Carmen CRESPO DÍAZ

Policy topics Carmen CRESPO DÍAZ is active on

What Carmen CRESPO DÍAZ has said (80)

• 2026-03-13 “Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission 18.6.2026 Written question On 7 January 2026 the Commission renewed until 10 January 2031 anti-dumping duties on imports of mixtures of urea and ammonium nitrate (UAN) originating in Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and the US [1] . A suspension under Article 14(4) of the basic Regulation [2] for an initial period of nine months, extendable for a further period not exceeding one year, would be possible upon demonstration that it is in the overall Union interest, that market conditions have temporarily changed so that injury to UAN Union producers would be unlikely to resume, and that the Union industry has been given an opportunity to comment, with those comments taken into account. Several other fertilisers imported from the US will benefit from a 0% duty when the 2025 EU-US Framework Agreement (‘Turnberry deal’) will enter into force. Moreover, imports of ammonia, urea and certain other nitrogen-based and mixed fertilisers from countries other than Russia and Belarus, now benefit from a tariff suspension [3] , within given quotas, for a period of one year, until 31 May 2027. The Commission does not consider that suspending the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) at this stage would be beneficial for EU strategic autonomy in fertilisers. However, recognising specific challenges for the fertiliser sector posed by elevated prices and import dependency, the Commission took action and a 1% mark-up is applied to default values for embedded emissions for fertilisers under CBAM [4] . This is notably lower than the mark-up applied to other CBAM sectors. Additionally, the Commission adopted a temporary state aid framework to enable Member States to support farmers in the current volatile market situation [5] . Following its November 2022 Communication [6] , the Commission is also monitoring the availability and affordability of fertilisers in the EU through the Fertiliser Market Observatory. On 19 May 2026, the Commission adopted the Fertiliser Action Plan [7] , setting out short- and long-term measures to improve fertiliser availability, affordability and resilience. Short term actions include the mobilisation and possible top-up of the agricultural reserve, liquidity support under the Common Agricultural Policy and greater flexibility for advance payments. Longer term measures focus on strengthening EU production capacity, supporting low carbon and renewable fertilisers, promoting circular nutrient sources, and reducing strategic dependencies on imports. All Member States, including Spain, used a possibility to express their positions on the availability and affordability of fertilisers during the discussion in the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. [1] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/65 of 6 January 2026 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of mixtures of urea and ammonium nitrate originating in Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States of America following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council. [2] Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union. [3] http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2026/1181/oj. [4] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621 of 16 December 2025 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 of the European Parliament and the Council as regards the establishment of default values. [5] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/ip_26_894/IP_26_894_EN.pdf. [6] Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Ensuring availability and affordability of fertilisers, COM/2022/590 final/2. [7] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1099.”
  Use of fertilisers · Climate efforts
• 2026-02-10 “E-000539/2026 Answer given by Mr Kadis on behalf of the European Commission The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) advises zero catches of the critically endangered European eel in all habitats, reducing non-fisheries mortalities to zero and restoring the eel habitats 1 . The conservation and management of European eel must be based on fisheries and environmental considerations to tackle all human-induced mortalities. Closing eel fisheries in isolation will not be sufficient to recover eels. Further ambition is needed to address environmental mortalities, while continuing to take fisheries measures. Member States take various measures through their eel management plans (EMP) under the Eel Regulation 2 and other legal instruments: - Temporary fishing closures are set at EU level under the Fishing Opportunities Regulation; - The Water Framework Directive requires a good status of waters, including river continuity 3 ; - The Nature Restoration Regulation requires restoring rivers to free-flowing 4 ; - In line with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the trade of European eel from and to the EU remains strictly prohibited 5 . Regarding Spain, it has established one national EMP with several specific regional plans and one transboundary plan together with Portugal. Those plans contain various measures, such as reducing or closing fisheries, predator control, eel trap and transport, removing migration barriers, improving water quality, restocking 6 . 1 Most recent ICES advice published in November 2025: https://iceslibrary.figshare.com/articles/report/European_eel_i_Anguilla_anguilla_i_throughout_its_natural_range/2720302 8?file=59290940 and ICES report from the Workshop in support of this advice, where country reports including for Spain are annexed https://iceslibrary.figshare.com/articles/report/Joint_EIFAAC_ICES_GFCM_Working_Group_on_Eels_WGEEL_/304881 20. ICES Eel Stock Annex provides for a comprehensive assessment of the stock and the impacts on the stock: https://iceslibrary.figshare.com/articles/report/Stock_Annex_European_eel_i_Anguilla_anguilla_i_throughout_its_natural_r ange/24517486?file=43077457 2 Council Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007 of 18 September 2007 establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of European eel, OJ L 248, 22.9.2007, pp. 17–23. 3 The Water Framework Directive requires Member States, to implement measures to ensure that the status of water bodies, including as regards river continuity and fish communities, does not deviate, or only slightly, from undisturbed conditions. 4 The Nature Restoration Regulation requires Member States to make inventories of their artificial barriers to the connectivity of surface waters, and to plan for removals of barriers, primarily addressing obsolete ones, in order to reach the EU-wide objective of restoring 25000 km of rivers to free-flowing rivers between 2020 and 2030. 5 The competent scientific authorities of the EU Member States agreed unanimously that they would not be able to issue a non-detriment finding for the export of European eel specimens, as it is critically endangered, as required under Article IV(2)(a) of CITES. Therefore, since 2010, a zero-export quota has been issued and published on the CITES website. Regarding imports into the EU on European eel, the scientific review group decided on a general negative opinion for all range states since 2010. 6 EMP implementation is variable. Details about a most recent progress of Member States in implementing their EMPs and measures under the Eel Regulation, including by Spain, are provided in the ICES advice in subject”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• 2026-02-10 “E-000537/2026 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Fitto on behalf of the European Commission 1. The Commission has not yet received an EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) 1 application from Spain regarding the storms in January and February 2026. However, Spain has a deadline of 12 weeks as from the first damage occurred to submit an application, demonstrating that the total direct damage exceeds the thresholds specified in Article 2 Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002. 2. The Commission does its utmost to swiftly, yet thoroughly assess the applications submitted for the EUSF. In addition, the Commission stands ready to support and guide the authorities should they need aid in applying for the EUSF. 3. Following a request from the Spanish authorities to mobilise the agricultural reserve to support the agricultural sector affected by the storms, the Commission will examine the possibility to adopt exceptional measures under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 2 . If a natural disaster occurs, national authorities may also grant, under certain conditions, support to farmers from their national budget in line with EU state aid rules. Additionally, Spain can decide to request an amendment of their Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan to provide crisis payments to active farmers that are affected by natural disasters and to reinforce the budget for investments to restore production potential. Concerning the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Spanish Recovery and Resilience Plan 3 defines how the funds attributed to Spain are allocated. Spain can request to amend the plan to include new measures in cases of objective circumstances. However, new measures shall comply with the requirements outlined in Regulation (EU) 2021/241 4 , including an indicative timeline for the completion by 31 August 2026. 1 Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3) as amended by Regulation (EU) No 661/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 May 2014 (OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 143) and by Regulation (EU) 2020/461 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 March 2020 (OJ L 99, 31.3.2020, p. 9): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32002R2012. 2 Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/1308/oj. 3 Annex to the Commission Proposal for a Council Implementing Decision amending the Implementing Decision of 13 July 2021 on the approval of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for Spain: https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/47a4cc03-061b-4158-a221f4ba10113a4c_en?filename=COM_2025_794_1_EN_annexe_proposition_cp_part1_v4%20%283%29_0.pdf. 4 Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (OJ L57, 12.2.2021, p.17, Art. 18 (4) e: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/241/oj).”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• 2026-02-10 “E-000538/2026 Answer given by Mr Kadis on behalf of the European Commission 1. CATCH is a major step forward in the European Union’s fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. It is operational as of 10 January 2026 and aligned to the legal requirements in the revised IUU Regulation 1 . On 23 February 2026 more than 12 500 importer declarations had been validated in CATCH, and no major disruption of trade has occurred. CATCH is a game changer as it harmonises import controls across Member States and levels the playing field between EU and non-EU fishers on the legality of products placed on our market. Developed in cooperation with Member States, CATCH is continuously adapted and updated based on experiences reported by all users. The Commission supports the mandatory use of CATCH decided by the co-legislators and does not plan to defer its full implementation. It is critical to maintain EU leadership in fighting IUU fishing. The Commission will continue to engage constructively with the Member States within the existing legal framework to find workable and effective technical solutions. 2. To ensure uniform implementation of CATCH and advise on timely solutions to confirmed general issues, the Commission has issued regular guidance to Member States, including ways to reduce workload. CATCH has multiple functionalities to reuse data that expands as the system is progressively used. 30% of the importer declarations are already based on digital interconnections of CATCH and non-EU systems. The Commission continues to encourage more countries to interconnect or use CATCH directly for free. Certifying catches from EU vessels in CATCH is compulsory only in limited cases under the IUU Regulation (Art. 14, 15), and Member States continue to use their existing systems in all other cases. 1 Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a Union system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, amending Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1936/2001 and (EC) No 601/2004 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1093/94 and (EC) No 1447/1999, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02008R1005-20260110.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• 2026-02-10 “E-000540/2026 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission Under the Vision for Agriculture and Food 1 , the Commission announced a dedicated EU Task Force to be established, which will pull expertise and forces from the Commission and Member States together to further strengthen the control on imports. The work of the Task Force on Import Controls 2 was launched at the ministerial meeting that took place in the margins of the 26 January 2026 AGRIFISH Council meeting 3 . The first expert and working groups held under the Task Force took place on 24 February 2026 (on intensification of official controls of food and feed of non-animal origin 4 ), on 4 March 2026 (on plant health) and on 18 March 2026 (on Veterinary Import Controls Legislation). A further meeting is scheduled for 15 April 2026 (on the Official Controls Regulation). Conclusions along with potential recommendations for joint actions or, where appropriate, suggestions of specific regulatory measures, are expected for the second half of 2026. Implementation of these conclusions is foreseen to start in 2027. It should be noted that the Task Force does not replace official controls performed by Member States or create parallel structures; it builds on existing expert and working groups, bringing them together in a more coordinated and strategic way. Its added value lies in improving harmonised implementation across the EU, identifying gaps or inconsistencies, and proposing joint actions where an EU-level approach is most convenient. Finally, the effective and consistent implementation of EU legislation across all Member States is ensured through on-site audits conducted by the Commission (Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety). The frequency of these audits in Member States will be increased by 33% for the 2026-2027 period. 1 https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/overview-vision-agriculture-food/vision-agriculture-and-food_en. 2 Import controls of food and feed Q&As; Food Safety: https://food.ec.europa.eu/horizontal-topics/officialcontrols-and-enforcement/import-controls-food-and-feed-qas_en. 3 Agriculture and Fisheries Council: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/agrifish/2026/01/26/. 4 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2019/1793/oj.”
