Activities of Daciana Octavia SÂRBU related to 2017/2115(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Prospects and challenges for the EU apiculture sector (debate) RO
Amendments (62)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that honeybees are a crucial part of biodiversity and that they constitute an irreplaceable universal heritage on which animal pollination largely dependEmphasises that beekeeping as an economic and social activity plays a crucial role in the sustainable development of rural areas, creates jobs and provides an important ecosystem service via pollination, which contributes to the improvement of biodiversity by maintaining the genetic diversity of plants;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the beekeeping sector is an integral part of European agriculture, providing over 500 000 EU citizens with their main income or additional earnings; whereas beekeeping is practiced also as a hobby or for production of honey for own consumption;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the sector develops and maintains additional activities such as production of materials for example wooden frames, beehives and others, as well as technique, which can also contribute to the development of the local and regional economies;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the apitourism generates greater interest and opportunities among consumers in recent years, which can be further popularised to more stakeholders;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas pollination is the primary purpose of the bees, while production of honey, honey wax and other products is a secondary product from the activities of the bees; whereas the agriculture in the EU can be characterised as monocultural or with a limited plant variety;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas good theoretical knowledge combined with a practical training is a prerequisite for better understanding and dealing with the challenges ahead of the bee families;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas per nature the beekeeping is often practiced in the open and the beehives are thus exposed to additional external factors such as attacks from wild animals;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the urban beekeeping gathers popularity in recent years, which shows sustainability, interest and has the potential of increasing awareness among a broader circle of citizens, including children, about the nature and benefits from beekeeping;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas in 2004 the Commission guaranteed EUR 32 million to national beekeeping programmes for the sole benefit of beekeeping, and whereas this had been increased to 36 million by 2006 (representing 3 thousandths of the CAP budget); whereas for the period 2017-2019 EUR 108 million are foreseen for support of the national programmes for the apiculture sector from the EU budget;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the national programmes for the apiculture sector have a positive effect, but there are some problems in their national application and they do not always enjoy the full confidence of the sector;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Deplores the fact that the widespread use of chemical pesticides, particularly on melliferous plant species, threatens the survival of beesEmphasises that the use of plant protection products in agriculture should be regarded as a main factor affecting bee health;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Stresses that the long-term effects of systemic plant protection products are underestimated; believes that use of plant protection products should be taken into account in order to clarify to what extent they play a role in bee health; welcomes the recent adoption of a pilot project on Environmental monitoring of pesticide use through honeybees;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Points out that special attention must be paid to the use of plant protection products of the neonicotinoid family (Clothianidin, Thiacloprid, Imidacloprid, Thiamethoxam), phenyl pyrazole (Fipronil), pyrethroids and active substances such as Chlorpyrifos and Dimethoate, with lethal effects (mortality due to the acute or chronic toxicity of active substances in plant protection products) or sub-lethal effects (effects on the immune system or on behaviour of bees), directly or via contaminated water, droplet guttation, nectar and pollen that could cause digestive and hormonal disruption;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas in some Member States the tax laws differentiate between professional and amateur beekeepers, with the latter benefiting from tax relief, although this makes no sense professionallyvarying rules concerning tax relief;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the fight against fraud in the field of bee products calls for substantial funding to tackle the unfair competition represented by adulterated ‘honey’ in particularhoney is the third most adulterated product in the world and that the adulteration of honey imported from third countries is causing considerable damage to European beekeepers;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls onWelcomes that the Ccommission to include as one of the objectives of the common agricultural policy (CAP) limits on the objective of increasing productivity to circumscribe crop intensification, in order to provide sufficient and healthy living space for beepulsory greening measures of the new Direct Payment Regulation, in particular crop diversification and ecological focus areas, could contribute to a better environment for bees; stresses however that bees and other pollinators shall be at the heart of the EU food production system and more needs to be done to establish agricultural systems that respond to the needs of pollinators, while guaranteeing food production that contributes to the well- being of European citizens;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas beekeepers, agricultural producers and environmentalists also expect there to bin shortest terms to achieve a clear scientific consensus on all substances, particularly those for plant-protection, such as the neonicotinoids, and other factors which are a danger to bees’ health;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers it appropriatRecalls Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for Community action to achieve tohe support the development of biological pesticides harmless to beesstainable use of pesticides and especially Article 14 thereof, which makes it mandatory for all farmers to apply the general principles of integrated pest management on their farms as from 2014, and Article 9, which places a general ban on aerial spraying;
