout the EU; whereas this agricultural model is endangered by the ongoing takeover of production capacities by industrial and multinational companies that rely on large-scale, automated and cage-based production methods;
Amendment 584 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the announcement of an impact-assessed proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems; invites the Commission to use this proposal to set out a holistic common food policy aimed at reducing the environmental and climate footprint of the EU food system in order to make Europe the first climate- neutral continent by 2050 and strengthen its resilience to ensure food security in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, leading a global transition towards sustainability from farm to fork, based on the principle of a multifunctional agricultural sector while ensuring consistency between policies by taking into account the existing legislation in order to enable all actors in the European food system to develop long-term plans based on realistic and transparent objectives; suggests that the respective base lines and progress achieved in each Member State be taken into account, while promoting the exchange of know-how and best practices between Member States; stresses the need to include the entire food and beverage chains including processing, marketing, distribution and retail; further stresses the need to set up a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction scheme for the food and retail sectors, aimed at ensuring climate-neutral food chains;
Amendment 756 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the decision to revise the directive on the sustainable use of pesticides and the reduction targets for pesticides, fertilisers, and antibiotics; emphasises the importance of pursuing these targets through holistic and circular approaches, such as agroecological practices and developing health-oriented systems for rearing of animals in order to prevent diseases without routine use of antimicrobials; insists that each Member State should establish robust quantitative reduction targets, accompanied by well- defined support measures ensuring accountability at all levels to help reach these targets; reiterates its call for the translation into legislation of the above targets and objectives and calls on the Commission to clarify how it will deal with individual Member States’ contributions to Union-wide targets and to clarify the baselines for these targets;
Amendment 774 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Welcomes the announcement of tax incentives that drive the transition to a sustainable food system and encourage consumers to choose sustainable and healthy diets, like the Commission’s proposal on VAT rates that could allow Member States to make more targeted use of rates, for instance to support organic fruit and vegetables. EU tax systems should ensure that food prices reflect real costs in terms of use of finite natural resources, pollution, GHG emissions and other environmental and public health- related externalities;
Amendment 950 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises the importance of recognising the significant impact of agriculture and especially animal production on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, nitrogen, biodiversity loss and land use; stresses the need to enhance natural carbon sinks and reduce agricultural emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, in particular in the feed and livestock sectors; calls for regulatory measures and targets to ensure progressive reductions in all GHG emissions in these sectors;
Amendment 1031 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Emphasises that the lack of a clear definition of intensive animal farming in the EU legal system makes it impossible to distinguish between small-scale and industrial animal rearing and, as a result, allows EU funds to be spent on unsustainable practices and impedes the ecological transition of the agricultural sector;
Amendment 1032 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Regrets that the Commission, despite acknowledging the impact of the livestock sector on climate, did not comprehensively cover this issue in its communication on the farm to fork strategy.
Amendment 1039 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Recalls that each years, in the EU alone, over 300 million farmed animals spend all, or a significant part, of their lives imprisoned in cages; stresses that this practice causes tremendous suffering, as these sentient beings cannot perform most of their natural behaviours, resulting in physical and psychological illness; calls on the Commission to put forward, without delay, a legislative proposal to phase-out the use of cages for all farmed animals, while ensuring, together with Member States, appropriate measures to assist farmers in this transition;
Amendment 1061 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Stresses that, unless animal production standards in third countries are aligned with those of the EU, imports of animal products from third countries should be forbidden;
Amendment 1117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 1176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the importance of seed security and diversity, notably of promoting EU-grown GMO-free plant proteins to deliver locally sourced food and feed stuffs with high nutritional value while granting farmers access to quality seeds for plant varieties adapted to the pressures of climate change, including traditional and locally-adapted varieties, while ensuring access to innovative plant breeding in order to contribute to healthy seeds and protect plants against harmful pests and diseases; raises awareness of the potential negative effects of concentration and monopolisation in the seed sector;
Amendment 1216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for CAP National Strategic Plans to ensure adequate financial support and incentives to promote new ecological ‘green’ business models for agriculture and artisanal GMO-free food production, notably through fostering short supply chains and quality food production; CAP National Strategic Plans offer a unique opportunity to implement synergies between climate neutrality and sustainable methods of animal husbandry. They should help Member States and their farmers reallocating funds to the promotion of higher welfare and sustainable livestock farming systems;
Amendment 1440 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for primary producers to be supported in making the transition to greater sustainability, including cage-free animal farming, through the encouragement of cooperation and collective actions as well as through competition rules and the enhancement of possibilities for cooperation within the common market organisations for agricultural, fishery and aquaculture products, and thus for farmers’ and fishers’ position in the supply chain to be strengthened in order to enable them to capture a fair share of the added value of sustainable production;
Amendment 1492 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the Commission to follow up on Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair trading practices22 and the EU code of conduct on responsible business and marketing practices by producing a monitoring framework for the food and retail sectors and providing for legal action if progress in integrating animal welfare, economic, environmental and social sustainability into corporate strategies is insufficient, and in so doing promoting and rewarding the efforts of sustainable agricultural producers while increasing the availability and affordability of healthy, sustainable food options andwhile also reducing the overall environmental footprint of the food system; stresses the importance of halting and addressing consolidation and concentration in the grocery retail sector in order to ensure fair prices for farmers; _________________ 22 OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, p. 59. 22
Amendment 1498 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Regrets that unsubstantiated and often misleading claims and images are used on food packaging, decreasing the transparency of products for consumers; emphasises the need to regulate front of pack claims and images making it difficult for consumers to make healthy, animal welfare-friendly and environmentally friendly food choices;
