Stefan KÖHLER

Policy topics Stefan KÖHLER is active on

What Stefan KÖHLER has said (27)

• 2026-03-18 “Answer given by Ms Roswall on behalf of the European Commission 6.5.2026 Written question Article 12(1)(d) of the Habitats Directive [1] aims at safeguarding the continued ecological functionality (CEF) of breeding sites and resting places of species listed in Annex IV(a). Measures to ensure CEF [2] must have the character of preventive mitigation measures [3] . They may also include measures that actively improve or manage a certain breeding site or resting place in such a way that it does not suffer from a reduction or loss of ecological functionality. The preventive nature of the measures implies that they must be effective before the activity with the expected impact is carried out. If such measures cannot ensure the continued ecological functionality of the site concerned, the activity requires a derogation under Article 16. Implementing CEF measures is a way to comply with the requirements of Article 12 of the directive and avoid the need for a derogation under Article 16. A possible delay of the project caused by the implementation of CEF measures is per se not a valid justification to put in question an alternative solution in the meaning of Article 16. It is rather for the project developer to avoid possible delays of the project by considering compliance with the species protection requirements at an early stage of the planning process. While the Commission considers that national instruments such as a state-managed species protection fund may contribute to the maintenance and restoration of the favourable conservation status of species, it notes that such a fund should be established in a way that respects the requirements of Article 16 of the directive and complies with the EU Treaty principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay [4] . [1] Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7-50. [2] As described in Commission notice ‘Guidance document on the strict protection of animal species of Community interest under the Habitats Directive’, C/2021/7301 final. [3] i.e. measures minimising or even cancelling out the negative impact to a high degree of certainty. [4] Article 191 (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.”
  EU policy on permitting for renewable energy projects
• 2025-11-28 “E-004724/2025 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission In 2018, the European Parliament and the Council agreed to list ‘Sea salt and other salts for food and feed’ in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 1 and accordingly, since 1 January 2022 these products may be produced and labelled as organic under the conditions set out in that Regulation. Certain operators that are certified under Regulation (EU) 2018/848 have made the choice to produce and place on the EU market salts produced in accordance with Article 21(2) of that Regulation. In addition, certain Member States have established detailed national production rules covering the production of organic salts in accordance with the same provision. The Commission has adopted its proposal for a targeted amendment of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 and has not proposed the removal of ‘Sea salt and other salts for food and feed’ from Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 2 . Point 2.2.2(f)(i) of Part IV of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 3 related to the production of organic processed food allows for the use of iodine in organic salts provided that its use in food for normal consumption is ‘directly legally required’, in the meaning of being directly required by provisions of Union law or provisions of national law compatible with Union law, with the consequence that the food cannot be placed at all on the market as food for normal consumption if those minerals, vitamins, amino acids or micronutrients are not added. 1 http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/848/oj. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2025%3A780%3AFIN&qid=1765969819531. 3 Point 2.2.2 In the processing of food, the following products and substances may be used:[…] (f) minerals (trace elements included), vitamins, amino acids and micronutrients, provided that: (i) their use in food for normal consumption is ‘directly legally required’, in the meaning of being directly required by provisions of Union law or provisions of national law compatible with Union law, with the consequence that the food cannot be placed at all on the market as food for normal consumption if those minerals, vitamins, amino acids or micronutrients are not added.”
