Sergio BERLATO

Policy topics Sergio BERLATO is active on

What Sergio BERLATO has said (15)

• 2026-03-02 “E-000860/2026 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission The authorisations referred to by the Honourable Member aim to address exceptional circumstances related to animal or public health. These are only granted where the benefit of their immediate availability outweighs the risks linked to the absence of certain documentation. These authorisations are only valid for one year and subject to re-examination to confirm that i) the exceptional circumstances remain, and ii) the benefit-risk balance remains positive 1 . The outcome of their assessment as regards their quality, efficacy, risks to humans, animals and food safety, is reflected in the assessment reports prepared by the European Medicines Agency. These reports are publicly available in the EU Product Database 2 , ensuring full transparency. In accordance with the assessment 3 of the European Food Safety Authority, poultry holding density should be considered a major contributing factor for large highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) epidemics. Member States should consider this risk factor when designing their prevention strategy against HPAI. Vaccination may be used as a complementary tool that, added to biosecurity and other measures, can help prevention against infection and spread of HPAI in poultry. Currently, France is the only Member State implementing preventive vaccination against HPAI in poultry and only a few trading partners continue applying trade restrictions, limited to certain products of vaccinated poultry. 1 Articles 25 to 27 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on veterinary medicinal products. 2 https://medicines.health.europa.eu/veterinary/select-language?destination=/node/210934. 3 https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4991.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• 2026-02-26 “E-000812/2026 Answer given by Ms Roswall on behalf of the European Commission The Commission does not check itself the implementation of projects funded by co-funded partnerships like Biodiversa+ 1 but ensures that mechanisms are in place to meet criteria for excellent research, including for statistics. The implementation of TransWILD 2 is being supervised by the relevant Biodiversa+ Call Steering Committee, while the Research Executive Agency 3 oversees the implementation of Biodiversa+ under the supervision of the Commission. Co-funded partnerships pool resources from different partners to achieve common objectives, avoiding duplication of efforts. Biodiversa+ is co-funded by national research funding organisations (70%) and by Horizon Europe 4 framework programme (30%). The EU contribution to the budget of TransWILD amounts to a maximum of EUR 360 000. While the Commission cannot precisely comment on the details of statistical methodologies applied, using existing data is relevant for research activities. The TransWILD project was selected through a competitive and independent process and awarded under the 2021-2022 call on ‘Supporting the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems across land and sea’. While the change to the Habitats Directive 5 entails greater flexibility for the management of the wolf, the species remains protected. Member States have to adopt the necessary measures to ensure that the wolf achieves and maintains favourable conservation status. Therefore, investments in appropriate prevention measures remain essential to reduce livestock predation. The Commission continues to help Member States and stakeholders in the design and implementation of such measures through funding and other forms of support 6 . 1 https://www.biodiversa.eu/. 2 https://www.biodiversa.eu/2023/04/19/transwild/. 3 https://rea.ec.europa.eu/index_en. 4 https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/horizon-europe_en. 5 Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7–50. 6 Including Common Agricultural Policy interventions (https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agriculturalpolicy_en), research projects funded by Horizon Europe (e.g., https://cocoproject.eu/) and the EU programme for the environment and climate action (e.g., https://www.lifewildwolf.com/) that develop strategies for coexistence and prevention measures.”
