The European Parliament, along with the Commission and member states, reached an agreement on the reduction of methane, a climate-damaging gas. The proposal represents a compromise and is significantly more pragmatic than the original ideas of the Green Party's rapporteur, Jutta Paulus.
The environmental spokesperson Dr. Peter Liese along with colleagues Maria Spyraki and Dr. Christian Ehler, welcomed the outcome: “The regulation makes an important contribution to the reduction of climate-damaging methane, while the outcome is pragmatic because agriculture is initially exempted. Especially in the current phase, where food prices are rising, we must be extremely cautious about imposing burdens on agriculture. We also welcome that the rules for gas imports are flexible so that alternatives to Russian gas can continue to be used.”
On Tuesday, the Environment Committee voted on a reduction of plant protection products and a complete ban of plant protection products in sensitive areas in the European Union. Peter Liese, spokesman on environment policy in the biggest group of the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats) stated:
"The goal of reducing the use of plant protection products is right, but bans are wrong. That's why we reject a general ban on pesticides in so-called sensitive areas as well as a ban on glyphosate. Particularly in the current phase, when food prices are the driver of inflation, we must be careful not to drive costs up even further through political measures. The proposal for a total ban on pesticides is even opposed by conservationists in my region. Here, the Green rapporteur Sarah Wiener and those who support her compromise are overshooting the mark."
On Tuesday, the European Commission introduced a comprehensive paper addressing the drug shortage issue. The paper outlines both short-term and medium- to long-term measures. In detail, the European Commission proposes, among other things:
Read more: Battle against Drug Shortages - Commission Presents Communication
The EPP Group wants to slash packaging waste produced in Europe. "We want Europe to produce less packaging waste. However, the alternative solutions must be viable," says Massimiliano Salini MEP, the EPP Group's Chief Negotiator of the new rules aimed at reducing waste in the European Union, following the vote in the Parliament's Environment Committee earlier today.
The EPP Group wants companies to be more innovative and consumers to be better rewarded when it comes to reducing waste. "New rules for packaging and packaging waste in Europe are needed and wanted, also by the industry. The circular economy can only work if we get a real internal market", says Peter Liese MEP, the EPP Group's Spokesman on environmental issues.
Read more: New rules for packaging: Environment Committee adopts position