  Import of agri-food products in the EU
• 2026-02-04 “E-000453/2026 Answer given by Mr Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission The European Investment Bank’s (EIB) Water Resilience Programme is supporting the Commission’s Water Resilience Strategy, and it covers all EU 27 Member States, but also countries outside the EU (in particular in accession regions, Central Asia and the Southern Neighbourhood). The programme supports strategic water resilience infrastructure with blended finance structures, smaller municipalities, utilities and firms through intermediated lending, multi-borrower structures and guarantees. It also promotes the use of public-private partnerships and equity investment into water resilience. Project promoters, including Spanish authorities or public and private companies, can apply for advisory services as well as financial support, and the EIB will perform its financial and technical assessment of the proposal that could materialise in providing the requested financing. The EIB has supported many water projects in Spain in the last years 1 . Specifically, under the Water Resilience Programme, projects such as Canal de Isabel II for water infrastructure investment in the Community of Madrid (EUR 430 million), and Sabadell Flood emergency recovery (EUR 150 million) to finance the reconstruction following the severe floods in Spain, as well as preventive measures to enhance resilience against future floods were signed in 2025. The implementation of the projects is followed by the EIB in line with its internal rules and procedures. 1 https://www.eib.org/en/projects/all/index?q=&sortColumn=statusDate&sortDir=desc&pageNumber=0&itemPer Page=25&pageable=true&la=EN&deLa=EN&yearFrom=2024&orYearFrom=true&yearTo=&orYearTo=true&s tatus=approved&status=signed&orStatus=true&regions=europeanunion&orRegions=true&countries=ES&orCountries=true&sectors=2030&orSectors=true.”
  EU policy on water management
• 2026-01-16 “E-000186/2026 Answer given by Mr Kadis on behalf of the European Commission Prior to the revision of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 1 (the Control Regulation), the obligation to notify a return to port in advance already applied to vessels of 12 meters or more targeting stocks covered by multiannual plans. The revision of the Control Regulation extended the scope of this requirement to additional stocks, while maintaining the same vessel-length threshold. The obligation serves fisheries control and enforcement objectives, ensuring authorities have sufficient time to organise inspections, regardless of distance travelled or trip duration. The revised framework already allows noticeable flexibility: Member States may apply shorter notification periods for certain vessels, and the Commission may grant derogations in duly justified cases. Concerns regarding implementation should therefore be raised with the competent national authorities, which are best placed to assess any necessary adjustments or follow-up within the legal framework. As regards catch recording, the legislation does not require all catches to be weighed on board before landing, but only “estimated” quantities, as under the previous system. These requirements aim to improve the accuracy and reliability of catch data in support of sustainable fisheries management and the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy. The Spanish authorities have asked the Commission to explore possible solutions, including a regulatory amendment. Solutions can and should be pursued within the existing control framework, making full use of the existing flexibilities and implementing powers provided by the revised Control Regulation. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/1224/oj/eng.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• 2025-11-05 “E-004357/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission Within the EU framework for control measures and vaccination against lumpy skin disease (LSD) 1 2 3 and in alignment with World Organisation for Animal Health standards 4 , emergency protective vaccination may be applied when epidemiologically justified. Member States, not the Commission, decide whether to introduce vaccination for Category A diseases such as LSD and determine its scope and geographical extent in their national vaccination plans. The Commission coordinates Member States in outbreak management ensuring rapid regionalisation and adopting emergency measures protecting animal health. It also provides scientific, technical and diagnostic support through the EU Reference Laboratory and the EU Veterinary Emergency Team and upon request, in emergency situations, rapid vaccine access from the EU vaccine bank. For additional details, the Commission would also like to refer to the answer to P004478/2025 and P-004548/2025/rev.1 5 . 1 OJ L 84, 31.3.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/429/oj. 2 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 of 17 December 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and the Council, as regards rules for the prevention and control of certain listed diseases OJ L 174, 3.6.2020, http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2020/687/oj. 3 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/361 of 28 November 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and the Council as regards rules for the use of certain veterinary medicinal products for the purpose of prevention and control of certain listed diseases (OJ L 52, 20.2.2023, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2023/361/oj). 4 https://www.woah.org/en/what-we-do/standards/. 5 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/P-10-2025-004478_EN.html, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/P-10-2025-004548_EN.html.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• 2025-10-21 “E-004146/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission Acetamiprid remains approved as an active substance in the EU and plant protection products containing acetamiprid can be authorised provided their uses are confirmed to be safe for consumers. The responsibility for authorising uses of plant protection products lies with the Member States. The decision to lower the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) for acetamiprid in several food products 1 was based on a comprehensive evaluation carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which reviewed the toxicological properties of acetamiprid and proposed to lower its toxicological reference values. Consequently, EFSA identified risks to consumer health associated with the existing MRLs for several food products, including bananas. As no safe use of acetamiprid on bananas was reported as a basis to set an alternative safe MRL, the MRL for bananas was lowered to the Limit of Quantification (LOQ), also known as the technical zero. The MRL for bananas applies equally to EU products and imports from nonEU countries, so that imported bananas are not allowed to exceed the acetamiprid LOQ. Applications for revisions of the MRLs for acetamiprid under Article 6 of the MRL Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 2 can be submitted at any time for any food product, including bananas. Each application will be assessed and, if deemed safe, a new MRL may be established. This was recently the case for honey, plums, and several seeds, for which the MRLs were raised by Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/1212 3 . Furthermore, Member States have the possibility to grant emergency authorisations for plant protection products containing acetamiprid in urgent situations involving new pests or invasive species when no other reasonable means are available. 1 Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/158 of 29 January 2025 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards maximum residue levels for acetamiprid in or on certain products, OJ L, 2025/158, 30.1.2025. 2 Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2005/396/oj. 3 Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/1212 of 24 June 2025 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards maximum residue levels for acetamiprid in or on certain products. OJ L, 2025/1212, 31.7.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/1212/oj.”
  Maximum residue levels · EU policy on pesticides
• 2025-08-26 “E-003298/2025 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission services are currently assessing the request for exceptional support and information received from Spain, in view of determining the most appropriate course of action to support the farmers affected by the forest fires. Two instruments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) may provide support for the recovery: Under the Rural Development Programmes 2014-2022 the Spanish regions mentioned in your question have allocated EUR 437.82 million for forest fire prevention and EUR 59.59 million for recovery from the ravages of forest fires. In addition, the Spanish CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 foresees, for the same regions, a further support of EUR 158.54 million for fire prevention and EUR 23.05 million for recovery. Moreover, under the European Regional Development Fund, Spain has allocated EUR 300 million to support investments in adaptation, prevention and preparedness measures to tackle forest fires throughout the period 2021-2027. The recent changes introduced by the Regional Emergency Support to Reconstruction will even allow Member States to redirect part of their existing Funds to recover from natural disasters that occurred in 2024 and 2025. Finally, ‘Forest restoration to primary forest structure, composition and functioning’ projects is a priority of the LIFE programmes while investments into the resilience and sustainable management of forests are supported under Component 4 of the Spanish Recovery and Resilience Plan, particularly through Investment 4 ‘Sustainable Forest Management’.”
  Agricultural funding · Management of EU forests
• 2025-08-26 “P-003299/2025 Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission The Commission has a supporting competence in civil protection and Member States have primary responsibility. Under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) 1 , Member States have resources for response, prevention and preparedness. The Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network 2 brings together civil protection actors to share knowledge, improve prevention, preparedness and response, including projects on wildfire prevention and preparedness 3 . The EU supported research in wildfire risk management 4 through a Horizon 2020 Green Deal call 5 . In addition, Horizon Europe has open calls for preparedness. The Commission intends to secure and possibly scaleup rescEU 6 and to implement the EU stockpiling strategy 7 . In the next multiannual financial framework, the Commission proposed EUR 10.7 billion for civil protection and health preparedness. New capacities, as fire-fighting night flights, and enlarged operation periods will need to be agreed with Member States. To help rural communities, the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plans (CSP) 2023– 2027 support measures for sustainable forest management, fire prevention and forest restoration, addressing rural development priorities. The Spanish CSP forecasted further EUR 158.54 million for fire prevention and EUR 23.05 million for recovery from forest fires ravages. Before the summer 2025, Spain requested prepositioning of ground forest firefighting teams 8 . Following its notification on possible need for further assistance, Spain requested assistance through the UCPM on 13 August 2025. France and the Netherlands responded, and the Emergency Response Coordination Centre mobilised additional capacities from the European Civil Protection Pool and rescEU. 1 https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/eu-civil-protectionmechanism_en#:~:text=In%20October%202001%2C%20the%20European%20Commission%20established%20t he,to%20improve%20prevention%2C%20preparedness%2C%20and%20response%20to%20disasters. 2 More information is available on the UCPM Knowledge Library: https://civil-protection-knowledgenetwork.europa.eu/knowledge-library/search?f%5B0%5D=hazard_type%3A299. 3 There are also recent projects on wildfire prevention and preparedness, such as the Technical Assistance for Disaster Risk Management grants https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/UCPM-Track-1call2025 or the Technical Assistance Financing Facility https://civil-protection-knowledgenetwork.europa.eu/technical-assistance-financing-facility-taff. 4 FIRELOGUE https://firelogue.eu/, FIRE-RES https://fire-res.eu/, SILVANUS https://silvanus-project.eu/, TREEADS https://treeads-project.eu/, and FirEUrisk https://fireurisk.eu/. 5 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-gd-1-1-2020. 6 https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/resceu_en. 7 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52025DC0528. 8 During this period, Estonian and Dutch teams stationed in Galicia in this framework participated in the firefighting operations.”
  Climate efforts
• 2025-07-18 “E-003001/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission Cold treatment was introduced in 2022 for oranges produced under a systems approach due to the number of non-compliances of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (False Codling Moth) for all countries where the pest is present 1 . This measure has drastically reduced the number of noncompliances due to this pest. As the number of non-compliances due to False Codling Moth on other citrus fruits has remained low, there is no sufficient risk-based evidence that would justify that the EU imposes an obligatory cold treatment on other citrus fruits. In relation to cold treatment, the EU legislation prescribes two options: a cold treatment of 0 °C to – 1 °C for at least 16 days during which the temperature is measured at the core of the fruit as per the mentioned International Standard, ISPM 42 2 , or a cold treatment for at least 20 days at a set temperature between – 1 °C and +2 °C, provided that a pre-cooling step of the pulp of the fruit to the set temperature has been applied. In the second option only the temperature during the pre-cooling step is measured on the fruit. In both cases, the legislation requires that the cold treatment, and the pre-cooling step where relevant, are documented and checked for each consignment by the exporting third country and when the cold treatment has been applied during transport, that the records are kept and made available upon request, giving the possibility to the EU competent authorities which carry out the import controls to verify the correct application of the cold treatment. The Commission has carried out a series of audits on plant health import controls 3 between 2021 and 2023 and they have not revealed any significant shortcoming as to the way Member States carry out import controls. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2022/959/oj. 2 https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/c233701c-7257-4b59-9738-888141c5403e/content. 3 Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands and Poland.”
