European Union News - Environmnet

Pan-European team of scientists has flagged up a number of nasty pesticides that pose a threat to river ecosystems and which they believe should be added to the list of chemicals classified as risky in the EU Water Framework Directive. According to the researchers, their study shows the list needs to be regularly updated.

The European Commission presented on October 12 a proposal to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which endorses a new partnership between Europe and its farmers. The project aims at making European agriculture more competitive, ensuring sustainable production, high food quality and promoting environmental conservation and revitalization of rural areas.

According to the last data released by the Statistical Office of the European Union there is a tendency in the European Union for larger holdings, as the average size of EU holdings which in 2003 was of 12 ha. per holding was by the end of 2010 of 14 ha. These figures are part of the preliminary results of the Agricultural census 2010.

Among the main results of the Environment Council held in Luxembourg on 10 October, EU Ministers the conclusions on Commission's assessment of the EU's 6th Environment Action Programme (EAP) 2002-2012. EU Ministers in charge for the Environment discussed how to improve EU action in this field as well as to ensure synergies between the 7th EAP and the Roadmap to a resource-efficient Europe.

The Agriculture Committee at the European Parliament called for EU-wide action to save bees. This demand is done having regard that an estimated 84% of plant species and 76% of food production in Europe depend on pollination by bees. MEPs ask to step up investment in research and increasing funding for apiculture programmes after 2013.

Two Europeans in three see climate change as a very serious problem and almost 80% consider that taking action to combat it can boost the economy and jobs. The results of a special Eurobarometer survey published shows that the European public is more concerned about climate change than it was in 2009.

MEPs at the Environment Committee consider that safety checks should be tightened up for pest and germ control products and more approvals should be managed at EU level. The proposed update to existing legislation covers a wide range of "biocides", but not those covered by other legislation, such as agricultural pesticides.

The Environment Committee at the European Parliament votes favorably to the proposal concerning changes to the current waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) Directive. According to MEPs, EU Member States should be obliged to collect and recycle more discarded fridges, phones and other e-waste. In addition, MEPs want to make easier for consumers to return small products and harder for unscrupulous operators to ship e-waste illegally out of the EU.

The European Commission launched a public survey on strengthening EU measures to reduce emissions of fluorinated gases. In addition, the Commission adopted a study which shows that EU's existing Regulation on fluorinated gases is having a significant impact but that, without further measures, F-gas emissions are expected to remain at today's levels in the long term.

The European Economic and Social Committee underlined that Rio+20 must rise to the challenge of paving the way for a new economic order, where sustainability and not just GDP will play a key role, during a debate with Janez Potočnik, the EU Commissioner for the Environment, and Ricardo Neiva Tavares, Head of the Mission of Brazil to the EU.