Activities of Alin MITUȚA related to 2021/2205(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Schools scheme for fruit, vegetables, milk and dairy products (short presentation)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of the school scheme for fruit, vegetables, milk and dairy products under the Common Market Organisation Regulation
Amendments (32)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
— Having regard to the Council Recommendations (EU)2021/1004 of 14 June Establishing a European Child Guarantee9a _________________ 9a OJ L 223, 22.6.2021, p. 14.
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)
Citation 13 a (new)
— having regard to the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) and its first five surveys carried out between 2007 and 2020,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the promotion of healthy diets and a healthy lifestyle is a sensitive andn increasingly important issue in our society and an integrated and comprehensive approach is needed between nutrition and lifestyle;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas it is hugely important to raise awareness and educate children on matters such as healthy diets supported by scientific research, local food chains, organic farming, seasonality, sustainability in food production and food waste;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas measures designed to provide healthy food products to all schoolchildren, irrespective of their socio- economic background, can have cumulative positive effects on, contributing to their physical and mental health, to their development, but also has an indirect positive effect on the development of local communities, in particular small and family farms;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Regrets the fact that in many cases, the amount of EU funding that the Member States receive is insufficient to reach all target groups and generate the desired impact at national level; in order to guarantee the continuation of well functioning programs the current distribution of aid should be taken as a minimal basis for distribution also in the future;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Deplores the fact that some Member States are not making full use of the budget availableCalls the Commission and the Member States to cooperate in view of the next School Scheme revision, to assess national performances, in order to produce sound analysis of the causes behind Member States displaying different absorption rates of the budget available, and provide more guidance built on best practices from Member States;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to increase the total budget envelope for the school scheme for fruit, vegetables, milk and dairy products and to consider a redistribution among the participants of the scheme, in case there has been an underuse of the amount allocated to a Member State; emphasises that increasing the budget for the scheme would make it possible to increase the frequency of distribution every week and the duration of distribution throughout the school year;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges the Commission to take steps to ensure that the Member States guarantee a certain level of qualitya minimum quality standard for the products covered by the scheme, which could also be factored into the take-up of the budget and the achievement of national participation targets; recalls that the provision of poor quality products has a negative impact on the implementation of the scheme, leading to a lack of interest in consumption and contributing to food waste;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Commission to assess the possibility of synergies between the EU School Scheme and other sources of EU funding, and allow top-ups from other relevant funds, in cases when Member States have already used the existing budget allocated to the School Scheme;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Acknowledges the importance of educational measures in the context of achieving the scheme’s objectives; points out that farm visits are a critical tool to enable children and adolescents to reconnect with agriculture and to get to know and experience at first hand the vital role played by farmers in ensuring access to safe, nutritious and sustainable food;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase the uptake of digital tools and digital learning materials, building on the learnings following the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to provide more guidance on the content of the educational measures, drawing on best practices from Member States, such as a focus on healthy eating habits, agriculture in general and sustainable agriculture in particular, including organic farming and actions to counteract food waste;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure appropriate involvement of national authorities responsible for health and nutrition, environment, agriculture and education in drawing up appropriate accompanying measures suitable for the age group and local specificities in terms of diet, cultural habits or farming practices;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines the need to increase the participation of other stakeholders in the educational measures, including greater involvement of parents and teacher, teachers, school staff, local producers, as well as relevant civil society organisations;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines the need to increase the participation of other stakeholders in the educational measures, including greater involvement of parents and teachers; suggests additional training and support for the actors responsible for the implementation of the programmes, namely for teachers, canteen personnel, chefs and dieticians;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that the products for distribution should be unprocessed, organic and originate in the EU, in exceptional cases, minimally processed, locally produced where available, and originate in the EU; calls on the Commission to introduce a requirement for at least 25% of the products distributed by each Member State to be organic, in line with the objectives of the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Organic Action Plan; calls on the Commission to introduce requirements to ensure that the products comply with objective criteria, including health, environmental, quality and ethical considerations, seasonality, variety, the availability of local produce, and giving priority to short supply chains; stresses that in the case of bananas, fair- trade products from third countries may only be given priority when equivalent products