  Import of agri-food products in the EU
• 2025-07-18 “E-003010/2025 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/787 1 confers delegated powers to the Commission for several provisions. If the Honourable Member refers to the empowerment provided for in Article 19(1) enabling the Commission to derogate from the youngest component rule and to establish appropriate control mechanisms for brandies produced using the traditional dynamic ageing system known as the ‘criaderas y solera’ or ‘solera e criaderas’ system, it should be noted that, as already explained in the replies to questions E-002565/2024 and E-002805/2024, the Commission indeed considered the preparation of such delegated act already in 2022. However, certain Member States were against such proposal, considering that making an exception for one single product would weaken the very authority of the general age labelling rule, applied worldwide for many years. In view of such disagreement, the Commission has not presented a draft for discussion to the expert group for spirit drinks and will not be in a position to do so until there is a sufficient consensus to adopt such a delegated act. As for the deadline for adopting delegated acts expiring in May 2026, the Honourable Member is reminded that Article 46(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 provides for the tacit extension of that delegation of power for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R0787.”
  Drinking regulation
• 2025-06-04 “E-002258/2025 Answer given by Mr Tzitzikostas on behalf of the European Commission The Commission acknowledges the concerns raised regarding recurrent interruptions on the high-speed rail network serving Andalusia and their impact on connectivity and sustainable cohesion, for which rail transport is fundamental. A safe and well-functioning rail infrastructure is a strategic priority to create sustainable and inclusive societies. In the event of disturbances to train movements, the EU regulatory framework defines the necessary steps to be undertaken by infrastructure managers to restore the situation to normal. National infrastructure managers should have the necessary tools and knowledge in place to guarantee a return to seamless operations as soon as possible, in compliance with applicable EU and national regulatory frameworks. The EU has strengthened the legislative framework regarding the protection of critical infrastructure, both from a physical and cyber resilience perspective, with the entry into application of the Directives on the Resilience of Critical Entities 1 and on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union 2 . These Directives cover, respectively, critical entities, and essential and important entities in the transport sector in respect of all hazards, whether natural or man-made, accidental or intentional. The Commission regularly assesses Member States’ capability of (re)acting under this framework. Under the Rail Safety Directive 3 , a division of responsibilities and monitoring tasks ensures that infrastructure managers and railway undertakings operate networks safely and securely and rectify detected deficiencies. Transport digitalisation is part of the areas eligible for EU funding instruments, such as the Connecting Europe Facility or cohesion funding. 1 Directive (EU) 2022/2557 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on the resilience of critical entities and repealing Council Directive 2008/114/EC. 2 Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972, and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 (NIS 2 Directive). 3 Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on railway safety (recast) (Text with EEA relevance).”
  Cybersecurity investments for critical infrastructure · EU funding for transportation · EU support of rail transport
• 2025-02-03 “E-000444/2025 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission 1. The Commission acknowledges that, since 2019, fresh tomatoes from Morocco have been imported into the EU beyond the tariff rate quota set in the Association Agreement 1 as amended in 2012 2 . Imports beyond the quota are lawful under the Agreement provided they pay the corresponding tariff. The Commission confirms that imports of fresh tomatoes from Morocco outside the quota are subject to the tariffs resulting from the application of the entry price system plus the applicable ad valorem duty 3 , both under the preferential conditions set in the Agreement on, inter alia, reciprocal liberalisation measures on agricultural products. Those imports therefore comply with the terms of the agreement. The amount of duties collected by custom authorities for imports of fresh tomatoes from Morocco into the EU is of EUR 81 088 776 for the period 2019 to 2024. 2. In the light of the previous explanation, the Commission has not detected any tax evasion. 3.The Commission already monitors the payment of tariffs applied to products imported from third countries. In the case of imports under the Association Agreement, verification mechanisms are in place to ensure their correct implementation. 1 http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_internation/2000/204/oj 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/exch_let/2012/497/oj/eng 3 Annex to Protocol No 1 of the Agreement concerning the arrangements applicable to the importation into the European Union of agricultural products, processed agricultural products, fish and fishery products originating in the Kingdom of Morocco.”
  Trade relations with Morocco · Import of agri-food products in the EU
• 2025-01-16 “E-000190/2025 Answer given by Mr Kadis on behalf of the European Commission The Western Mediterranean management plan 1 (MAP) aims to secure a sustainable and profitable future for the sector relying on healthy fish stocks. The Commission recognises the significant efforts made by the fishers and has worked with all stakeholders to implement the MAP since its adoption by the co-legislators. While the annual fishing opportunities have gradually reduced trawling effort since 2020, numerous flexibilities alleviated the reduction, such as additional days granted by the compensation mechanism. Under the MAP, all demersal fisheries have remained open, profitable and can benefit from European financial assistance, such as the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, when opting for sustainable practices. As regards the future of this MAP, the Commission would not outrightly exclude a possible amendment. Any possible amendment would have to be considered in the context of the Common Fisheries Policy evaluation, to ensure coherence in terms of principles and objectives, as well as respect the level playing field with other EU sea basins. In the meantime, the implementation of the current legal framework will have to continue to facilitate stock recovery and the sustainability of the sector, taking advantage of the expanded compensation mechanism unanimously agreed by the Fisheries Ministers last December, which creates a win-win situation: recovered fishing days and more sustainable fishing. The difficulties faced by Mediterranean fishers will not disappear if the stocks they rely on do not recover. It is therefore crucial to implement the MAP to secure stock recovery and the sector’s profitability. 1 Regulation (EU) 2019/1022 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 establishing a multiannual plan for the fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea and amending Regulation (EU) No 508/2014. OJ L 172, 26.6.2019, p. 1–17.”
  Funding for fisheries and aquaculture · Environmental regulation of fisheries
• 2024-11-18 “E-002565/2024 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission Although Regulation (EU) 2019/787 1 does not contain any exemption for Brandy de Jerez from the ‘youngest component’ rule, the Commission was empowered to adopt delegated acts by laying down derogations from the general rule and for appropriate control mechanisms in relation to brandies produced using the traditional dynamic ageing system known as the ‘criaderas y solera’ system or ‘solera e criaderas’ system. In 2022, the Commission services considered the preparation of such delegated act, but discussions with Member States revealed the same positions that in 2018 had made impossible to introduce a derogation in Regulation (EU) 2019/787, with some Member States considering that making an exception for one single product would weaken the very authority of the general age labelling rule, applied worldwide for many years. In view of such disagreement, the Commission has not presented so far a draft for discussion to the expert group for spirit drinks. The Commission will continue to engage with Member States and stakeholders on these matters. The Commission takes very seriously any unfair or questionable use of trade defence instruments and formally requested consultations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 25 November 2024 over the provisional anti-dumping measures imposed by China on EU brandy. The Commission considers that the imposition of these duties are incompatible with China’s obligations under WTO rules. The Commission has been following the procedure very closely and intervened on several occasions to express its objections to the questionable nature of China's allegations and subsequent measures. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R0787”
  EU policy on country of origin food labelling
• 2024-10-30 “E-002340/2024 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission 1. Commission services and the Spanish administrations are acting according to their respective competences. The Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food informed the Commission that EU support is needed. The EU aid instruments are activated at the request of the competent Spanish authorities. According to this principle, the Spanish authorities submitted a formal request to mobilise the agricultural reserve and provided information on the estimated damage. The Commission will examine the application under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 1 . The budget for 2025, to be distributed among the Member States, is EUR 450 million. The request from Spain is being treated with all urgency. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) aims to strengthen cooperation between national civil protection services of Member States and Spain activated the UCPM on 8 November 2024. 2. The Commission has proposed an amendment to the legislation governing the rural development programmes to provide additional support to farmers affected by natural disasters. The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EARDF) can also offer support to restore the agricultural potential. Spain can also redirect funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (Next Generation EU) towards reconstruction measures by modifying its plan in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/241 2 . Support is also available under the European Union Solidarity Fund 3 , as well as under cohesion policy. In that regard, the Commission puts forward the RESTORE legislative proposal 4 , introducing some budgetary flexibilities. The previous information is not exhaustive but shows the EU’s readiness to support the Spanish people. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32013R1308 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32021R0241 3 Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3) as amended by Regulation (EU) No 661/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 May 2014 (OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 143) and by Regulation (EU) 2020/461 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 March 2020 (OJ L 99, 31.3.2020, p. 9). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32002R2012 4 RESTORE - Regional Emergency Support to Reconstruction proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund and Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), published on 21 October 2024.”
  Direct payments to farmers (pillar 1) · Agricultural funding
• 2024-10-17 “E-002156/2024 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission 1. EU funding for bluetongue, bovine tuberculosis or epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD) veterinary programmes or emergency measures is not envisaged for 2024, nor for 2025 to 2027 in accordance with EU rules 1 as those financial resources are allocated to the control and eradication of other major priority animal diseases. The Commission does not plan additional extraordinary mechanisms under the referred instrument. As mentioned in reply to written question E-001819/2024, P-002410/2024 and E-002019/2024, support can be provided under the Common Market Organisation, Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plans, rural development programmes, and in line with Union State aid rules. 2. As the competent authorities from Spain have a long experience dealing with bovine tuberculosis and vector borne diseases as bluetongue or EHD, no specific requests were made to support the eradication of these diseases. 1 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(2022) 3467 of 2.6.2022 for 20232024) and Commission Implementing Decision C(2024) 2098 of 2.8.2024 for 2025-2027).”