  EU policy on novel foods · Food labelling harmonisation at EU level
• 2025-11-11 “E-004448/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission The re-categorisation of infection with the bluetongue virus (BTV) would be formally enacted through an amendment to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1882 1 . This amendment has already been presented to the Regulatory Committee 2 for discussion and is set to be submitted to Member States for a formal opinion in the coming months. Consequently, it is deemed necessary to amend Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689 3 , along with several other delegated and implementing acts, to align all relevant EU regulations with this re-categorisation. These amendments are being implemented in response to the epidemiological developments of BTV over recent years and are informed by the experiences of Member States and stakeholders in applying the current rules. After more than a year of thorough discussions with these parties, the Commission and Member States have deemed it necessary to reclassify BTV from category C to D as a proportionate risk management measure and policy support for all stakeholders involved. EU funding for BTV veterinary programmes was discontinued in 2021, and funding is not planned for the 2025–2027 period in accordance with EU regulations 4 . Financial resources are prioritised for the control and eradication of major priority animal diseases, such as African swine fever and highly pathogenic avian influenza. The Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plans 5 may support economic mitigation efforts through the restoration of agricultural potential on infected farms or farms suffering from the impact of a preventive destruction of animals. 1 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1882 of 3 December 2018 on the application of certain disease prevention and control rules to categories of listed diseases and establishing a list of species and groups of species posing a considerable risk for the spread of those listed diseases. 2 Agenda: 17-18 September 2025 - Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed - Section Animal Health and Welfare https://food.ec.europa.eu/document/download/09454667-4053-494e-861c7382cbe7c130_en?filename=reg-com_ahw_20250917_agenda.pdf. 3 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/689 of 17 December 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards rules for surveillance, eradication programmes, and disease-free status for certain listed and emerging diseases. 4 Regulation (EU) 2021/690 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing a programme for the internal market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises, the area of plants, animals, food and feed, and European statistics (Single Market Programme) and the work programmes (adopted as Commission Implementing Decision C(2024) 2098 of 2.8.2024 for 20252027). 5 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32021R2115&qid=1731663638970#anx_I.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• 2025-06-04 “E-002227/2025 Answer given by Ms Roswall on behalf of the European Commission The Commission’s impact assessment 1 accompanying its proposal for a recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) 2 builds notably on the report ‘Feasibility of an extended producer responsibility system for micropollutants’ 3 which is publicly available. The methodology is explained in this report and includes all relevant sources. As announced in the Water Resilience Strategy 4 , adopted on 4 June 2025, in the context of the implementation of the extended producer responsibility system under the UWWTD, the Commission will conduct an updated study of costs and its potential impacts on concerned sectors. This update will focus on the cost of quaternary treatment and does not constitute a new impact assessment. A full evaluation of the Directive is planned by 2033. The deployment of quaternary treatment will increase stepwise until 2045, providing a significant amount of time to the sectors to plan and adjust. As per Article 10 of the UWWTD, to ensure that the extended producer responsibility system is implemented as optimally as possible, in particular from a cost-benefit perspective, Member States must organise regular dialogues on its implementation with relevant stakeholders. The Commission is also fostering exchanges of information and best practices to support Member States to achieve well-functioning and proportionate extended producer responsibility systems. 1 https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/65764c73-4a57-45dc-8199-473014cf65bf/library/889da570-1fb0-479c-bc7c3104ad7c8feb/details. 2 Directive (EU) 2024/3019 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 concerning urban wastewater treatment (recast), OJ L, 2024/3019, 12.12.2024. 3 Feasibility of an EPR system for micro-pollutants- Final report (070201/2020/837586/SFRA/ENV.C.2), 2022: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/14249cbc-5f1c-11ed-92ed-01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 4 https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/european-water-resilience-strategy_en.”
  Climate efforts
• 2025-02-03 “E-000457/2025 Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is aware of the concerns regarding a reliable supply of lysine to the EU market and its importance as essential amino acid to complement the diets of farmed animals. It was established during the investigation that the EU producer is currently able to supply about 20% of the EU market under the normal conditions of competition, whilst large volumes are still sourced from third countries other than China (Indonesia, United States, South Korea, Brazil). The overwhelming and further increasing presence of Chinese imports on the EU market made it impossible for the EU industry to increase its production capacity. The Commission explained in Regulation 2025/74 of 13 January 2025 1 that the purpose of anti-dumping duties is not to close the EU market for imports from China, but rather to tackle unfair market practices and restore the level playing field, precisely allowing for the normal functioning of the market. Lysine and other feed additives do not fall under the definition of raw material 2 as laid in Regulation 2024/1252 and could therefore not be classified as such. Furthermore, actions that are applicable to critical raw materials would not address the concerns discussed. In the EU interest analysis, the Commission has provisionally concluded that the imposition of any anti-dumping measures is unlikely to seriously affect the situation of the users. The investigation has now entered its second phase, in which the Commission will analyse the comments provided by interested parties and may amend its determinations accordingly, if needed. The impact of measures on the feed industry will thus be further analysed. So far, the Commission has reasonable grounds to ascertain itself that no shortage of supply will occur in the future. 1 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/74/oj 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02024R1252-20240503#art_2”
  Import of agri-food products in the EU
• “Commissioner Hansen. I welcome this focus on generational renewal. It's a very good example of how to access land or capital. But we need planning security. We don't want a flood of documents, burdens, conditions that change all the time. This simplification package is a good start. But I would like to encourage you that within the Commission, this should be used in other areas of the commission in Bioeconomy, but new management techniques. We need to be able to plan on a long term level. And also, this question of enhancing the image of farming is also important.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “Yeah. Thank you for the exchange. And I would like to talk in German. Vice President Ribera, we were making proposals when it came to the omnibus package. And we looked, for example, at the floor Von Habitat Directive as well. But those proposals were not borne in mind. We looked at the status of the wolf in the Habitat Directive, which has been in force since 1992, and that protected status needs to be checked after more than 30 years. And we have seen for many member states that it doesn't work in practice when it comes to the nature restoration law. And they've got doubts about this. Why were those regulations not all just automatically reviewed? Why were they not all checked? And why is the commission sticking to a regulation, even though there are clear indications that in the member States it is not working?”
