Activities of Mairead McGUINNESS related to 2019/2803(RSP)
Plenary speeches (1)
EU Pollinators Initiative (debate)
Institutional motions (1)
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the EU Pollinators Initiative
Amendments (41)
Amendment 7 #
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas pollinators provide essential direct and indirect ecosystem services such as pollination, pest control, soil and water quality, and landscape aesthetics;
Amendment 9 #
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas there is inadequate data and information about insect pollinators other than bees and butterflies;
Amendment 10 #
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas in the EU alone, 84% of crop species and 78% of wild flower species depend, at least in part, on animal pollination1a; whereas up to EUR 15 billion of the EU’s annual agricultural output can directly be attributed to pollinators1b; _________________ 1aPotts, S., et al., (2015), Status and Trends of European Pollinators. Key Findings of the STEP Project, Pensoft Publishers, Sofia, 72 pp. 1bGallai, N., et al., (2009), Economic Valuation of the Vulnerability of World Agriculture Confronted with Pollinator Decline, Ecological Economics 68.3: 810- 821.
Amendment 11 #
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas the Commission launched the EU Pollinators Initiative in response to the calls of the European Parliament and the Council to address the decline of pollinators on 1 June 2018;
Amendment 12 #
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas pollinators include insects such as bees, hoverflies, butterflies, moths, beetles, wasps, thrips and mammals such as bats and birds;
Amendment 13 #
Recital A c (new)
A c. whereas pollinators represent one of the most important indicators of the health of our environment; whereas statistics and trends from across Europe, while sometimes partial, all point to a worrisome decline in pollinator populations;
Amendment 16 #
Recital A e (new)
A e. whereas the European Parliament has initiated several pilot projects and preparatory actions to further study the decline of pollinators and develop concrete solutions to mitigate the worrisome decline in pollinator populations1a; _________________ 1aNotably the EU pollinators monitoring and indicators, the Environmental monitoring of pesticide use through honeybees; Measuring the pulse of biodiversity using the Red list index; and Developing a farmer's toolbox for integrated pest management practices from across the European Union.
Amendment 19 #
Recital B
B. whereas, in order to adequately protect pollinators from further decline, the presence of pesticide residues in the habitat of pollinators will need to be strongly reduced;
Amendment 20 #
Recital B
B. whereas, in order to adequately protect pollinators, the presencuse of pesticide residues in the habitat of pollinatorss that harm pollinators and their food will need to be strongly reduced;
Amendment 31 #
Recital E
E. whereas however, several Member States notified emergency derogations regarding the use of these neonicotinoids on their territory; whereas notifications ofby Member States regarding those emergency authorisations are often of very pshould be of goord quality and are not made public; whereas EFSA can play a role in examining emergency authorisations;
Amendment 42 #
Recital H
H. whereas connected pollinator habitats, such as buffer strips, hedgerows and grassy waterways, can contribute to erosion control;
Amendment 44 #
Recital I
I. whereas using indigenous flowers is of particular importance foroccurrence, conservation and restoration of areas of indigenous flowers, also in urban areas, is essential for healthy populations of wild pollinators;
Amendment 45 #
Recital I
I. whereas using indigenous flowers isare of particular importance for wild pollinators;
Amendment 47 #
Recital I a (new)
Amendment 50 #
Recital J a (new)
J a. Whereas pollinators are socially and culturally beneficial via remedies, products, art and traditions;
Amendment 59 #
Paragraph 2
2. Recognises that there are various positive elements in the Initiative in terms of setting strategic objectives and a set of actions to be taken by the EU and its Member States; applauds work already being carried out at local level to protect pollinator habitats;
Amendment 70 #
Paragraph 3
3. However, considers that the Initiative fails to sufficiently address the main rootny causes of pollinators’ decline, which include land-use changes and loss of habitats, environmental pollution, intensive agricultural management practices, plant protection products, diseases, climate change and invasive alien species; considers that the implementation of "Priority II: Tackling the causes of pollinator decline" is of the utmost urgency;
Amendment 74 #
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that pollinators are an essential component of biodiversity and are indispensable for reproduction in many plant species; acknowledges that a decreasing pollinator population affects the quality and quantity of agricultural yields and the economic returns for farmers;
Amendment 77 #
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the need to protect the diversity of pollinator species in Europe including approximately 2000 wild bee species and other insects including flies, beetles, moths and butterflies;
Amendment 80 #
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the importance of promoting measures to encourage biodiversity in both rural and urban areas, given that pollinator health is fostered by access to a mixture of different pollen and plantslants that provide nectar and pollen, as well as habitats for nesting, mating and overwintering;
Amendment 82 #
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the importance of promoting measures to encourage biodiversity, given that pollinator health is fostered by access to a mixture of different pollen and plantdepends on species-rich habitats providing diverse and continuous food and nesting resources;