  GMOs
• 2024-10-04 “E-001965/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The Commission attaches high value to its strategic Partnership with Morocco, which is longstanding, wide-ranging and deep 1 . Over the years, the EU and Morocco have established a profound friendship and a solid and multi-faceted cooperation, which the EU intends to take to the next level in the coming weeks and months. The Commission takes note of the Court of Justice judgments on the appeals against the judgment of the General Court of 29 September 2021 2 , as well as the reply to the preliminary ruling request on the labelling of products from the territory of the Western Sahara 3 . The Commission is currently analysing the judgments in detail. The EU reaffirms the high value it attaches to its strategic partnership and firmly intends to preserve and continue strengthening close relations with Morocco in all areas of the EUMorocco Partnership. Under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) for 2021-2027, as agreed by the co-legislators, there is no possibility to compensate losses in cases of termination and/or non-renewal of a Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) or Protocol. Under the EMFAF, support for the temporary cessation of activities with regards to SFPAs is limited to the interruption of the application of an SFPA or protocol thereto due to reasons of force majeure. 1 See point 51 of the Conclusions of the European Council of 17 October 2024 (https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-25-2024-INIT/en/pdf). 2 C-778/21 P, C-798/21 P, C-779/21 P, C-799/21P. 3 C-399/22.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries · Funding for fisheries and aquaculture
• 2024-10-04 “E-001964/2024 Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The Commission attaches high value to its strategic partnership with Morocco, which is long-standing, wide-ranging and deep 1 . Over the years, the EU has established a profound friendship and a solid and multi-faceted cooperation, which it intends to take to the next level in the coming weeks and months. The Commission took note of the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) judgment 2 on the annulment of the Council decision 3 concerning the extension to Western Sahara of the EU-Morocco tariff liberalisation commitments, which apply to agricultural and fisheries products originating in Western Sahara. The Commission is currently analysing the judgement in detail. It is therefore too early to discuss about any eventual measure following the CJEU’s ruling. In line with the CJEU judgement, the effects of the annulled Council decision are to be maintained for a period of twelve months from the date of delivery of the judgment. The EU firmly intends to preserve and continue strengthening close relations with Morrocco in all areas of the EU-Morocco partnership, in line with the conclusions of the European Council of 17 October 2024 4 . 1 See point 51 of the Conclusions of the European Council of 17 October 2024, https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-25-2024-INIT/en/pdf 2 Judgment of 4 October 2024, Commission v Front Polisario, Joined Cases C-779/21 P and C-799/21 P, EU:C:2024:835, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62021CJ0779 3 Council Decision (EU) 2019/217, OJ L 34, 06/02/2019, p. 1–3, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2019:034:FULL&from=PL 4 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/2pebccz2/20241017-euco-conclusions-en.pdf”
  GMOs
• 2024-09-27 “E-001852/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission All EU’s recent free trade agreements (FTAs) include dedicated chapters on trade and sustainable development, requiring compliance with a range of international environmental and social standards. Furthermore, all imports must comply with EU’s health and safety requirements, the same that are applied to domestic producers. The latest FTAs also have a chapter on sustainable food systems promoting cooperation on matters such as the reduction in the use of pesticides, or the fight against antimicrobial resistance. In some of the recently concluded agreements, the EU has negotiated some tariff conditionalities, which link a preferential tariff treatment for a given product with the compliance by EU’s trade partners with high sustainability production standards for that product. Such a clause was negotiated with the Mercado Común del Sur (Mercosur) for eggs, where tariff liberalisation is conditional onto the compliance of imported eggs with a Directive on the animal welfare of laying hens 1 , and with New Zealand, where the access to the tariff rate quota for beef is only granted to grass-fed livestock. The EU intends to pursue this approach in future FTAs, as long as accepted by its trade partners. In addition, the EU adopted several ambitious autonomous measures where certain process and productions standards also apply to imported products 2 . In parallel, the EU continues its efforts to get third countries on board with sustainability goals through international cooperation and technical assistance. This is why the EU engages in the World Trade Organization and other international fora to promote internationally agreed sustainability standards and uses its trade agreements as platforms for cooperation. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A01999L0074-20191214 2 Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, Application of EU health and environmental standards to imported agricultural and agri-food products, COM(2022) 226 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022DC0226”
  GMOs
• 2024-09-27 “E-001853/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is aware of the serious problems that the species Rugulopteryx okamurae is causing in various coastal areas of Andalucía and in other Spanish areas such as Ceuta and south of Portugal. On the basis of a risk assessment submitted by the competent Spanish authorities, Rugulopteryx okamurae was included in 2022 on the list of the invasive alien species to which priority should be given 1 . Regrettably, this invasive alga continues to expand, and has reached France and Italy in recent years. The affected Member States can decide how and when to provide financial support to fishers affected by invasive species through their European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture (EMFAF) programme. This can include measures for tackling the spread of the species, as well as directly supporting fishers for example with cleaning, repairing equipment and antifouling. Based on the information received from the Spanish authorities, it appears that the Spanish Ministry of Environment has been working on research and plans to manage the crisis. The Commission has also been informed that the Spanish EMFAF Managing Authority has carried out an analysis on support options. The Commission is however not aware of financing decisions by this Authority. Nevertheless, the Commission has also been informed that the authorities provided de minimis State aid to the sector for the loss of fishing activity and damaged fishing gear outside the EMFAF programme. In the case of Portugal, the national authorities informed the Commission that no support under EMFAF was provided or is planned at this stage. For more information on the national/regional support measures implemented, we refer the Honourable Member to the competent authorities in the Member States. 1 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1203 of 12 July 2022 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141 to update the list of invasive alien species of Union concern. OJ L 186, 13.07.2022, p. 10-13.”
  Funding for fisheries and aquaculture · Environmental regulation of fisheries
• 2024-09-27 “E-001851/2024 E-001876/2024 Answer given by Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2389 1 on frequency rates prescribes 100% identity and physical checks at import for citrus fruits, except for those countries referred to Annex I of that Regulation. The number of non-compliances at import is a criterion for deciding the frequency rates. The Commission also carries out audits 2 in third countries from where the EU imports citrus fruits, including South Africa and Zimbabwe. Furthermore, the Commission and the Member States discuss monthly at the Standing Committee for Plants, Animals, Food and Feed the noncompliances and any follow-up actions that need to be taken. According to point 62 of Annex VII of Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 3, the obligation of cold treatment on oranges applies to countries of the African continent, Cape Verde, Saint Helena, Madagascar, La Réunion, Mauritius and Israel, should they choose to export oranges under a systems approach. The Commission has been offering for several years training on import controls to the border inspectors of the Member States through the programme Better Training for Safer Food 4 . Inspectors from Spain have been regularly participating in the trainings. In addition, since 2019, the five European Reference Laboratories in plant health 5 have been organising activities related to quarantine plant pest diagnostics for National Reference Laboratories, including interlaboratory tests, trainings, ad hoc support to national references laboratories and workshops. The Spanish National Reference Laboratories have actively participated in these activities, including those related to Phyllosticta citricarpaand Thaumatotibia leucotreta. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32022R2389&qid=1695292904290 2 https://ec.europa.eu/food/audits-analysis/audit-report 3 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 of 28 November 2019 establishing uniform conditions for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and the Council, as regards protective measures against pests of plants, and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 690/2008 and amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 https://eurlex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2019/2072/oj 4 Better Trainer for Safer Food: https://better-training-for-safer-food.ec.europa.eu/training/ 5 https://food.ec.europa.eu/horizontal-topics/european-union-reference-laboratories_en#plant_health”
  GMOs
• “And for all the full members and substitutes that you need to have your voting card Ready for the secret ballot and the electronic vote. So as I said, red, the colors are red, green or white for the different candidates. And then there will be we will proceed in alphabetical order. So as I said before, first of all, Miss Yamit will be the green button. Miss curtain will be the red button. And in a moment I will announce the start of the vote.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• “Thank you very much. Chair. Thank you. Commissioners. Well, this single fund, it's clear. We're all clear. There is a inequality among sectors and discretion for the member states. We see that there is a big decrease for the Cap and for the CFP. But what are we going to do? Will we stand by idly? No. Yes. The 10% of the rural objective and the 45 billion. We are supposed to thank you for that, but we cannot. Take away pillar two because that will not be credible for those working in the field. And many of us have this clear in mind. Also, there is a problem with Cofinancing for the sectoral programmes. This too has to be made clear exactly how we are going to solve this. The position of the farmers is clear, but not just for the commission, for the Parliament it is and but also for those politicians who are not speaking honestly and clearly about what the reality is. And in this case, we need to resolve this with the Mercosur trade agreement, the safeguard clause. This is fundamental and its automatic for implementation, and so that it will be controlled at the doors of countries, and that is why we have an opportunity here in the MFF, establishing an office for control of imports that will give security farmers so such that they know that the EU is verifying imports.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you for your presence here today, Commissioner. I have a one specific question. Could you tell us, given the situation in the EU, are an active substance was withdrawn, which was completely banned for European farmers, but can products be imported from a third country into the EU with a minimal residual quantity of this active substance on it. With this product, should it then be put into circulation in the internal market?”
  Pesticides & trade
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. This problem is creating great financial loss. It's not just the case in Spain. Many millions of euros have been lost. And there's also the uncertainty it creates, because we still don't know what will happen with the market in Malaysia, Japan or Mexico. So we think it is essential. We need to know from the EU will the aid continue to arrive? Some of them have not yet reached the producer, but there must also be aid when it comes to crisis survival. We need to think about what will happen with those countries if everything's closed and we have no regionalisation. In this particular case, then we have a major problem. Now it seems that we've had five months of complete being sealed off. But with the energy prices. And if we simply leave friends in the in the countryside to their own devices, they'll be lost because there'll be a disaster between climate change and the prices If the costs, there'll be disaster in rural areas. There needs to be help for them. Things should happen in a respectable way. But over the years we've just burdened the rural population with all of these problems. In particular, when it comes to energy problems and the cost there as well, and also what's happening to wild fauna and any research into their future. Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding
• “Thank you. Chair. Commissioner. We like the push for European products. And so forth. But what we need and the fact that more transparency. But the system was working well. And you have to ask the sector and the Parliament why are you changing a system that works? Nobody understands it. And this mixture of funds, we're very doubtful about it. Which who's going to benefit from this, the cohesion fund or the second pillar? And how is this capacity going to be redistributed? How are we guaranteed the price of 2029, and how are we going to work with the Aggressivity. Are we going to penalize the cooperatives who have been very professional in this under this cap? And all this is added to the trade agreements with the. Um, Mercosur. They've raised their safeguard clauses and the imports, which have, uh, compromised reciprocity and then lowering the tariffs in the farm sector. It's it can't be the perfect storm. You can't be reducing the budget to merely defending Europe, which is crucial to Europe. So with the agri food sector is losing out big time. And you are renationalising. Why? Because we're different parts be treated differently in different parts of Europe. So the sector is key. We need greater capacity for this cap, which we need for the present and for the future. And the EPP hopes that the council will block this, uh, multiannual financial framework as it stands now.”
  Agricultural funding
• “Thank you very much. And thank you so much to the commission for that information. Although, you know, in this committee, when it comes to this agreement, you know, it's been very opaque from the get go and there's not been much transparency. But still, the first speaker from the commission said something very clearly, namely that you're going to be exchanging fish for tomatoes. Now, of course, that has an important impact. You know, we need to have an agreement that is beneficial for our fishers and of course, also for our farmers. We need both. And therefore, you know, I think the data speak for themselves. 18% you talked about in terms of tomatoes, and you talked about a domino effect with regard to other farm produce. And that's quite astonishing. I mean, in Spain, for instance, tomatoes dropped by 25%. And in addition to that, we've seen an increase for Morocco by 42% vis a vis the EU. You know, we're talking about a 42% increase. If you look at the figures in one year only. So yes, clearly there is more pressure being brought to bear. And logically that does have a domino effect on other farm produce. As for European farmers, you know what about them? You know they've got checks. Are we checking what's coming in? Are we looking at the customs tariffs? You know, the 80,000 tonnes or whatever that's coming in. We have the data on that.”