originating in the EU are not available; emphasises that products should reflect local eating habits and crop types as far as possible;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that the products for distribution should be unprocessed, organic and originate in the EU; calls on the Commission to introduce requirements to ensure that the products comply with objective criteria, including health, environmental and ethical considerations, seasonality, variety, the availability of local produce, and giving priority to short supply chains; stresses that in the case of bananas, fair-trade products from third countries may only be given priority when equivalent products originating in the EU are not available; emphasises that products should reflect local eating habits and crop types as far as possible and prioritise seasonal fruits and vegetables; There should be a balance between different products, such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, honey and nuts;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Insists that products containing added sugars, fats, salt or sweeteners should not be permitted within the scheme; urgescalls on the Commission to remov, in cooperation with Member States and health and nutrition authorities, to closely analyse the exceptions that allow for the distribution of certain types of products with limited sugar and fat content, in view of their strict limitation or removal, in order to ensure that the scheme remains aligned with its objectives and wider EU policy goals; calls on Member States to enable close and effective cooperation between health and nutrition, agriculture, environment and education authorities in drawing the list of eligible products and educational activities, in full respect of the objectives of the School Scheme;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to carry out an evaluation of the quantities of food waste generated by the School Scheme, identify potential causes and provide guidance on curbing food waste associated with the Scheme, in line with Farm to Fork Strategy, while avoiding administrative burdens for Member States, schools or suppliers.
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Recalls that access to healthy and sustainable food and to proper nutritional education is influenced by socio-economic environment and invites the Commission to explore a review of the target groups, in order to ensure that children at risk of poverty or social exclusion have priority access to healthy and nutritional food and educational measures, in line with the Farm to Fork Strategy and the European Child Guarantee objectives; calls on the Commission and the Member States to allow for flexible formulas between products and educational measures, based on the actual needs of the target groups;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Calls on the Commission to assess the possibility of synergies with other breakfast initiatives or the distribution of regular school meals, with a view to reach a higher number of children and ensure coordination between initiatives at national, regional, local level or those carried out by NGOs or private entities.
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Recalls that procurement procedures, even simplified ones, should comply with the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criteria for award; insists that large suppliers must not have a predominant positionprocurement procedures shall ensure that equal access and fair competition is in place, so that large suppliers are not unfairly advantaged to the detriment of small farmers participating in the scheme;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Recalls that procurement procedures, even simplified ones, should comply with the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criteria for award; insists that large suppliers must not have a predominant position to the detriment of farmers participating in the scheme; calls on the Commission and Member States to prioritise products that are locally produced and which are from short supply chains, as well as products supplied by producer organisations(POs), agricultural cooperatives and farmers markets;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission to explore the option for schools to have longer- lasting contracts, with the possibility to renegotiate prices, as this would reduce the need for such extensive documentation; highlights that this could be an incentive for smaller producers to participate in the scheme;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission to explore the option for schools to have longer- lasting contracts, as this would reduce the need for such extensive documentation; longer-lasting contracts will provide more predictability and stability for farmers and will encourage more farmers to join the scheme;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the EU to encourage the Member States to reduce and simplify the level of documentation required of the beneficiaries of the scheme in order to alleviate the administrative burden they face and calls on the Commission and Member States to increase the uptake of digital tools in the management of documentation;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Proposes establishing a forum to encourage the Member States to share best practices in order to identify successful ways of streamlining the implementation of the scheme; recalls the existence of the Civil Dialogue Group meetings, held by the European Commission, which already include regular discussions on the EU School Scheme and recommends building up on this forum;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Commission to explore the possibility for the candidate countries to participate as observers in the forum dedicated to the School Scheme, in order to foster international cooperation, as it is already the case for research, monitoring and data sharing on child obesity and policies to counteract it, under the WHO COSI platform.
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 a (new)
Subheading 6 a (new)
Calls on the European Commission to explore the possibility of launching a School Scheme for candidate countries, financed through existing instruments such as the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance and the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Asks the Commission to explore the possibility of introducing common indicators to serve as a basis for evaluating the implementation of the scheme beyond 2023; points out that the databases that could be used to develop these indicators are already available through the national strategies and should be incorporated within the scheme in future;