Tag: CAP

The European Parliament has agreed to rules that would prevent EU companies, particularly in the pharmaceuticals sector, from exploiting the natural resources of the world's indigenous communities by recognising their 'intellectual property rights' over local biodiversity.

The European Commission has proposed rules to combat the estimated €12 billion of damage caused every year to EU farming and infrastructure by invasive animal and plant species.

If biofuels received no EU policy support, the price of food stuffs such as vegetable oil would be 50% lower in Europe by 2020 than at present – and 15% lower elsewhere in the world – according to new research by the EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).

As Brussels returns from its summer break there is one piece of unfinished business before the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) political saga for 2014-2020 can be put to rest. Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council will lock horns in trilogue on two different ways to use the funds, one of which is more green than the other, writes Tony Long.

Syngenta, one of the main producers of thiamethoxam, a pesticide used to coat seeds before germination, has launched a legal challenge against the European Commission’s decision to temporarily ban the chemical overs fears it harms bees.

Health campaigners and NGOs have called on the EU to ban all endocrine-disrupting chemicals used in the production of some pesticides and everyday consumer products. But further bans will make it increasingly difficult for farmers to protect their crops from diseases without necessarily improving human health or the environment, argues Craig Winneker.

French farmers’ associations have accused the European Commission of responsibility for the “lack of regulation” which has led to an overproduction of eggs and a drop of prices below production costs. 

Small-scale agriculture is key to feeding Africans, not expensive stem-cell burgers cooked up in a western laboratory, writes John Vidal.

The European Commission is due in September to reconsider the EU’s rules on organic farming, including a likely review of certification standards and an assessment of the potential risks posed by genetically modified crops.

Spain is studying retaliatory measures against the British territory of Gibraltar in an escalating dispute over fishing grounds, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo has said.

The sight of China's companies and even tourists buying up European baby milk products has given farmers a glimpse of what could be the export upside of an at times feared opening up of Europe's dairy market.

EU member states have agreed to support sanctions against the Faroe Islands, including a possible import ban or closing its ports to its boats, to protest the islands' decision to triple the limit on herring fishing.

The UN’s agricultural organisation has urged governments in developing countries to ban a toxic pesticide – already outlawed in the European Union – linked to the deaths this month of more than 20 children in India.

As the European Commission’s proposed negotiation positions on a new global anti-poverty framework call for a stronger role for the private sector in addressing energy and food security, an African farming group leads the way on how such partnerships could be put in place.

EU foreign ministers underscored on Monday (22 July) that tensions over access to water are likely to rise in the next decade and could endanger stability in many parts of the world. They also highlighted the potential of “water diplomacy” and the need to promote cooperation based on EU experience.

The European Union added a pesticide made by German chemical firm BASF to its blacklist of substances suspected of playing a role in declining bee populations.

EU efforts to limit the use of crop-based biofuels, increasingly seen as doing the planet more harm than good, won parliamentary backing on Thursday (11 July) in what a top biodiesel company called "a very bad blow".

Ahead of the launch of a study on the added value of EU spending, Bertelsmann Stiftung chairman and chief executive Aart De Geus points at the savings EU member states could achieve if they pooled and distributed resources more efficiently, for example in diplomatic and defence services.

Agreement on the first major reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in a decade won political approval in June 2013 after months of haggling over how ambitious the policy would be on overhauling direct payments, ending quotas, and making farmers more environmentally accountable. The long road to a deal means many policies won’t be implemented before 2015.

EU negotiators sealed a deal yesterday (26 June) on future farm policy after months of haggling over how ambitious the policy would be on ending quotas, overhauling direct payments to farmers and making agriculture more environmentally responsible.

Having managed to reach deals on banks and the long-term budget, EU leaders have started their two-day summit somewhat relieved, as they embark on talks to tackle youth employment, finance much-needed investments and boost growth. EurActiv obtained the draft conclusions. Read our live coverage, below.

Negotiations on the future of the post-2013 Common Agricultural Policy are to resume on Wednesday (26 June) at the European Parliament in Brussels after three days of talks failed to produce a hoped-for final agreement.