  Import of agri-food products in the EU
• “Yes. Thank you, Mr. Commissioner. I think it's worth really insisting on this point, because it's not the first time I've asked this question. Given the current. State of the different diseases that we're seeing in our flocks in. Particularly here in Belgium. I'd like to know that in the framework of the evaluation of the animal health law and its possible revision, is the Commission ready to support a wider use of the diva vaccine? And have you studied the possibility of a new statute to do with vaccination to improve the internal market and to ensure that we can exchange animals. Between the member states, we need to have better checks at the borders. Those are my two questions.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• “Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Colleagues. Welcome to today's committee meeting. Welcome to today's fisheries committee. As you know, the first item on our agenda is the adoption of the agenda. So unless there are any objections, I would propose that we adopt the agenda. Let's now move on. Then as the agenda is hereby adopted, we'll move on to the chair's announcements. I need to remind you that I have had to add, under item seven of the agenda, a short vote at the end of today's meeting at 630. This is an issue that the fish, the fisheries coordinators, were not able to agree upon with a broad majority. But a decision has to be taken because a deadline has been set by the Conference of Presidents. So you have received all the details of the report by email circulated by the Secretariat last Tuesday, together with the draft agenda and the voting list, so that we can hold the vote at the end of today's meeting. So that will be 6:30 p.m.. So we need to vote, as you will remember. On whether We will include this item in the work of our committees. Of our committee. This is a report which is left over from the previous Parliament, and we have to decide whether we are going to continue work upon it now under item three. Adoption of the minutes. I'd like to invite you. Well, if you have any objections, of course, please say. But otherwise we would adopt the minutes of our meetings of the 23rd and 24th of July. So now is the time, if you have any objections to those minutes. Otherwise they will be deemed adopted. Any comments on the minutes? Well, in that case, they are hereby adopted. And we now move on to our fourth item, which is the proposal for a regulation setting for 2025. The fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks applicable in the Baltic Sea. The first item is the the the tax and quotas for 2025 in the Baltic Sea. And it's not surprising that our Scandinavian colleagues have requested a discussion on this proposal on the 26th of August. The Commission adopted this proposal, fixing the fishing opportunities for the commercially most important fish stocks in the Baltic Sea for 2025, and in order to simplify the annual procedure for the adoption of tax and quotas, the fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea are adopted in a separate regulation. Which the Council will be adopting already in mid-October. So I'd like to welcome Mr. Donatella from DG Murray to present the Commission's proposal on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2025. Mr. Donatella, you have the floor. And then, of course, I'll give the floor to any member of the committee who would like to speak. Mr. Donatella?”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “Thank you very much, honourable members. We're going to continue with this afternoon's work. And we now have the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations representative, the FAO. They're coming to talk about the 2025 review of. Fisheries. We have Mr. Manuel Barange who will be addressing us when we have taken our seats again.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “(09:53:03 – 09:55:33): restart the vote now. The vote is open. We're voting on the regulation on certain provisions for fishing in the GFC, the rapporteur is Muzovko. We restart. The vote is open. The vote is closed. Adopted. 23 votes in favor, 3 votes against, and 1 abstention. Congratulations, Miss Ofko. And congratulations to the whole shadows team. Moving on to the next vote. Item 6, commission delegated regulation amending regulation EU 2019/1241 as regards the establishment of measures to ensure compliance with existing mitigation measures to reduce incidental catches of the resident population of the Baltic proper harbor porpoise in the Baltic Sea. We start this vote. It is also an electronic vote. The vote is now open. Please begin voting. The vote is closed. Rejected. 13 votes against. 13 votes in favor and 1 abstention. Thank you very much, everyone. If you are ready, we will move on to the public hearing item 7. Miss Zofko, would you like to take the floor? Please settle down. Please remain quiet in the room. You may begin. Settle down, please. Quieten down, please. We'll continue with our committee. We have a busy agenda today. We'll give the floor to Miss Zofko now. So please settle down, colleagues. Miss Zofko.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner. This, I think, is an initiative which enables the European Union to improve its ability to pursue a comprehensive policy, something which is missing in the past. For the time being, we see all sorts of restrictions. We can produce water in the European Union, and that's the idea of this initiative, so as to produce balance within the water sector and not to penalise agriculture and industry. There are certain zones in which measures are necessary so as to tackle the problems of water, as well as green hydrogen. We also we have to draw on science and research. We have to prioritise water. We have to prioritise our ability to produce infrastructure, drawing on all solutions available in nature, while at the same time producing water infrastructure which can produce a balanced response. We have to believe in the possibilities of the circular economy. So in the European Union we do have the possibility of supplying agriculture to the water. We have we can also supply industry. We shouldn't forget that water isn't just to be drunk. We also need it to eat. In other words, it's an essential component in the food sovereignty of the whole of the European Union as well as for our future water reserves. Aquifers are essential for our future. It's important that Member States complete their water catchment plans. They're not complying with the rules now. So in the case of Valencia, for example, which has to ensure that it has regulating reservoirs and nor do we have regulations regarding water courses. So we have to do what needs to be done for the future. We need to have engineers, rural engineers and experts who can support the European Union in a water revolution. Converting the European Union into the region which has most water infrastructure, enabling us to make the most of what we've got.”
  Groundwater Directive
• “Thank you very much, chair. Dear colleagues, first of all, I'd like to thank the rapporteur for his work. It's important that we all work together cooperatively, and this is what we're doing. We've had some interesting meetings already, and based on the irony that we were working on, which really touched on a major problem. So our contributions here, what have they been? Well, we're looking at the directives which are coming, and we're looking at the water directive, which are giving too much importance to the objectives which have ultimately made it harder to protect water because the aims have been too high. They haven't been giving the right example. So what we are doing is we're looking at restrictions and obligations, but also a directive which will allow for the possibility to have more water, to have a sustainable principles. We'll be looking at technology and development there for regenerated water for example. This is something useful for the present, but also into the future, given the water scarcity that is affecting 30% of 30% of Europeans. We need to bear in mind that water serves to produce food. We mustn't say that agriculture is harming water. So we need to focus on solutions, on science based on nature, but also based on research. The research structures today which will help access subterranean water. This is also extremely important when we're looking at preparing the future of Europeans. So what's important at this moment is and what is being researched is the possibility that we have of having a circular economy with regenerated water.”
  Groundwater Directive
• “Now, if you allow, I should like to put on my hat as a member of this Parliament and not as the committee chair. And I would like to put some questions to Mr.. Donatella. Now, the original minister of Andalusia. In that role I protected the Gulf of Cadiz. I have a certain amount of knowledge then. No more than you, sir. But without a doubt some. And I have to say that I was extremely surprised by this decision, first and foremost, because the Commission is making a decision at a point of transition, and this needs to be factored in. This is a drastic decision. And why do we need to look at this? We can see that there is a trend of the new commission that will be incoming. They are going to of course, yes, need to focus on the environmental aspects, but balance that with the economic and social aspects. The citizens of Europe made this decision that the focus needs to be on all three. And yet you are making a Extremely. Clear decision that does not factor all of this in. So as members of the commission, I think when you look at this drastic decision, it is not the time to take one that is so drastic in this at this point of time. Now. Other speakers have made reference to the fact that there are thousand jobs, 775 vessels and the entire Bay of Cadiz that is at risk. The economic impact to families and to the sector is extremely high. 75% of sales. Now. For a long time we have seen that there. Is an approach where we look at the scientific data, of course, and we are waiting for the upcoming benchmarking exercise. Independent of that, you have not looked at the 20m from the, uh, from land to the sea, where you can see there is the highest concentration of the population, and therefore there is a mistake in the approach in the report and the sector is drawing attention to this. They are making a demand, and they would like to have a different focus on the entire basis and hope that you will factor in that. Now, the sector has also been affected by tax and quotas every single year. It's not the first time we're having such a drastic approach. Mr. myanmar and Myanmar and all of the members here have pointed to this. The social economic impact is not a question that the Commission is making. Rather, there is the court ruling that states that the measures to address this must be adopted. Therefore, we are calling on you to address this. Moreover, we would like to see a withdrawal of this proposal. There is a legal mistake with the proposal to not allow the swaps between the small fishers fisheries of the various countries. So we have here a legal mistake that is at the basis of this proposal. So not looking at any sustainability in any single fishing area. Therefore, we are asking for clear explanations on the scientific data, the social economic impact. And we also qualify this proposal as absolutely unacceptable because we recognize the repercussions that this discussion or this decision would have. Now, in the council, we know that there are a number of countries Spain, Portugal. I think there are 14 member states that are along the same lines, that have the same beliefs and the same circumstances, and therefore we should like to call for the withdrawal of this proposal. Thank you. Mr. Donatella.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “Now. We have two nominations for this post. We have Miss Jeanette and Miss Courtney. As Miss Jeanette Should be first in alphabetical order. We can proceed with the electronic vote. So it will be the green button for Mr. Schmidt and the red button for Miss Curtin. And we will now proceed. So the first round with the candidate that gets an absolute majority cast, which includes only votes in favor of each candidate. And the second round will be the candidate with the highest number of votes cast, which includes only votes in favor of each candidate. And in the event of a tie, the oldest candidate shall be elected.”
  Recruitment policies in the EU
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. The Parliament adopted a cap reform, but we can't see it reflected in this proposal yet. We see some movement in the right direction, but it's not enough for the farmers and fishermen. Now we're talking about the Common Fund for the national envelopes, and we're seeing a renationalisation of the cap. And it's making European farmers compete against each other. And then the next generation fund that's Well, we we're thinking about the that's being placed above the cap, and I think that's not right. So we need to keep fighting and keep fighting for an MFF that is balanced and fair for our farmers, for rural areas, and for our fishermen and women. The way it is constructed is also important. The form and that's what we're fighting for in the Parliament. And I hope that you will also work in this way.”
  Agricultural funding
• “But in particular we also need to be very clear about the labelling the identification we need. You know the regions, not the countries. Now, the treaty of the European Union talks about identification of countries. That has to be in the label. And it's not so much the regions. And again, I'm bearing in mind the EU ruling. So there's also the question of funding by the European Union when it comes to investments, investments into this area, into this zone, which means that we don't really have much to, you know, in terms of helping out the south of Europe. What about supporting our farmers? Surely we need to support our farmers in order to rebalance things. For instance, in terms of water. The region needs our support. So I'm afraid it's not very transparent. It's not very balanced. And therefore, as things stand, we would not be in agreement with this, with this, with this text. You know, in terms of our market, in terms of farm produce, in terms of controls and checks. And there are real difficulties for our own farmers. Difficulties that are generated by this agreement. So I think that we need to look towards the future, and we need to work this afternoon with the commissioner on this point. We really need to dig deep into this and we need to have an agreement that's better than this for the sake of our farmers. Thank you.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Chair, I thank the rapporteur. I agree with her when it comes to the parliament's role and transparency. But we cannot allow for more bureaucracy as we look at the paying out of funds. And as Mr. Dorfman said, we cannot increase the environmental ambition because that could hinder food security and competitiveness. We do need to have climate ambition, but we mustn't improve it or increase it. And we need to look at investment in investment in cooperatives and agricultural SMEs is not really being taken into account. That's what's lacking. And it needs to be reflected in the cap, in the MFF and in this wording. Thank you.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “Thank you very much, Commissioner. Uh, colleagues. Thank you. Um, for, uh, to Mr. Rodriguez and the shadows for all the work they've done in this very tight time frame. I think, uh. We need to look at young, uh, people the wine packer, the CMO, the unfair trade practices, and now simplification, now simplification. That means that farmers, uh, have to spend €1,000 more for administrative matters. There has to be flexibility in the strategic plans. We need to have more helps to. Uh SMEs. There is a new payment to validate animal, uh, illnesses and also simplification of conditionality. Now, this is very important for our farmers in this moment. There is a lack of economic resources. We need to reverse the nationalization of the MF. We have to be very clear. Uh, what are the programs that we are dealing with? I think at the moment, farmers don't understand why in this first package, they have to pay a 20% in the first, uh, block. When we look at the economic resources. Um, we need to be, uh, improving, um, farming and water resources. We need to close the circle here. There's a lot of willingness and commitment. And from the commissioner. But now we have to really make sure we, um, close the loop and have the necessary funding available.”
