European Union News - Agriculture & Fisheries

The European Commission reported that the EU member states did not reach a qualified majority in the Appeal Committee on the Commission proposal to restrict the use of 3 neonicotinoid insecticides. In absence of an agreement between member states, it is now for the Commission to decide on the adoption of the proposed restriction.

The European Commission presented strategic guidelines with the aim at coordinating efforts across all member states to foster the development of EU aquaculture. The Commission stressed that these guidelines do not create new legal obligations, but present a series of voluntary steps that member states.

The European Commission has approved a contribution of €35,97 million to the total budget of the 22 programmes to promote agricultural products in the European Union and in third countries. The third countries/regions targeted are: Russia, China, North America, South-East Asia, Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine, India and South-Korea.

A decision on accounting rules and information on actions concerning greenhouse gas emissions and removals resulting from activities related to land use, land use change and forestry, was adopted by the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. In addition, the Council adopted a regulation on a mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Commission published the EU-wide test results for horsemeat DNA and phenylbutazone made in the wake of the horsemeat scandal. The results have revealed that less than 5% of the tested products had horse DNA and that about 0.5% of the equine carcasses tested were found to be contaminated with bute.

The European Commission adopted a measure on requirements to be fulfilled by companies when submitting applications for the authorisation of new GMOs for food/feed uses. With this Regulation, the Commission seeks to reinforce and improve the authorisation process of GM food and feed and to clarify the requirements for submitting a request. The new rules will apply 20 days following publication in the Official Journal of the EU.