  Nature protection and restoration in the EU
• “Thank you. Chair. I would like to talk in German. It's most welcome when we can ensure that farmers can earn more money with helping the environment. But in the strategic dialogue, I'm wondering that, you know, if there's going to be a link with taxation because there's going to be a problem in farming because their creditworthiness might actually be reduced and without, you know, if if you're going to promote or support certain species of birds or beetles or whatever, and that might be to the detriment of actual farming practices. And also if you're going to link it with other legal. Documents or legal legislation, then it's going to be not feasible. That has to be prevented. Question to the representative of the Commission. Can you promise us that there's going to be no link with other legislative acts, and also that. The nature credits really will lead to tangible effects for nature.”
  Nature protection and restoration in the EU
• “(11:42:06 – 11:46:34): Thank you very much, and thanks for the invitation and the possibility to speak here. I'm not only here for my student housing co op in Berlin. I'm also here for the European Student Co op Housing Alliance. We founded two years ago. And let me say one thing first. Student housing, affordable student housing, is one really big point for the equal opportunities on education. This is one really important point. So one answer to the housing crisis of students is founding student housing coops. It's a relatively new movement. We have small ones. We have big ones like mine in Berlin. We have 1,300 rooms, and we had unique conditions. We had buildings there. And against the wishes of the political authorities, we simply had to preserve them. And, on the other hand, we had a new build. We had a mezzanine lender. We had a public land seller who was interested in the outcome rather than the profit and very favorable loan terms from the in Germany. So all these student housing coops have one major advantage. This is the high level of identification and commitment among founders and users. Look at wonderful examples at Edinburgh and Heidelberg Collegium Academicum. But we one thing we don't have, that is money. And the self commitment model is not suitable for everyone because the students' job is their studies, and this is a temporary period of their lives. So we just can be a part of a solution, but not the solution. Then if you want to scale this up, you will lose more and more identification and commitment. We can see this in Geneva by at La Sigu. For scaling up, you need a professionally run co op like Woco in Zurich or my co op in Berlin, which are controlled, for example, by student unions, or universities or other public stakeholders. So what we need is co op laws like in Switzerland or The UK, clear exemption from competition rules for housing providers focused on the public good, grants us equity capital, We can't afford new projects out of the rent of the existing houses. This is not the duty of the students who live there. We need affordable land, leasehold below the markets, access to abandoned office buildings, favorable financing, long term mortgages. We need support by universities and municipalities. Good would be long term restriction on use, rent caps in case of funding and for especially resident involvement. We also need to reach the money. So a model enabling initiatives to channel their financial interests locally and pool them via providers focused on the common good. A good example could be AgriTech, a group in Budapest with MOBA in South Middle Europe, to make a test on this. We need a model enabling collaboration between commercial local banks and the European development banks like we have in Germany between the banks and the Kwidilanstraatfevedaufbau. And we need to develop two or three different models because we have different rules in different countries. But I can give you some good examples. First, the Stedienenwerk in Germany, it was developed from student support organizations in the sixties, and they were transformed into semi public institution, which looks after student needs. We have the WOCO in Zurich. It's a co op run by the student unions in Zurich. We have in The UK, student co op homes, which was found by private persons and different housing co ops in The UK who are looking for housing co ops to give financial support. So they have Edinburgh Student Housing Co op, one in Belfast, and they try to support running groups in Dublin, in Cork, and so on. So, give these groups help and maybe support also our small network. We have our next gathering in September. Thank you very much.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you. Chair. We now have simplification. The proposals look good. Simplification on one, two and four. We would welcome your work and commend it and commend the work of the Commissioner. We need to further build on this progress. The new cap. Cast a long shadow. We need to get our approach right. Ensure genuine simplification so we ease the burden on our farmers. We need to look at crop rotation and the like and do away with the current Requirements. They cause huge challenges and problems to farmers. Farmers work with nature with the constraints of nature, and they need, uh, some flexibility to deal with the unforeseen. It would be helpful if you could, uh, bring forward amendments so they can be properly implemented in autumn. Farmers need to know what is coming down the track at them. Thank you.