  Large Carnivores
• 2026-02-20 “Answer given by President von der Leyen on behalf of the European Commission 10.6.2026 Written question The Commission is aware of the allegations against Peter Mandelson, who was Member of the Commission between November 2004 and October 2008. It takes these allegations very seriously and has referred the matter for appropriate follow-up to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) , within the latter’s independent investigative function. OLAF has confirmed it has opened a case but is not in a position to share details on individual cases or probes beyond the information and data already made public. This is in order to protect the confidentiality of investigations and of possible ensuing judicial proceedings, as well as to ensure respect for personal data and procedural rights. OLAF fully respects the presumption of innocence and the rights of defence of the persons/entities concerned. The EU has a strong legal and operational framework to support Member States in tackling serious crime with a cross-border dimension, including trafficking in human beings and child sexual exploitation. However, the investigation of criminal offences remains the competence of national authorities. Finally, since 2014 the Commission publishes transparent information on meetings held between Members of the Commission or Commission officials and interest representatives, and Members of the Commission publish additional information on their activities in their online public agendas. There are no registered meetings held between Jeffrey Epstein and/or his consultancy with the Commission in these publicly available sources.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions · EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters
• 2025-10-14 “E-004029/2025 Answer given by Mr Brunner on behalf of the European Commission The primary responsibility for public safety and law enforcement, including prevention, lies with Member States. The Commission can only take supportive measures such as facilitating cooperation and sharing of best practices. For example, on crime prevention, the Commission supports the European Crime Prevention Network 1 . Regarding security agreements with the Brussels-Capital Region, the Commission cannot directly negotiate local security arrangements beyond its own premises, but generally encourages collaboration between local, national, and EU-level authorities. Protecting children from violence, including crime, online as offline, is a core EU objective. To address the specific needs of children, who are exposed to recruitment and exploitation for organised crime, trafficking in human beings, radicalisation, grooming and child sexual abuse, among other threats, the EU will develop an Action plan on the protection of children against crime, encompassing the online and offline dimensions, keeping the best interests of the child as a primary consideration. 1 https://www.eucpn.org.”
  EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters · Privacy & law enforcement
• 2025-09-26 “E-003752/2025 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is committed to contributing, within the scope of its powers 1 , to the promotion of the shared memory of past conflicts in Europe. Safeguarding such common memory is essential to support the EU joint commitment to safeguarding EU values of human dignity, fundamental rights, rule of law and democracy for current and future generations. The Commission will continue to support projects across the EU that encourage remembrance and that foster a shared understanding of EU’s history, notably under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme 2 . Funding opportunities can be found on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal 3 under the Remembrance calls for proposals. In addition, the European Heritage Label (EHL) recognises sites that have played a significant role in EU’s history and in the construction of the EU. The Label is awarded every two years, with the next selection foreseen in 2027. Organisations and entities are encouraged to engage with their national EHL coordinators to explore opportunities for future nominations. The Commission recalls that remembrance policies and recovery and relocation of soldiers’ remains within the competence of the Member States. 1 See Article 167 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 2 https://commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/departments-and-executive-agencies/justice-andconsumers/justice-and-consumers-funding-tenders/funding-programmes/citizens-equality-rights-and-valuesprogramme_en. 3 EU Funding & Tenders Portal, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/fundingtenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home.”
  EU and national cultural identities
• 2025-09-08 “E-003474/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission Bark beetles are a large group, many of which are native to the EU. Non-European Scolytinae beetles are considered Union quarantine pests 1 and Member States are obliged to carry out surveys for their presence and take all necessary eradication measures if detected 2 . The Commission facilitates sharing of best practices with regular committee meetings and working groups. Emergency measures can also be taken at Union level. EU co-funding can be provided to Member States in case of outbreaks or for general surveillance. For native pests, there is no legal basis for Union measures, but other funds are available. For example, intervention SRD12 of the Italian Common Agricultural Policy Strategic plan 202327 provides for EU co-funding of investments in prevention of forest damage. Measure 8 of the regional rural development programmes 2014-2022 supported such investments in forest areas. Some Italian regions 3 affected by the native bark beetle have used the funds for implementing initiatives helping contain infestations. Several EU funded projects 4 supported sustainable forest management, resilience against threats like bark beetle, as well as tools for early detection. Under Horizon Europe 5 , a European co-funded partnership 6 is proposed to address pest outbreaks and support forest resilience, protection and restoration. Protecting, restoring and enlarging EU’s forests is a key pillar of EU Forest Strategy. Deliverables like voluntary guidelines on closer to nature forest management support forest owners in preventing bark beetle outbreaks by promoting mixed and heterogenous forests. The Nature Restoration Regulation plays also a key role in strengthening forest resilience and restoring areas degraded by disasters such as bark beetle outbreaks. 1 Annex II to 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, OJ L 319, 10.12.2019, p. 1–279. 2 Article 17 and Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament of the Council of 26 October 2016 on protective measures against pests of plants, amending Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 652/2014 and (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 69/464/EEC, 74/647/EEC, 93/85/EEC, 98/57/EC, 2000/29/EC, 2006/91/EC and 2007/33/EC, OJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4–104. 3 Such as Veneto and Emilia-Romagna. 4 HOMED: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/771271; B4EST: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/773383; RESONATE: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101081420; FORSAID: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101134200. 5 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-opencalls/horizon-europe_en. 6 ‘Forests and Forestry for a Sustainable Future’ https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/HORIZON_HORIZONCL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-15.”