Amendment 1501 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Welcomes the Council Conclusions of 15 December 2020 on an EU-wide animal welfare label; recalls that a majority of European citizens are interested in receiving information on farmed animal welfare when buying animal products; calls on the Commission to develop a harmonised multi-tiered animal welfare labelling system including pictures on how animals are kept under organic farming, conventional farming and factory farming methods and clearly and concisely indicating the feeding methods especially the use of GMOs, antibiotics and herbicides;
Amendment 1554 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Urges the review of the EU promotion programme for agricultural and food products, including the EU school scheme, with a view to enhancing its contribution to sustainable production and consumption, notably by focusing on educational messages about the importance of healthy nutrition and promoting greater consumption of fruit and vegetables with the aim of reducing obesity rates and other food related diseases like type 2 diabetes;
Amendment 1570 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Highlights the fact that, according to the European Environmental Agency, in the EU, meat and dairy products contribute 6 % of the economic value of food but to 24 % of the environmental impacts (including CO2 and GHG emissions);
Amendment 1672 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for measures to reduce the burden that highly processed foods with high salt, sugar and fat content place on public health; regrets that the introduction of nutrient profiles is greatly delayed and stresses that a robust set of nutrient profiles must be developed to restrict or prohibit the use of false nutritional claims on foods high in fats, sugars and/or salt; calls for a mandatory EU-wide front-of-pack nutrition labelling system to empower consumers to make informed, healthy and sustainable food choices based on independent science;
Amendment 1750 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the fact that the strategy rightly recognises the role and influence of the food environment in shaping consumption patterns and the need to make it easier for consumers to choose healthy and sustainable diets; reiterates the importance of promoting sustainable diets by raising consumer awareness of the impacts of consumption patterns and providing information on diets that are better for human health and have a lower environmental footprint; underlines that food prices must send the right signal to consumers; welcomes, therefore, the strategy’s objective that the healthy and sustainable choice should become the most affordable one; urges the Commission to present legal or fiscal instruments by 2022 to translate these principles into practice, such a zero VAT tax for healthy and sustainable food products (e.g., organic vegetables and fruits) and/or higher VAT taxes for food products with proven negative impacts on public health or the environment;
Amendment 1869 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Highlights the recognition in the strategy that Europeans’ diets are not in line with recommendations for healthy eating, and that a population-wide shift in consumption patterns is needed towards more healthy and plant-based foods and less red and processed meat, sugars, salt, and fats, which will also benefit the environment;animal welfare and the environment; calls for EU targets to reduce the EU consumption of meat and sugar per capita by 2030 and 2040, emphasises that EU-wide guidelines, including clear targets, for sustainable and healthy diets would bring clarity to consumers on what constitutes a healthy and sustainable diet and inform Member States’ own efforts to integrate sustainability elements in national dietary advice; calls on the Commission to develop such guidelines andon specific actions by the EU, national governments and non- governmental stakeholders to effectively promote healthy plant-based diets;
Amendment 1912 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Amendment 1952 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Welcomes the EU Commission proposal for an Action Plan on organic farming to help Member States stimulate both supply and demand for organic products to reach the objective of at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming by 2030; urges the Commission to support Member States and the retail sector to sign agreements on increasing sales of organic food and start promotion campaigns and reduce taxes for retailers selling specific levels of organic products, to make sure demand and supply will be in balance;
Amendment 1965 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls for a revision of public procurement legislation, including minimum mandatory criteria in schools and other public institutions to encourage organic and local food production and to promote more healthywith higher animal welfare standards and to promote healthier and plant-based diets by creating a food environment that enables consumers to make the healthy choice; emphasises that public procurement legislation should also include obligations for rewarding ‘true pricing’ of food, including external environmental costs, that give the right price signals to consumers making healthy, sustainable food the most easy and affordable choice;
Amendment 2121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Underlines the importance EU funding for research and innovation as a key driver in accelerating the transition to a more sustainable, healthy and inclusive European food system while facilitating investments needed to encourage consumers to buy more healthy sustainable food, develop standardised methods for calculating environmental costs for food products, encourage agro- ecological practices in both social and technological innovation, and the crucial role of farm advisory services in ensuring the transfer of knowledge to the farming community, drawing on the existing specialised training systems for farmers in Member States;
Amendment 2197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Recalls the global responsibility of European food systems and their key role in setting global standards for food safety, environmental protection and animal welfare; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that all food and feed products imported to the EU fully meet relevant EU regulations and standards and to provide development assistance to support primary producers from developing countries in meeting those standards; welcomes the Commission’s intention to take the environmental impacts of requested import tolerances into account; asks the Commission to adopt legislation for a carbon border adjustment mechanism for food imported to the EU from countries with lower standards for climate policies for the agricultural sector, lower standards for deforestation policies, or higher carbon footprints per kg, for products like meat, dairy and animal feed compared to European equivalent products;
Amendment 2240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Asks the Commission and the Member States to stop exports of all types of plant protection products which are banned in the EU for reasons of health or environmental protection and to ban food imports produced with such pesticides, helping to promote sustainable food systems across the globe;
Amendment 2271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Recommends that trade agreements only grant further trade preferences for animal-based products upon the condition that they respect all EU relevant animal welfare standards, including standards currently not applied to imported products (“conditional liberalisation”); recommends that trade agreements allocate sufficient resources to the implementation of provisions on animal welfare cooperation and include an article on “Sustainable Agriculture” in the “Trade and Sustainable Development” Chapters. These provisions should make clear animal welfare is linked to sustainable agriculture;