Amendment 88 #
Subheading 2 b (new)
Highlights the importance of pollinators to agriculture, the threat to food productions posed by current declines and the need to take urgent and transformative action to protect and restore pollinators and their services;
Amendment 92 #
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that boosting biodiversity and thus fostering the occurrence of pollinators' habitats on the agricultural land must become a key aim in the development of the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which must seek to reduce pesticide use; notes that this is a key objective of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive (2009/128/EC);
Amendment 99 #
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Urges the Commission to embed the EU Pollinators Initiative and its results in the development of the post- 2020 EU Biodiversity Strategy, and to transform the intentions of the Initiative into a full-scale action programme for pollinators relying on sufficient resources;
Amendment 100 #
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure provision of high-quality advice to farmers on biodiversity and pollinators through farm advisory systems;
Amendment 109 #
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that according to the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive (128/2009/EC), non-chemical methods of pest control should be used as a priority, to replacebefore resorting to pesticides, with a view to protecting pollinators;
Amendment 114 #
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to propose legislation prohibiting the production, sale and use of all neonicotinoid-based pesticides intended for outdoor use throughout the Union without derogation;
Amendment 116 #
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to set detailed rules for and ensure a minimum standard of notifications on emergency authorisations of pesticides, including the need for Member States to provide complete and detailed explanations, and to make those notifications public; welcomes the role of EFSA in examining these derogations;
Amendment 124 #
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed to adoptfully adopt in all its dimensions and without delay the updated bee guidance used by EFSA in its recent review of three neonicotinoids;
Amendment 130 #
Paragraph 14
14. Underlines that 'controlled pollination' couldmay help restore harmony between beekeepers and farmers and significantlycould increase crop yields along with pollination from wild pollinators;
Amendment 142 #
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to support green infrastructure that recreates and restores mosaics of habitats and functional connectivity for pollinators in rural and urban landscapes;
Amendment 144 #
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the concept of buffer strips and grassy/ flowering waterways with a view to provide both better erosion control as well as perennial flowering areas as foraging opportunity and habitat for pollinators in rural, semi- urban, and urban areas;
Amendment 145 #
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the concept of buffer strips and grassy/ flowering waterways and maintain well managed hedgerows with a view to provide both better erosion control as well as perennial flowering areas as foraging opportunity and habitat for pollinators;
Amendment 155 #
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Calls for the promotion and development of pollinator habitats in urban areas;
Amendment 156 #
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17 b. Calls on Member States to ensure that national and regional farm advisory systems are able to provide good quality advice to farmers on how to encourage biodiversity and pollinator habitats;
Amendment 157 #
Paragraph 18
18. Concerning beeshoneybees (apis mellifera), insists in particular on the role of research on the causes of the reduction in the life expectancy of queen bees, which is a worrying phenomenon;
Amendment 159 #
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for moron the Commission and Member States to increase fundsing for research and for the monitoring of wild pollinatorsbasic and applied research on pollinators, the development of treatments against new diseases, parasites and viruses affecting them, and to invest in strengthening and expanding the pool of taxonomic expertise, including through EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation;
Amendment 160 #
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for more funds for research and for the monitoring of wild pollinatoron the Commission and Member States to establish a systematic and standardised monitoring of wild pollinators and the main pressures they face, in order to build a good understanding of the magnitude of their decline and its causes and to enable full evaluation of the effectiveness of relevant EU and national policies;
Amendment 161 #
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for more funds for research and for the monitoring of wild pollinators; insists that more investment in taxonomic skills is required for effective monitoring;
Amendment 163 #
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Calls for more emphasis to be placed on field research and pollinators other than honeybees and butterflies; stresses that the systematic monitoring in real life conditions is important to gauge the extent of pollinator decline and its causes;
Amendment 171 #
Paragraph 21
21. Calls for support foron the Commission and Member States to support citizens science focusing on recording and monitoring of pollinators and the training of beekeepers to promote a non-intrusive Union surveillance of bees through the development of indicators of colony vitality;