  Nature protection and restoration in the EU · Management of EU forests
• 2025-04-22 “E-001588/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission At the EU level, Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC 1 sets basic restrictions and reference levels to guide the Member States on ensuring protection of the general public from exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF), in line with the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection adopted in 1998. The Commission regularly mandates independent scientific experts to assess new scientific evidence. In its most recent Opinion 2 , the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks concluded that there is no moderate or strong level evidence of adverse effects on human health from exposure to electromagnetic fields in the radio frequency range (100 kHz to 300 GHz) at levels below the limits set in the annexes to Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC. Therefore, there does not appear to be any risk from the development of wireless technologies using these frequencies within the recommended limits, including 5G. At present time, EU legal acts on EMF aim to ensure a high-level of protection of the general public in line with international standards, but an independent assessment of the impact on climate and the environment is not included. 1 Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC of 12 July 1999 on the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields (0 Hz to 300 GHz), OJ L 199, 30.7.1999, p. 59 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:31999H0519. 2 https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-06/scheer_o_044.pdf.”
  EU competences on health
• “Madam president. Commissioner. Dear colleagues. For far too long now, the European agriculture and agribusiness sector has been subject to unacceptable imbalances late payments, unilateral changes to contract conditions, cancellations at the last minute of orders. These are not just examples of a functioning market. They are practical examples which suffocate our farmers and undermine the continued existence of our farming businesses. Our farmers are not afraid of free trade agreements or the worldwide market, provided that the ground rules are the same for everybody. We can adopt as many rules as we want, but if we don't ensure that we have adequate checks and controls and penalties for those who don't respect the rules, those who don't respect the rules will then profit at the expense of those who do. The reality in the European Union is that we are making increasingly competitive farming sector. We have to prepare our farmers, not just to suffer passively, the effects of trade agreements to prepare for them. We have to ensure that the quality and typical value of our products be promoted around the world. Thank you.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “Madam President Commissioner, in the last few years, European consumers have had to grapple with skyrocketing, skyrocketing food prices, which is jeopardizing their purchasing power. Uh, and there are issues to do with production costs as well. So why do we have these prices? We have to look at the marketing. Often there is speculation, which is unacceptable. The conflict in Ukraine is still causing difficulty making it difficult to get energy products. And of course, this has a knock on effect on consumer prices. Over the last few years in Europe, we've just been talking about sanctions, weapons and battling against the enemy on the battlefields. Maybe the time has come to come up with solutions that will lead to peace. Thank you very much.”
  Agricultural trade: Ukraine imports
• “Madam president, Madam Commissioner, the community and national institutions have to face up to the ramifications of climate change because we are seeing a proliferation of wildfires, fires. But the fact of the matter is that in 96% of cases, fires are attributable to human intervention, either accidental or deliberate. And I think that shows us that we cannot confine ourselves to showering public resources on measures to mitigate climate change. But there's a better case for investing, investing in prevention and awareness raising amongst our citizenry when it comes to wildfires. Well, these occur because people carelessly discard a cigarette butt, or because they fail to properly deal with fires, or because of people recklessly starting fires. So what can we do in those cases? Well, all we can do is intervene promptly when those kinds of situations occur. But we should also be investing in raising awareness and educating people and trying to ram home to them the consequences of their actions on other people. So extremely costly as well, in terms of the economic damage and devastating from an environmental point of view, particularly when it comes to the substantial losses to biodiversity. But we cannot confine ourselves to preventive measures. We also have to try and anticipate these events and be there to intervene immediately to save people's lives, as well as to safeguard the environment. And I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the women and men who are there fighting fires as members of civil protection forces, and they offer to us their professionalism and their courage, and often put their lives on the line to do a valuable, indispensable service for the wider community. My most sincere gratitude to all of them, and thank you for listening.”