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “Yeah. Thank you. Chair. Um. I'd like to speak German. President. Thank you very much, Commission representative. I'm pleased we have the opportunity to discuss this regulation. We were talking about wanting to create legal certainty. And so we need to, uh, act as quickly as possible. But we also need to think about the medal obligation. And we need to ensure that. In Bavaria, we're very proud of our organic production. We have a huge, uh, Cultivated area used for uh. For, um, organic produce. But this is if we don't focus on the quality. This can be a major threat. And I'm aware of the fact that there are 300 farms which used to be organic, which have switched to conventional farming, and so trying to get to 25% of the cultivated areas being organic. I think we need to take effort and we need to combat these switches from organic to conventional farming. So I would be pleased if the Commission could come up with this roadmap and get it going as quickly as possible, so that we can offer better opportunities for our farmers. Thank you.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “(15:48:08 – 15:50:33): Thank you so much, Mister Mahmer. We open the floor to the political group representatives starting with EPP, Stefan Kuller, for two minutes. Thank you, chair, and I would like to talk in German. Thank you much indeed for the presentation of your proposals for the EDR. It's going to come into force at the end of the year for the smaller companies. It's good that they get legal certainty. You mentioned that. As the EPP, we want responsible use of our resources. This is really key for our environmental goals. But I think the provisions have to be proportionate. And to date, the EDR wasn't. We need practicable, feasible, legal measures because implementing this regulation is complicated, is expensive, especially for smaller stakeholders. So these simplifications are welcome even though they don't go enough, we don't think. But let me just talk about a specific point, and I think you mentioned this in your speech. I actually had to register in the sister system, but I still have not been able to. It's supposed to be used by lots of small businesses, and everything's supposed to be up and running by July. But I really want to ask, how well the IT systems are doing and whether you'll be able to use this when it comes into force end of July. I'm not sure it's going to be ready. And all of these simplified formats for the statements, the copy function, for the various associations, whether this will all be available in time and whether we'll have enough time to adapt to what we have to do. Obviously, we need planning and legal certainty. And hopefully, the system will come online early so that companies can update their software. But I think it's gonna be postponed a third time, and obviously that would lead to a loss of trust. So we need planning certainty. The system needs to be up and running in time. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you. Chair. Minister Honecker, Minister Christensen. Water pollution is something you already mentioned in your statement. And you've mentioned Denmark's experience of the implementation of that directive, and we're very interested in that. Now, that directive is currently being tested out. And for me, as a farmer in Germany, I'm quite critical of the conditions in Denmark. You are taking a very pragmatic approach instead of having general reduction of fertilizers of 20%. Denmark has learned from experience in the past and is now taking an approach where you're trying to meet those conditions, but you're also bearing economic and financial conditions in mind. It's different in Germany. So I have two questions for you. Could you quickly explain the Danish monetary system, and could you tell us what you're planning to do to feed Denmark's experience into the review of the directive?”
  Water pollution
• “Thank you very much. Our full cellar and empty coffers. That's the situation that we are facing. And it's really a problem. We have difficulties in in sales. We have difficulties with falling consumption levels. We have difficulties in production. And we therefore need urgent action. The Commission has therefore put forward the the package it has. Mr. Garcia has done a very good report for which I'd like to thank her. It's an extremely good start working with my German colleagues. I've submitted a number of amendments. They are focused on greater fairness and on promoting lower alcohol wines. We do need to take some very urgent action. We therefore need to take action as swiftly as we can, in as little bureaucratic way as possible.”