  Agricultural funding
• “Thank you very much, president. Dear Commissioner. Mr. Rodriguez, Mrs. Emmart. Well done, well done. I think that these two objectives are objectives we're reaching now. On the one hand, simplification and this is one of the most important topics for farming. Making things easier for payments for small farmers, conditionality, disaster relief and also incentives for farming, organic farming, simplification of strategic plans. All of that is super important. And the fact that we're doing this, you know, in time for 2026. Good. Mission accomplished. Secondly, tools also for fair prices, fair prices to be paid to farmers for their produce, but also for the labor, the work that they do. You know, there's been an imbalance. We know that and this report is therefore essential. We need to look towards cooperatives. You know we have exceptional circumstances for them. And this is something that we can see now in the in the text in the statutes. This is a law that will reform our supply chain, our food chain. And I think that's important because farmers have taken to the streets and therefore we've got something that now provides for written contracts. Very important. And that's why we have certain exceptions also to that principle. Thank you. Well done. Really balanced text simplification strengthening the position of farmers in the supply chain. That's a real achievement. Well done. We need to go beyond that now. We need to have mechanisms when it comes to control mechanisms and checks. You know an authority to check imports. We absolutely need such an authority. The European Union much needs this. And of course the framework, the financial framework, not just for this particular case, but also not just for the commission, but also at the level of the member states. All of this is very, very important. We need to send out a message to our livestock farmers, to our farmers. Thank you and well done.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “(10:28:21 – 10:28:42): You very much for having reminded us that there is an that we have the tools. It's just a question of political will. So now we're going to look at combating phishing crimes. So the first speaker is Cindy Buckner who works at Interpol. Over to you, madam.”
  Privacy & detection of online child abuse
• “It is a major error to have a sector that does not provide any savings for rural areas, and makes preventing forest fires even more difficult. We think that we have an opportunity to simplify the regulation. The Parliament must play a crucial role in this, and we must agree on the priorities for the environment and agriculture. We have the opportunity to work together for future prevention, and we would like to invite as a parliament, uh, everyone, to ensure to see where we have failed and what we can correct. Thank you.”
  Management of EU forests
• “The Secretariat is telling me that each member has one vote and the distribution is seven for EP, five for PS, three for Patriots, three for ECR, three for renew, two for the Greens, one for ESPN, one for the Non-Aligned and two for the left. The NI candidate gaining the majority will be appointed, including only votes in favour or against, and. We will use the electronic voting system to proceed with our secret ballot. The green button means in favor of the candidate. The red button means that you are against the candidate. So please insert your cards in the voting machine and abstentions will not be taken into account for calculation of the majority. But if members Uh, wish to abstain. Nevertheless, they can use the white button. So the green button means that you are in favor of the candidate. The red button means you are against the candidate. So we are now voting on the nomination for the second vice chair. You may proceed to vote.”
  Recruitment policies in the EU
• “Thank you, Mr. Donatella. If we may, then let us conclude on this item and move on to item five, which is about the cuts in the anchovy quotas in the Atlantic Iberian waters for 2024 and 2025. This item is on the agenda because it's a topical subject. The Spanish sector has called for help expressing their concern at the decision adopted on the 2nd of September by the Commission, setting the fisheries opportunities for certain fish stocks applicable in waters of the Union for 2024, 2025 and 2026, which, among other things, would mean a swingeing cut of 54% in the anchovy quotas in the Atlantic Iberian waters. From July 2024 until July 2025, I understand that the legal basis for this proposal is article 43, paragraph three of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union, and therefore it is the Agri Fish Council which is meeting today, in fact, that will take the final decision. Nonetheless, we would like to understand in more detail how the Commission arrived at this proposal, because it seems to the sector that the cuts proposed are excessively harsh and will severely affect not only the fleet in Spain and in Portugal, they will severely undermine their economic viability. So I'd like to begin by giving the floor to Mr. Fabrizio Donatella, director of DG Murray, so that you can summarise the situation and inform us more about how this decision was arrived at. Mr. Donatella.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “(09:58:17 – 09:58:44): And Mister Ian Orbina is joining us remotely. But we'll begin with some introductory remarks from the EPP coordinator, Ms. Leukalenek. You have the floor for 8 minutes. Miss Lukanenic, you may begin.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you very much. President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, we have We began our mandate looking at farming in an adequate way. We wanted a strategic strategy for agriculture to simplify all of our rules, to give resources to our farmers, both men and women. And we cannot go back. We cannot go back with an MFF that merges funds. We cannot go back watering down the cap that has been serving over years to assist rural areas, to give healthy food to Europeans, to export, and to create jobs. We cannot go back because food security is part and parcel of the security of the EU, and we need to really reflect that in this MFF. The Parliament has codecision as laid forth by the treaties and we should not give up that prerogative. The Commissioner yes, we count on your goodwill and of the council and the and the Member States to take a decision that brings a revolution to agriculture in Europe, a new revolution. We have to fight climate change. Yes, with the circular economy, with investments that mean that we are going to have more jobs in rural areas and that mean that we have enough water to give up and give new opportunities to new generations. No, we cannot go back. We have to start with a new strategic strategic dialogue, as started by the Commission and by the Commissioner and with the support of this Parliament.”
  Agricultural funding
• “And it's very important for groundwater to be our resource for future generations as well. We have to fight against pollution, but we have to talk about funding as well. In addition to European funds, we have we have to also use other other instruments that can also give us solutions in this in this sector. In agriculture, let's not forget, water gets converted into food for all of Europe. So we have to we are on the right track with new practices, better approaches, but without demonizing how we actually cultivate. So this is the way forward for water that gives us life in Europe.”
  Groundwater Directive
• “(16:10:14 – 16:11:09): Thank you very much indeed, Madam Chair. Thank you to Miss Singer, for her really good work. And the basis that these livestock holdings cannot be assimilated to industry. That's basically what it's about. It's about the directive has been about. So we have to look at the previous thresholds, and livestock units complicate implementation of the standards. We can't accept that the IED also takes onboard cattle as well, or this question of individual holdings being seen as one single one. And we can't accept that measures should be tightened up by each individual member state as well. And we can't apply to family holdings the same system which has been thought up for major industrial holdings. That's the mistake in big fat red letters in this directive. So I fully agree with Miss Singer. Thank you.”
  EU requirements on animal welfare for farmers
• “Thank you very much, honourable members. We're going to continue with this afternoo: Thank you very much. We are continuing the committee's work. So, as I said, we have with us Manuel Barange, who's from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, on the review of the State of World Fisheries Resources of 2025. It's a great pleasure to have you here to present the review, which is the biggest Authorized and formal review of fisheries. It gives us an overarching, updated vision of practices and and the state of fisheries. It's not just a technical document. It's an vital empirical document to focus on fisheries, guiding national authorities, rfmos and international institutions on responsible and sustainable management of marine resources. We have members from the committee. We have people online. Many people are very interested in this committee's work and as well as in the FAO's work and in this very important paper. So without further ado, I give the floor to Doctor Behrens for ten minutes, and then we will open the floor to the members for their questions. Thank you very much for joining us. You have the floor.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “Thank you. Chair. Firstly, when we look at water, we always think about restrictions, which this is with the Water Framework Directive. But what are the alternatives? And the alternatives are what we're looking at here. There have been many restrictions and the ambitious ambition is very high for um for the date that we have. So we need to look at opportunities. By this I mean there needs to be research, development, innovation which can provide, um, water opportunities for Europe. And these haven't been taken into account. We obviously we produce food and food producers need, uh, balance. Uh, so we need these solutions from a scientific point of view. What how can we regenerate water? How can we change things in agriculture? And this could be a new niche, uh, for Europe water engineering. So we could have a research in this area. I think these are absolutely vital and we need to protect the dry areas in Europe because it's extremely difficult. So they can't turn. We can't change the reality.”
  Water pollution
• “Thank you very much. And I'd like to thank Mr. Ruiz for the wonderful work as well. Uh, we share in great part the views. Uh, we have to use our horizontal horizon Europe. But make sure that we have an increase of that particular earmarking of the budget. 7.1 for agriculture, for, uh, everything. In other words, that would be for innovation, for vaccination, for research and public private uh division is important as well. It's very important to understand that agricultural research ought to be, uh, to be translated into the bearing that it has in the cost. It's been estimated at 30%. And let's not forget Pillar four of the, uh, the research area. Pillar uh, 16.2 million for opening for, uh, hydraulic, uh, innovation as well. And, uh, we've been on the forefront in Spain as far as implementation and monitoring and the deployment of artificial intelligence as well. So it's important to understand that horizon is an implement in order to modernize overall in agriculture. Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding
• “The proposal on the regulation amending these other regulations, which was the unfinished business from the last Parliament. The vote that has just come out as a draw has the result that we will not resume the work on this proposal, on this regulation. So that is why the the proposal was simply lapsed and will not go through Parliament any further. Um, so I hope you did understand that before you voted. Thank you very much. And see you on the 30th. Thank you very much.”
  EU political integration
• “President. Commissioner, what will the victims be thinking when they see a judge threatening the Sanchez government for taking the material that was needed in order to investigate the outermost accident? Is that what you call transparency? The transparency that we're used to? It's simply covering up the facts instead of investigating. Evidence is being hidden when nobody in the government has assumed any responsibilities. Now, Europe cannot look the other way. It needs to help and investigate what happened. It needs to help ensure that there's an investigation of what happened with the European funds in Spain and in Andalusia, which are parts of Andalusia, continue to be disconnected from the rail network. With Easter around the corner. We cannot have another Adamus in Europe, and we need to have a thought for the 46 victims and all of their families and wonder what they think of the Sanchez government. There are accidents that happen due to human error, but there are accidents and it will be shown that are due to a lack of maintenance investment or due to corruption. Nobody has any doubt about this in Spain. Thank you.”