  Management of EU forests
• “Thank you very much. Chairman. Commission representatives, colleagues, agriculture is one of the fundamental pillars of the European Union. Some 8.7 million people are employed in agriculture throughout the European Union, according to latest Eurostat figures, 31% of these people are female. That notwithstanding, and one third is a lot. Women still encounter huge difficulties as compared with men in accessing resources such as finance, credit, land, structural support and subsidies. The OECD has indicated that if we were to reduce the barriers to women, we could increase the productivity from 20% to 30% in the agricultural area. The number of farms managed by women vary hugely from member state to member state. Usually in the rural areas, women have lower employment rates than men than men. Yet gender equality is a fundamental principle for the EU, and it's essential that we reach this target. It's not just a question of equity, it's a question of tackling rural exodus, depopulation of rural areas. It's absolutely vital that we have more targeted support in the rural and outermost areas. And this means access to loans, access to training, access to financial support so that it is possible for women to participate equally in the sector. It's also important that the institutions have the appropriate instruments and institutional structures and initiatives that they target them to support women, so that they can contribute equally to the development of the farm sector. The European Commission is doing a lot in terms of enhancing generational renewal. It has presented a strategy for young farmers, but this alone is not enough. We need more targeted support for women in agriculture. I've been the shadow on the file on the future of the Cap post 2027. And in that context, we sought very clearly to send out a message as to our priorities. One of them is the importance of women and their role in agriculture. We've emphasized the need for more targeted support, particularly in rural outermost regions, so that women have proper access to training, credit finance and support. So once again, we see that the commission is words speak louder than its actions. Thank you.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Ladies and gentlemen, for many, many years, people have been warning us about the risks to the climate, to the environment, from human activities. Uh, and now we've seen that it's not just a human, the human factor. Climate change has always existed throughout history. And there are numerous different causes. Not just it's not just human generated. There are solar phenomena that lead to changes as well. In other words, we're speaking about a natural, a natural change, a natural cycle which is taking place. But the truth is, is that the CO2, uh, which is introduced in the into the atmosphere by human beings is nothing actually compared to the CO2 which is generated by volcanoes and by other natural phenomena as well. So indeed, this is all being used to terrorize human beings and institutions and leading us into a state of total fear and terror.”
  Climate efforts
• “The president. Thank you. And this is absolutely tragic. It is absolutely vital that we do something about this. We know that climate change is a big issue. The weather patterns and weather impact is huge. And therefore we do need to address the climate impact, but it's vital that we do much more than that. Prevention is the name of the game. As I said, many fires are man made, 90% of them and we need to tackle the root causes sometimes. Sure, people are just dropping a fag end or not putting out a barbecue, but on other occasions there can be all kinds of other causes. So what is the Commission intending to do about tackling the climate change aspect? What is your intention in terms of resource investment in a constructive way? Thank you.”
  Management of EU forests
• “President. Commissioner. Colleagues here. There's too much paperwork, too many rules, too many controls which keep farmers away from their true vocation, from the land. Here we need to make sure that we can guarantee our own food security and guarantee their contact with the land. Let's look at these simplification measures. These are really a late answer to the legitimate protests of farmers who want to have more visibility and few fewer obligations. Fewer controls. But here there is a fundamental call from these small farms, which represent two thirds of all the farms in the European Union. We though, see positively the rules that are in place for generational change, because without changing the rules, there won't be any place for new farmers. However, we can't just have this as a short term experiment. We need to have long lasting programs in place which then guarantees food for Europe.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “President, Commissioner, distinguished colleagues. Now we talk about global warming as though this were something unprecedented and as though it was all caused by human activity. But, you know, there are scientists who tell a different story because thousands of years ago, the average temperature of the Earth was much higher than it is now, is now. And of course, now we're using carbons derived from oil. And studies have concluded that this will have catastrophic consequences. But we have serious scientists with seriously documented research who have shown that climate change has always existed and will always exist, and we just have different levels of solar intensity. It has ever been thus throughout human history. Whereas we are now seeing this ideology being used to penalize the public and for the purposes of justifying taxes to limit individual freedoms. And there are no rational justifications for this. Thank you.”
  Climate efforts