  Drinking regulation
• “Thank you Commissioner. Thank you very much for the presentation. I come from Bavaria and we have a cultural landscape program and a cultural protection program as well. I'm not sure how that's going to continue the future. Will it be co-financed through the the lender and the federal government who establishes the level of of the premiums. And I'm a bit concerned that this is not going to be a very easy system. I'm interested to hear what you have to say on. Our farmers. Are going to be fighting against problems with animal health. Just recently on Saturday, we had we heard of a lot of problems that were had created were created in Germany. There were new outbreaks of animal health issues. There were 300,000 animals that were affected by this because of transports and vaccinations. I'd like to know how you think that the commission can react to create proper ways of containing illnesses. Do you think it's best for us to vaccinate so that we're able to bring an end to such outbreaks of these diseases? Can the EU present vaccinations or provide vaccinations in this difficult situation that we're in today? I would also really like to ask you to come to my country and to see the situation that we're facing with, because our government is not able to help the farmers.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• “President. Commissioner. Colleagues. This cap debate today is lights and shadows because on the one hand, I can sense pleasure, and I think people are very positive about the fact that Parliament's position could be adopted as part of the omnibus legislation. Of course we want flexibility. I mean, that's something particularly important to us farmers in Bavaria. We've got to make sure that we get through the trilogue as quickly as possible and make sure that farmers can rely on simplification as of next year. And it is most important that we continue with simplification, not just on the cap front, but contrasted with that, I can see some disappointment because we have been critical of the overhaul of the common organisation of the market right from the outset. I mean, I think people realise that we have to boost farming as a sector, but we can't have these written treaties and we can't allow that to undermine the cooperative system that we have in Germany, for example. I mean, for example, prices are higher than in France, where the relevant articles have actually been implemented. And we have to make sure that we curb the abuse of this regulation. And we don't want this to lead to too much bureaucracy, because of course, we've got to try and drive costs down in order to deliver for farmers. And that is why I am opposed to these written contracts and them being mandatory. Thank you.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “I just come right to the point. I have two questions for you. From the end of July 2027, farmers will need extra Biocide certification to be able to use anticoagulant rodenticides on their farms. If a farmer already has recognized professional qualification in agriculture and food industry, plus planned production expertise, they should be exempt from this obligation. Do you have a solution for this issue? And the second question, the documentation for use of plant protection products under Commission implementing regulation number 564 from 2023 is very comprehensive and leading to a big bureaucracy burden in Germany. What are you planning to reduce these burdens. How about excluding the agriculture sector from these documentation obligations? Thank you very much.”
  EU policy on pesticides
• “Thank you very much, chair. Thank you very much, executive Director Chris, for your presentation. You've been in your job for two months, and that was when Commissioner Varhelyi then presented the food and feed omnibus and pesticides. Biocides are playing a central role in that. We all know here in this room how the authorisation process works, whether we're talking about chemicals or biopesticides, it always takes far too long for many of the active substances. Then it is a huge challenge to get them authorised. This can only really be the beginning of what we're doing. We do need to keep adjusting our processes in terms of mutual recognition and the various certification requirements for pesticides. I, as a shadow report, as a shadow rapporteur on an own initiative opinion on this subject and particularly interested, I'd like to know whether you agree with the DG sanco proposals and if not, would you like to see more proposals? What kind of measures will you be taking to simplify the authorisation process for pesticides? Thank you.”
  EU policy on pesticides
• “President. Commissioner. Dear colleagues, this plenary week very much uh has is falls under the symbol of one of our most important products wine. And we want to ensure that our interns really get the help they deserve in this difficult time. So so someone from Lower Franken, I really am happy to be able to do so. Where I come from is is is really the the location of a real Bavarian cultural, uh, treasure, a white wine with unique qualities. So we need to have, uh, the following possibilities. For example, fair financing, the possibility for grubbing up a. Support via the cap and alcohol and alcohol reduced wine should have enjoy a uniform labeling in the future, and we also want to ban the way for investment and this will be part of the Cap strategy plans. We also want to make it possible to have further support, for example, promotion of wine in third countries and then also prevention of diseases. So with this wine package, we're really setting the scene for a a lively competitive sector in the EU.”