  Rule of law in Spain
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. The People's Party is very pleased with the presentation of this plan. I think it really focuses in on providing affordable and safe fertilisers. And it gives tangible answers. It's not just about tackling what's happening in present. It's about what happens in future. And that's got to do with the renewal provisions, but we want other alternatives such as biostimulation as well. I think that we need to revise the nitrates directive. It doesn't reflect the reality of Mediterranean regions where you see drought, desertification, desertification and other issues as well. So that's key. We also think this idea of opening up new markets and green ammonia corridors with Africa and the Middle East to be very useful as well. We simply can't defend depend on gas so much, and we need to make these changes gradually. Looking ahead to the future. But in the meantime, if you look at what's happening with Vice President Ribera, there are other key issues as well that are complementary to this plan. Eliminating the impact of the ETS on fertilisers. Kdam Cbam specifically currently has a direct impact, and so now is the time to take action on that. The impact of sebum must be gotten rid of, and furthermore, tariffs on essential fertilizers should be suspended. If things aren't done this way, it's going to be much more difficult. We can see that a special effort has been made by Commissioner Hanson on this plan, which we do applaud. And now we turn to Vice President Ribera to move forward on the aspects I mentioned. As for the member states, this doesn't stop here. This is a matter of food. It affects all of us and we all need to react. So that affects the member states as well. They need to react and place strong measures on the table to tackle this. Otherwise our food will not be guaranteed in the harvest this year. Well, we're seeing that it's going to be very difficult across many member states. Thank you.”
  Use of fertilisers
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And happy New Year to everybody. And thank you very much to the visitors from the union, from my country who are here. I have a very specific question in in my view, research is not sufficient at the moment what the member states and EU need to improve capacity for research, but we also have asymmetry on imports and animal health. Now of course, the funding arrives very late. And then there's also the idea of categories because for example, lumpy skin disease perhaps shouldn't be in category A. And if we look at borders as well in Catalonia with France, there are many problems in this regard. So we need to make things better for livestock breeders, and we need to make use of this time to work on research, which is fundamental for the EU and member states. And we also need to be consistent. Furthermore, when it comes to imports, this is essential. We need to ensure that they comply with the same standards. And obviously the category, as I was saying, because we have serious misgivings about that. Thank you.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• “Thank you, Madam President. Many thanks, Commissioner. I would also like to thank Mr. Boccaccini and Mr. Baroness Minto, as well as the shadow rapporteurs. This regulation represents a balanced response to the needs of farmers. It brings an end to the protection which for last minute cancellations of orders and brings protection for the whole chain. The authorities now can establish effective cooperation between countries, including third countries and third countries which refuse to cooperate or comply with their rules can be subject to European Union investigations. That's one of the main parts of this regulation. Protection of our farmers in the face of noncompliance from third countries. Meanwhile, Europe is getting ready for controls and checks. This is what farmers want. This regulation means that the offices responsible for import controls will be able to check plant health conditions and so on when it comes to imports, so as to ban products which don't comply with European standards. This means that third countries which don't comply with our standards will be subject to more checks and controls. This is a response to the real needs of farmers rather than populist promises which lead to nothing. This is what farmers need. So, for example, the safeguard clause we adopted yesterday. It's very different from the Moroccan agreement. The Moroccan Morocco doesn't have sensitive sectors, whereas the 21 days, 5% of the prices or market perturbation, that doesn't apply to Morocco. So in this case we have a five day limit for emergency situations. This is only something which can be limited once every three years, and for the safeguard clause would be six months of monitoring every six months conducted by the Parliament and the Commission. In other words, we're not talking about the same thing. This regulation brings more guarantees. The safeguard is ready and it could be extended to other agreements as well. We have responsibility here to protect our farmers, and we have to do this, uh, by working together. So congratulations, Mr. Boccaccini and your colleagues, for this excellent report.”
  Import of agri-food products in the EU
• “Thank you. The reality is the framework is going up, but the cap has been dropped by 21.8%. This means. That after 70 years of the cap, we're endangering its future. And there are sectors who simply don't have enough money, and those who need it most are being punished. We're not talking about big industries here. We're talking about family farms, SMEs who are fighting for their existence like winemakers or olive producers. So the European Parliament has to finish them. Next generation is something which the farmers will be funding as well in effect. The countries are blocking this. What the European Parliament is doing is trying to enable farmers to do their job. Of course we depend on them for food. Rural areas are essential, but we depend on farmers and livestock farmers. We now face the threat of tariffs. This isn't a good time to cut funding. Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding
• “(18:25:28 – 18:27:40): Thank you very much. First of all, we support the European Commission, which is opening the door to the use of drones in agriculture. That's a great idea by commissioner Hansen and also the directive and the regulation by the commissioner Varghelli. And precision agriculture, is the idea. It's not traditional fumigation, and drones are fundamental in order to ensure savings, 90% of fertilizers, PPPs, and water. So they are environmentally far more sustainable. And so Europe needs to think about, simplification. This is why we would call for a new European definition for precision agriculture. This should include drones, endotherapy, and seeds, and we think that's fundamental. And then we also support the elimination of duplications in livestock. All of this is already covered by the most recent European regulation. Therefore, we need to avoid duplication. In the case of the regulation, we support the actual acceleration of access to biocontrol substances logically and the mutual recognition among member states, but exceptional authorizations should be applied speedily and in a harmonized fashion throughout the European Union. For example, the, substance pyrididomide has been applied exceptionally in 6 countries, but in my country, Spain, it wasn't authorized. And that goes against the idea of harmonization. So we need to regulate all of that and make sure that it's simplified. There are 83 active substances that have been identified on the market, and some of them didn't have, reports regarding the effects on health. And then we need to think about seeds treated in the European Union. This is all essential to ensure useful tools to promote sustainability and healthy food and feed in the European Union.”
  Digital and precision farming
• “Thank you very much to the Commission as well. Now, clearly there has not been any cross-cutting policy in Europe when it comes to water. Clearly that we're talking about precipitation pollution. But at the same time we have to improve water capacity. It's not just about bans. Uh, in in isolation. What is the water Framework Directive do? It doesn't, uh, adopt a cross-cutting approach. We need more water. We need better infrastructure. We need better solutions. And we think that this can also be a source of employment in rural areas. Now, if scientists are coming up with ideological plans and that they're imposing it in countries in Spain, for example, the water plans are not upheld. In Valencia, for example, the dams were not checked, the lines were not maintained, and it led to drastic consequences. So this does not help anyone. It doesn't help farmers who are trying to incorporate new practices to improve their water performance. Use 20% less water. When we're talking about the circular economy as well, we have just 2 or 3% of water being recycled in that way. We have desalination plants. We have to also, of course, keep in mind the natural course of rivers. Now public private investment here is absolutely important. We also have to talk about improving urban infrastructure. We have 25% 5% loss across Europe. And then we have to talk about groundwater. This is our future. That's how we can have water regenerating.”
  Groundwater Directive
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Demetriou. Here. We have heard some interesting points made. We hear a lot about eco conditionality and requirements. What about incentives? We of course believe in sustainability and fighting climate change. But what's the best way to approach this? We have 25% of the Cap budget channelled towards eco and environmental conditions. Are we listening to farmers? I think we need to ensure that the Commission honors its commitments, ensures major simplification and that we focus on the needs of small farmers. We. Also need to. Consider the needs of professionals in the sector. We need to look at other additional proposals. And we need to ensure that we focus on the right approach and good sustainable farming.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “Thank you very much, chair. Thank you, colleagues. For us, Morocco is a southern neighbor. It's a key partner for the EU. There's no doubt about that. Trade agreements need to be fair and balanced agreements. What happened here? Well, the fisheries agreement came to an end in July 2023 and nothing else has been said. The commission has never said what direction negotiations are heading in. And then the same can be applied to agriculture. Article 218 of the Tfeu. I think you've missed that. You haven't complied with that, because we see that we're being handed a fait accompli. So over the course of five years, 50% of the quota was lost and 70% of the tomatoes quota went to Morocco. How is this checked? Is it with tariffs or without tariffs? Is it. Are there controls and balances at the border crossing points? What are we doing? Has the price been updated? €46 per 100kg. That's the same price that hasn't been updated. And we're referencing the the UK here. That's a market to which we've which we've lost. So we need trade agreements. But there need to be safeguard automatic safeguard clause clauses. Reciprocity is important and there needs to be a clear appropriate quota. As Europeans we need to preserve food sovereignty because if not, we're going to end up depending on food coming from third countries. What do fishermen and women and farmers throughout the EU want? They want fair agreements that do not undermine the sector. They have put in such great efforts and they want agreements to be enforced. We want tariffs. We want payments to be made, we want checks and balances, and we want to be able to give our agreement as a parliament. Agreements with Morocco, which is a privileged key EU partner, is extremely important. Okay. But this cannot be done without working with the Parliament and taking into account what is happening in the export sector. What is happening in farming and fishery sectors throughout the EU?”
  Trade relations with Morocco
• “(11:24:48 – 11:27:04): Thank you. Mister De Mayo, you have a very important file in your hands and I've presented amendments about geographic indications. Now I think that it's a priority to support these products that are very successful in your country and in mine, even though that there isn't a lot of money, it may have increased, but it's still not a lot, but not everything is being used. Okay, we have the organic products, but if we look at the money for GIs, there's a deficit because there is a greater request than the amount available. So we can't lose any money. We can't waste even €1 because the sector needs it. So please be very careful with my amendments on the geographical indications. Please. Yes. Thank you, chair, and thank you, Demeo, for the excellent work you're carrying out on a strategic point for the future of European agriculture. There is a lot of tension at an international level. It affects the markets and there is global competition, which is getting stronger. So we need to strengthen promotion. It has to be a pillar of GAP. We need to promote European products because that means supporting farmers' incomes, but it also means making our enterprises more competitive. It means strengthening our sector that's based on sustainability, quality and animal welfare as well. That's why we need to insist on our geographic indications on our designated products. And we have to remember that von der Leyen had proposed to triple the funds, so we asked them to respect their promises. Flanagan?”
  Export of EU agri-food products
• “Thanks to the Court of Audit for this special report, which confirms what many olive oil producers have reported for years. The European control system for olive oil is well thought out on paper, but in practice it's vulnerable and shows many shortcomings. We've heard about structural limitations, which risk undermining transparency and damaging those who work professionally according to the rules. As a representative of one of the main producer countries, Italy, the second largest in Europe. We cannot accept that the shortcomings when it comes to cross border traceability continue to offer these loopholes for irregular producers, hurting other producers and consumers. In fact, the figures are alarming, and it means that in the end, only half of the oil is actually acceptable and a system which should guarantee confidence in the whole sector. Now, the think about the compatibility between different national systems is not a minor problem. Also, when you look at the fraud on the markets and various labelling problems throughout Europe, we also need to think about the homogenous nature of things between member states. Spain and Italy, through their excellence, cannot make up for shortfalls elsewhere. So in this context, we. The recommendation of the court seem to me a a pressing priority to actually enforce. We need to think about this when it comes to recording olive oils, to look at compatibility of national traceability systems, because it's not just a matter of technical issues, it's also a necessary precondition to make the whole olive oil system and the control system credible. We need to think this between national records, any effort to try and control and to check this fraud, otherwise it will be in vain. I close with three questions. The report tells us that 50% of oils analysed were traced. What and where was the the greater shadows cast here. But the second court the court approved already existing at his inter operable systems in other sectors. Which ones are they. And finally this recommendation to member states when it comes to the role that the Commission might have in coordinating and financing this coordination effort. Thank you.”
