Agrifood
Tsipras says CAP and regional policy cuts a ‘gift’ to anti-Europeans
Athens will oppose proposed cuts in the post-2020 agricultural and regional policy as this will be a “gift” to anti-EU populist forces, Greek premier Alexis Tsipras said on 13 December at the EU Council.
US ethanol producers: We are oil’s biggest competitor, cleaner too
Increasing ethanol use will help countries around the world meet their Paris Agreement climate goals in a cheaper way, US producers told EURACTIV.com, staking their claim to a higher role for the fuel, alongside electricity, in decarbonising transport.OpinionPromoted content
EU public says enough is enough on tobacco control
Recent polling evidence shows that public appetite for yet more measures to clamp down on smoking has been exhausted, says Guillaume Périgois.
MEPs ready to negotiate EFSA’s transparency rule, but need to find a new negotiator
The long and troubled parliamentary procedure to overhaul the current food transparency rules for European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) ended in an unexpected twist as the EPP’s rapporteur Renate Sommer asked to withdraw her name from the report just passed by the Parliament's plenary.
Baltic farmers in Brussels to restore CAP’s ‘historical anomaly’
Farmers from the Baltic countries will gather on 13 December in Brussels to call for a fairer distribution of payments in the framework of the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The EU and mako sharks: From sinner to saviour?
The EU should match its rhetoric on sustainable fisheries by leading global efforts to preserve mako sharks, argues Staci McLennan.
Biofuels lead efforts to protect the climate
With every passing year, the pathway to a stable climate gets narrower and more difficult to navigate. Meanwhile, the reports from our planet’s top scientists paint an increasingly grim picture of what to expect if the swing in global temperatures cannot be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, writes Craig Willis.
RED2: what is next for palm oil?
The boom of palm oil in the EU biofuels mixture since 2012 took centre stage in the debate about the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED2).
Sustainability, authenticity and short supply chain in Sicily: The example of Valdibella and Paterna Bio
Some Sicilian companies in the agri-food sector have chosen a different model of producing and selling. The idea is to recover the “human” contact with the product and with the consumer. EURACTIV’s partner Sicilia Agricoltura reports. It’s an agriculture that...
IEA chief: Ethanol ‘very important’ to reduce oil dependence
Ethanol will have a very important role in decarbonising the transport sector globally, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) told EURACTIV.com. Another energy expert said electrification will play a major role in transport but is not applicable to all sectors, which is where biofuels come in.
Biofuels and electromobility are key in Portugal’s transport decarbonisation
Portugal will use both electromobility and biofuels to decarbonise its transport sector by 2050, José Mendes, Portuguese First Secretary of State for Mobility - Environment and Energy Transition, told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
COP24: Options to decarbonise transport
Transport is the only sector of the economy whose GHG emissions are increasing globally, scientists have warned.
Ideological divisions mar the pesticide special committee’s last act
A deeply divided European Parliament’s PEST Committee stuck to its broad mandate and approved a diluted final report on pesticides, as political confusion continued to hinder attempts to revise the current protocol for their authorisation.
Can Europe help combat the dying out of farms?
In the debate over the reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP), there is also the question of how funding allocation can be better adapted to the regions’ specific needs. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Commission to determine EU tariffs on Myanmar, Cambodia rice
EU countries failed on Tuesday (4 December) to determine whether to impose tariffs on rice coming from Cambodia and Myanmar from the start of next year to curb a surge in imports, leaving the European Commission to take the final decision.
Decisions on unfair trade practices will make or break its usefulness for producers
The forthcoming Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs) directive, which is being finalised in negotiations over the next two weeks, aims to tackle the worst behaviours of the big food buyers, writes Thomas Wills.
EU still leads the way on animal testing alternatives, industry representative says
The EU continues to lead the world in balancing ethics with science, although the gap with other regions is "significantly" narrowing, Charles Laroche, industry co-chair of the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing.
Efficient spending at the roots of MEPs divisions over new CAP
The post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) discussions started at long last in the European Parliament, but in a deeply divided Agricultural Committee. MEPs still seem a long way from an agreement on how to spend the money and who should get the subsidies.
France hoping for a greener future CAP
Paris wants to place the emphasis on greening measures in the future Common Agricultural Policy. This is in order to support the transition to agroecology. EURACTIV France reports.
Boosting farm innovation fast through cooperation
The European innovations partnerships in agriculture (EIP-AGRI) build bridges between science and practice by connecting farmers, researchers, advisors businesses, and environmental groups.
EU auditors insist the new CAP is unclear on climate goals measurement
The complementarity of the EU's post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy with climate change goals remains a big challenge because the objectives are vaguely defined and short on measurable details, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) told EURACTIV.com.
The practical solution hidden in the EU’s 2050 climate-neutral strategy
When it comes to long-term transport decarbonisation, the European Commission has a short attention span, writes Emmanuel Desplechin. It should be encouraging solutions that work today, like sustainable biofuels.
CAP reform: Achieving more with less funding?
EU funding for agriculture is expected to become tighter after 2021. At the same time, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has an increasing number of objectives. So, how can more be achieved with less funding? EURACTIV Germany reports.