Amendment 91 #
8a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to accelerate the evaluation, authorisation, registration and monitoring of the use of low-risk plant protection products of biological origin while maintaining risk assessment at a high level in order to offer an even larger range of alternatives to farmers;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for support for the training of beekeepers in order to promote a non- intrusive European surveillance of bees by developing indicators for the vitality of colonies; on the Commission to promote sustainable agricultural practices in the CAP, to encourage all farmers to employ simple agronomic practices in line with Directive 2009/128/EC and to strengthen agri-environmental measures specific to the beekeeping sector, in the spirit of the new EU Biodiversity Strategy; calls on the Member States to lay down agri-environmental measures geared to apiculture in their rural development programmes and to encourage farmers to engage in agri-environmental measures supporting ‘bee-friendly’ grasslands on field margins and to employ an advanced level of integrated production, taking a holistic approach to farming and using biological control with low risk where possible;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas this statistical increase results in part from the steady rise in Member State numbers and in part from the particular situation of the sector, since each Member State furnishes data for the period with the highest number of bee colonies in a given year;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas beekeepers always produce less honey once the winter is over, because of autumn and winter losses which can be as much as 50% in some Member States; whereas in some regions the mortality rate of the winter has surpassed 50%, reaching to 100% in some cases with various reasons behind this;
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls for a reinforcement of the resources allocated to the fight against commercial fraud affecting honey products. on the Commission to increase the level of support for honeybee-health-related research under the next financial framework and to focus the research on technological developments, particularly on the impact of environmental factors on the bee colony immune system and their interactions with pathologies, on defining sustainable agricultural practices, on promoting non-chemical alternatives (i.e. preventative agronomic practices such as crop rotation and use of biological control) and on generally further encouraging Integrated Pest Management techniques;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas the two-fold increase in the amount of honey produced and exported in some countries over the past 15 years whilst the EU is barely 560% self-sufficient in honey – a figure which is not increasing – cannot be explained;
Amendment 122 #
O. whereas the EU imports 25% of the honey it uses (60% of its annual imports) each year from these countries, which is why Europe’s beekeepers are in dire straits; whereas the EU imports highest quantities of honey from People's republic of China, Ukraine, Argentina and Mexico;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas consumersa big part of the consumers in the EU are unaware that no more than one third of the honey they use is produced in the EU;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. Whereas in several Member States the number of bee colonies is declining and the population employed in apiculture sector is aging.
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital S a (new)
Recital S a (new)
Sa. whereas not all member states have laboratories, which can conduct full honey analyses, which causes a challenge for the sector in trying to use the opportunities for marketing the products on the single European market;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T a (new)
Recital T a (new)
Ta. Whereas the medicines available on the market to treat bee diseases are limited and there is an increased need for innovative veterinary medicines.
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T b (new)
Recital T b (new)
Tb. Whereas exchange of good practices and innovative practices would bring added value to the European apiculture sector, and a specific programme like "Erasmus" for beekeepers could be financed by Pillar II of the CAP.
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T c (new)
Recital T c (new)
Tc. Whereas the veterinary medicines residues in honey can prevent it being marketed and deprive beekeepers of income.
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Z
Recital Z
Z. whereas many honey packagers and traders now abuse this way of indicating origin in order to conceal the real country of origin, as well as the proportion of honey from the different countries, as purchasers are becoming more knowledgeable and are distrustful of foodstuffs from certain countries;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AC
Recital AC
AC. whereas annual honey consumption varies hugely across the Member States: whilst Member States in Western Europe have an average consumption of 2.5-2.7 kg per person, the figure for Hungary, for example, is just 0.7 kgthe countries from the 2004, 2007 and 2013 enlargements are as low as 0.7 kg in some cases;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AC a (new)
Recital AC a (new)
ACa. whereas the European quality schemes and particularly the GI schemes have a great importance for the preservation and creation of jobs; whereas more than 30 GIs for honey have been registered so far; whereas "European" and "made in Europe" is often associated with products with high value;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AE a (new)
Recital AE a (new)
AEa. Whereas products that contain less than 30 percent honey are sold as honey, thereby misleading consumers.