  Food labelling harmonisation at EU level
• “Thank you chair. Thank you to the Commission. The EPP has it clear. The impact of this from China has led to a drop of prices. So 30%. And it's also led to a drop in exports. This has serious repercussions. And we are seeing the political situation and how. This is a being affected too. It's very unfair. We're talking about a the sector in Spain and how it's one of the most affected. Where I'm from, Andalusia is one of the most affected too. We need a dialogue and proactivity. We have to investigate in the WTO to clarify whether or not this is causing material damage, if there are any negative repercussions. We need to speak with China and enter into dialogue and be proactive to lower those tariffs. Now is the time to act as it has not been done now because it's affecting the whole food sector. Thank you.”
  Trade relations with China
• “(11:45:26 – 11:47:39): Thank you, sir. Anna Pena for, Digi Grow, policy officer at the forced labor team. So we are together with the trade colleagues in charge of overseeing the implementation of the forced labor regulation. Just to inform that the forced labor regulation will enter into application as of 12/14/2027. So for the time being, we are carrying out the preparatory work and getting ready for the implementation and adopting the necessary tools, at the same time as entering into dialogue with all the directorate generals that in a way and order will be involved also in our investigations like it is the case of Digimare for the fishing sector. Just to mention that as of 12/14/2027, we will have in place a forced labor portal where there will be the possibility of submit complaints about forced labor through the single information submission point that will be available for any legal entity, citizen, worker or victim that have evidence of any possible forced labor happening in products that have a link with the EU market. So we will investigate always those products and economic operators with a link to the EU market. And well, for more information, we can provide, if needed, more information. We are very grateful for the all the presentations received here, and we think that all the investigations that have been carried out by the different actors will be also very useful to inform the investigations that the commission will carry out. Also, just to mention that there is a division of labor regarding investigations on forced labor. So the commission, DGRO, will take over the investigations that are happening in third countries outside the European Union. And the European Union member states competent authorities will take over all all those cases of forced labor that are happening within EU territory or within EU member states. Thank you so much.”
  EU policy on labour exploitation in global supply chains
• “Since we have more than five members of the committee calling for a secret ballot, we will now proceed on this nomination. Giuseppe. We will proceed with the secret ballot.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• “Sometimes we lack that exhaustive and up to date information, not because people aren't doing their work, but because these are complicated studies and it takes time to get the data. And we need that data in order to take the relevant tacking quotas decisions that of course, are fishers need. And then the last issue. Is, um, linked to what I discussed this morning. We had the DG representative and we had Commissioner Kadis as well. We talked about the oceans pact. The oceans pact is a vital tool, and we need to see how we can flesh out this tool. We want the fisheries sector to be at the heart of our policy and of course, the the environment and the, um, uh, fishing ground situation are also vital. But we have different activities, uh, uh, coexisting. And that's what the oceans Pact is about. Now we're worried about climate change. We're worried about the impact of climate change on our societies, on oceans, and on our fishing industry, as well as well as the impact on our waters and fishing grounds. I'm sure this will have a bearing on the studies and the scientific research that you're carrying out. So I would really appreciate it if you could give us a little bit more information on this. What kind of steps are you taking in order to assess the impact of climate change? How, um, is this influencing your scientific studies? So I'm going to give you the floor for ten minutes so you can answer these questions are put to you by the MEPs. And I hope that we will be able to continue with this excellent work done at the FAO.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “Commissioner Seja, President, we have to recognize the path we've taken. I think a path towards simplification will be the right one and it looks like there's going to be more money for young farmers and more for the crisis reserve. So there's also going to be more support for NGOs and for new active substances. We need all of these for our farmers and there needs to be a strengthening of various sectors including the forestry sector so that we can deal with forest fires. But let's not lose sight of FTAs. We need to have strengthened safeguard clauses in our FTAs but we need to have an office which is solely devoted to import controls. We need to have a CAP which isn't nationalized and don't mix up the second pillar with cohesion funds. The Parliament has already done its bit, Commissioner. Commissioner, help us to improve the budget and now I turn to the Council. The member states must show action through their votes not just mere words. All of that is very important for agriculture. I think we're talking with heart and soul to defend our livestock sectors and our agri sectors. So there are good things in this proposal but many things that we also need to improve. Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding
• “Thank you. Chair. What is being set up here by the commission? Sounds well and good, but what's clear is something which hasn't been considered. Is that the farming Sector and brings nature. And if we don't go based on that, that's where there's an issue. This could be difficult in practice, and it seems like a simple voluntary system which could bring economic opportunities and environmental ones. But at the moment. The we have the integrated pest management and other things. This keeping the rural landscape alive. Or are we going to create trust because with um, carbon et-cetera without excessive costs for agriculture? So it sounds good. We believe that it's, um, a simple voluntary system. At the moment. It measures what's already being done in the agricultural sector at the moment. Of course. Um. It should be adapted to the territory. We, uh, do agree with it, but we need to see the small print.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “Thank you, madam chair. Well, thank you to the commission on the proposal for the fertilizer action plan. I think it was absolutely essential, but there's some important issues here for both the present and the future. What I'm going to do though is highlight what's lacking, and that is the environmental side. The commission has to drive for the issues on CBAM and free trade because without all of this, it's going to be very difficult to reduce the cost and also the urgent suspension of nitrogen fertilizer duties. Right now, we may have possibility of renewing this for the future, but I don't know. What is quite clear is that right now, it's very difficult for us to achieve a short term solution. And so I think there's a good plan before us. We'll have the opportunity to discuss it, but I think we're missing a really important part. And if a fertilizer is authorized on an urgent basis in one country, we have to be quite clear that basically, CBAM provisions have to apply in all member states. Thank you.”
  Use of fertilisers
• “(09:56:55 – 09:57:28): Think a great amount of work has been done, very well done. With that said, we can now move on to the public hearing on tackling fisheries related crimes and protecting EU fishers and fisheries from such crime and IUU fishing. And therefore, I'd like to welcome our 5 speakers. They will each have 8 minutes to speak followed by a Q and A session.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “(09:51:14 – 09:52:33): we've been discussing this with the parliament services, they're suggesting the Thursday. But early in the morning on the Thursday, hopefully, it won't be too difficult. It's not Thursday, late morning, but first thing. And we'll discuss this with the coordinators. We'll keep you informed. And if there are any other more complicated issues, then we can address those as they arise. If you agree, we move on now to the voting. Please have your voting cards ready. We now move on to the vote concerning amending regulation 2023/2124 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean Agreement Area. As you know, Ms. Zofko from the EPP is the rapporteur for this legislative procedure. We will now move on to the vote. This will be a roll call vote. The vote is open. The vote is closed. No.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “(10:02:12 – 10:02:43): Thank you very much, Miss Lukalinec. Now I think that we are all ready for the hearing. So we're going to talk initially about crimes related to fisheries. So we're going to hear from Ian Urbina first who is from the Outlaw Ocean Project. He's online, and he's going to speak for a maximum of 8 minutes. So, Mister Ian Urbina, you have 8 minutes.”
  EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters
• “Thank you very much indeed, Commissioner. Being from Andalusia, I would like to start by reminding you what's happening back home in my area. All the flooding, not just, of course, in Andalusia, but in Spain. Farmers are desperately badly affected by it, and some of them are likely to lose huge percentages of their livelihood. Others have lost family members already. They work extremely hard and we need to make sure that the legislation works for them. This is a good piece of regulation which should support rural areas, the Mediterranean diet and the countryside. It should create opportunities and it should also harmonise labelling rules, which can be problematic. It will allow partially dealcoholized wine to be sold and consumed and it should facilitate Improvements in the sector in general. I am from near and we would certainly welcome simplification in the labelling. We produce some of the best wines the world over and we want to continue producing and selling them. And so I'd like to say that I welcome the support that you're giving the sector at the rural world and the wine sector, and I think it's important that we have this sectoral support in the appropriate framework. We also need to make sure that we always continue to see things in the wider context. And the MFF has got to be part of this too, so that we have appropriate financing at the appropriate proportions and appropriately distributed. Thank you.”
  Food labelling harmonisation at EU level
• “Thank you, Mr. de Nascimento Cabral. Of course, we are all greatly saddened by this. Uh, and this will be included in the minutes of this committee meeting. Having said this, we now move on to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. You'll recall that our rapporteur from the left is rapporteur are the committee responsible is envy. And with the consideration of the draft opinion, has a deadline for tabling amendments of the 10th September 2025 at 12 noon. And since. Unfortunately, Miss Faro couldn't be here today, She'll be substituted by Mr. Flanagan. You will now have the floor for five minutes so that you can introduce this draft report. Mr. Flanagan, go ahead please.”
  EU ocean policy
• “So. So what I was saying, when we talk about the issue of water and oceans. Marine strategy for the Oceans Pact is quite important. We we we like we in the EPP like the fact that there is a joint and coordinated approach to the marine strategy issue. The fishing committee as well, env committee, other committees are all involved also. I think that the Commission is doing a very good job here, because we are seeing that undesirable circumstances are actually increasing in the marine area and the seas that we need to deal with, especially when we talk about invasive species due to contamination, that are creating difficulties for those sectors that work on or with the seas and oceans. And of course, in making sure that we can keep the seas and oceans in the best condition possible, which is as important, which is so important because of fighting against climate change. This is important for us to work on this and do as good as possible. I think this report is going in the right direction. What's important is that we all work together here. We fundamentally believe that when it comes to this issue, that we have a cross-cutting work being done is what's going to be most essential. Coordination and the implementation of measures is absolutely essential for the future of a subject, which is as important as this one is. And I also don't don't want to fail to mention in the previous debate, we talked about water, about how important as well the, um, the water basins are as well. Mr. Lopez also spoke about the hooker in Spain, and I don't know if it was a mistake or not, but said that the, that, that that was something that was the management of the hooker was dealt with only on a local level. But that's not true at all. It's very much a national issue in Spain. In our country, the management of the Jucar is a national issue.”
  Water pollution
• “Thank you chair. Thank you Commissioner. Congratulations for the simplification package. It's very important. I think it's key for young people, but I just want to quickly say when it comes to succession, farming, succession, succession, that's very important. It's very complicated at the moment from passing from parents to children and in general in we can see that agriculture of the future. So everything related to drones and and technologies, etc. this is all very important to give people opportunities, but it's also important to protect professions competitiveness. So I don't understand the aggressivity. It's um, this is 21st century farming. Respect is very important also, um, respecting trade practices for imports, for example. And that would be a very good idea.”
  Digital and precision farming