MEPs at the Environment Committee adopted a resolution in which call for setting up as a high political priority restoring ecosystems after knowing the EU has failed to meet its 2010 biodiversity target. In addition, they also stress that the CAP is not only a tool for food provision and rural development, but also for biodiversity conservation.

The Environment Committee at the European Parliament adopted a resolution in which it calls to establish as a priority to the EU to preserve and restoring damaged ecosystems. The resolution comes as an input after the European Commission strategy for 2020 was published in May last year, proving that the EU has failed to meet its 2010 biodiversity target.

Among the proposals included into the resolution, MEPs propose to dedicate at least 1% of the resources to environment protection on the next MFF (2014-2020). They also agreed that the target of restoring 15% of degraded ecosystems by 2020, set by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, should be considered a minimum. With regard to the threatened species and pet trade, MEPs propose to step up restrictions on trade in threatened species, and ask the European Commission to assess and make proposals for a ban on wild-caught animals for pet trade. The Commission is also invited to come forward this year with a legislative proposal on the problem of invasive alien plant and animal species.

On the other hand, MEPs regret that CAP measures directed at environmental protection have so far failed to halt the overall decline of biodiversity, and they agreed that CAP payments, including those made from 2014, should be underpinned by robust cross-compliance rules which contribute to the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services covering legislation on birds and habitats, water, pesticides and biocides.