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AF a (new)
Recital AF a (new)
AFa. whereas timely and precise data collection is important for faster and more accurate planning; whereas the new technologies and digitalisation can have a crucial role in cutting costs and times; whereas some technologies can have hidden effects on the bees via the use of electromagnetic waves among others;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Understandlines that bees perform a basic agricultural service by pollinating crops, without which European agriculture and in particular plant cultivation would not exist in any form;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Understandlines that beekeeping makes a fundamental contribution to maintaining the ecological balance and biological diversity, so that the sector must be at the heart of the common agricultural policy;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Understandlines that financing of beekeeping must be considerably increased in future agricultural policy;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to include a new direct support scheme for beekeepers, while developing, asserting and incorporating a fair payment for ecological services, such as pollination, which is done by all bees of every registered bee family based on colony numbers in its proposals for the common agricultural policy post-2020;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Urges the European Commission and the member states to launch a network of institutes and other scientific and academic establishments, which deal with bees, their lives and products of activities for faster, smoother and more effective exchange of information on bee- related topics;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to adopt recommendations in order to introduce a uniform, high-quality, basic and vocational beekeeping education programme in the EU;, given the pressing need for generational renewal in the sector.
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers that beekeepers should be granted tax relief in every Member State in view of the agricultural and environmental significance of their work; urges the member states to cut the unnecessary red-tape, which will save time, efforts and financial resources from the beekeepers;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. calls on the beekeepers for an active dialogue with the competent authorities for a more effective application of the national programmes for the apiculture programmes with the aim of improving them and correcting any occurring problems;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Underlines that in several Member States insurance companies refuse to insure bee colonies and that bee keepers have difficulties in using the risk management tools from the Pillar II of the CAP. Therefore, calls on the Commission and the Member States to facilitate the access of bee keepers to private insurance and risk management tools.
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. underlines the advantages of well prepared and informed beekeepers and encourages the member states to consider a compulsory prerequisite and not an additional advantage for taking part in the national programmes for the apiculture sector;
Amendment 284 #
9b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and innovation between bee-keepers from different Member States. The Erasmus programme could be a successful example to be followed.
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the Commission to stimulate research and innovation in the apiculture sector in order to develop innovative medicines for the specific bee diseases and innovative ways of honey production.
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the European Food Safety Authority to carry out research (laboratory analyses and field experiments) in shortest terms and preferably before the end of 2018, according to a clearly-determined schedule and together with the other EU agencies concerned, into all substances, particularly those, which are used in the plant-protection, such as neonicotinoids, and other factors which endanger bee health;
Amendment 407 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Suggests making honey packaging plants which also process imported honey subject to EU food safety monitoring; this might be achieved by amending Regulation (EC) No 853/2004;
Amendment 427 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Reminds the Commission that consumers have the right to know the place of origin of all foodstuffs; however, the ‘blend of EC honeys’, ‘blend of non-EC honeys’ and especially ‘blend of EC and non-EC honeys’ labelling completely conceals the origin of the honey from the consumer; Calls on the Commission to ensure accurate labeling of honey and honey based products in order to prevent misleading the consumers.
Amendment 434 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Asks that the ‘blend of EC and non- EC honeys’ descriptor be replaced by an indication of exactly which country or countries the honeys used in the final products come from and that these be listed in the order which corresponds to the proportions used in the final product with percentage numbers for the proportion of honey from every country;
Amendment 443 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28 a. Calls on the Commission to revise Directive EC 110/2010, in order to clarify the definition of honey as a product that contains 100% natural honey, produced from pollen.Other blends that contain small percentages of honey should not be sold under the name "honey" because this is misleading the consumers.
Amendment 462 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Calls on the Commission to draw up a report on the amount of honey consumed and consumption patterns in all member states of the EU;
Amendment 472 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32 a. calls on the European Commission to include honey wax as a product, which can be covered by Regulation 1151/2012 because of the growing interest from the consumers and producers, as well as the long traditions in some member states in its production;
Amendment 478 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Asks the Commission to ensure that the EU declares honey and other bee products to be ‘sensitive products’ in free trade agreement negotiations and that they are excluded from the coverage of these agreements;
Amendment 480 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33 a. calls on the European commission to consider introduction of the brand "Honey from Europe" for honey, which is produced by 100% honey collected in the member states of the European Union;