  Agricultural funding
• “(11:46:04 – 11:47:29): Yeah. Thank you, chair, and I would like to talk in German. Thank you very much for that presentation of the delegated legal act. It's a good thing that we're talking about it today. Without changes in these provisions, we would have ended up in huge problems when it comes to these animals. And I don't think, however, we got quite the right consensus. When it comes to calves, we need a combination of PCR test and protection from vectors through pesticides. Now if we don't make that possible, there will be huge problems in areas which are affected by BTV and for which there is no vaccine. Now I would ask the commission to evaluate this proposal and amend it accordingly. I'd also like to take this opportunity to talk about a further important point of possible European vaccination strategy. If new BTV serotypes occur and are not vaccinatable, then we need to know about it and be able to take action. So I think European level across the board, BTV vaccination policy would be a good thing so that we know how we can react when we get new serotypes that evade protection.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• “Thank you. Chair. And I would like to talk in German. Thank you, Commissioner, for having taken the time to join us here today. Water is a crucial to our lives. It runs cross-border. And that's why we all need to pull in the same direction all over Europe. There is not enough detail in the initiative. What initiatives and proposal is the commission putting forward, and what will be the impact of those on the agricultural sector. And then then there's the Nitrate Directive directive. There's a lot of anger in Germany about these measures. This sort of measure, water protection is crucial. And how will you pursue that? Thank you.”
  Water pollution
• “For the information and the. Thank you very much for this information and the breakdowns and stats and figures. Apart from your market observation and the conclusions, what do you think you can do to stabilize milk prices and increase exports? That really is going to be necessary, I think, in order to try to de-escalate a critical situation.”
  Export of EU agri-food products
• “Thank you for your proposals, Commissioner. I didn't hear much on the concentration and how you want to limit that in Germany. Germany we have the biggest producers are the food companies. And what do you really want to do to tackle this concentration in? I just wanted to focus on this issue of producer organisations. We need to make sure that they can position themselves in a good way. And make sure that article 184 applies as well.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “Yes. Thank you. Chair. Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for this constructive exchange in this meeting. And given the conference we've had, the situs convention is a key instrument to protecting animals and plant species for the EU. We need to have a scientific based approach approach. This is the only way to have a long term approach. So it's very important to me that we had this pragmatic and scientific approach when it came to international trade and hunting. It's vital that when the EU is protecting international trade, we recognise this as illegal. But what we shouldn't do is here in Europe, tell other countries what they should do in in their own areas. So. I'm looking forward to a constructive discussion in the future. Thank you.”
  Nature protection and restoration in the EU
• “Thank you very much, chair. And to the Commission. Thank you very much for coming and to present your proposal to the MEPs. Storms and droughts, all of these affect our forests. And so we do need reliable data in order to evaluate the current situation. And so that I agree with. I do agree that we need to take care of our forests, but we also need to think about what type of data we need, how much data we need to collect, and where to watch. Objective. In Germany and Bavaria we have. We know a lot about our forest inventory already. We know a lot about what the situation is of our of our forests. 37% of our land is covered by forests. And we know a lot about the forest inventory, as I said. And the forests, forests are a national competence. And so for this reason, I don't think that a regulation is the correct way to go. But that's why we're here. As a rapporteur, I'd like to raise three points that I think are important. We shouldn't ask the commission, the the council to find something to reinvent the wheel, or we need to find something that we can actually implement. We need to use something that is useful. Thank you.”
  Management of EU forests
• “Vice president, Commissioner Hanson, Europa is. Europe is in a crisis. And meanwhile, it's turning into an ongoing crisis. And our farmers are first concerned. War in Ukraine and now the Iran conflict are really harming our farming and farmers. The prices of fertilizers have gone sky high. Something sometimes a 50% increase. And we've just heard the figures with regard to the explosion in prices in supermarkets as a as a as a result, even in my home country and back in Bavaria. The message coming from citizens is clear we need affordable fertilisers and we also need supplies. And of course, looking at this fertiliser plan, unfortunately, apart from some good ideas, there are some shortcomings. Hopefully we will be able to fill them in the coming months, but this will be an important decision making summer and we'll have to look at people and their possibility of having access to the affordable fertilizers. Otherwise people will be in poverty.”
  Use of fertilisers
• “Kristoff, in a week's time with the time has come and he will present the proposal for the cap after 2027. Since last autumn, there have been all sorts of rumors about what this could look like. Our farmers face huge challenges. We have heard enough about those, but we cannot leave them alone to face this. So we need a strong, independent agriculture budget with enough resources behind it. Agriculture, not defense. It's one of the hearts of EU policy and we need to simplify. I was elected as a farmer to cast my vote here in the European Parliament, to raise my voice. I'm not in favour of a restructuring of agricultural policy. As farmers, we have shown that when we do not agree, we are not to be messed with. Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding