| Nature Restoration happy(ish) end Those rooting for the EU to adopt its Nature Restoration Law breathed a sigh of relief this week when the European Parliament and Council found a political agreement on the file in the last round of so-called trilogue talks on Thursday night (9 November). While the compromise still has to be formally adopted by both sides, the agreement comes as a conclusion to months of drama around the file, which was culminated in a highly contested parliament vote this summer. On one side, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) put the fight against the law at the centre of its budding elections campaign, arguing it would harm European farmers. On the other hand, left-wing parties pushed not to drop what they see as a crucial part of the Green Deal. For this latter faction, Thursday’s agreement comes as a bittersweet victory: While Green lawmakers and environmentalists showed relief at the fact that a compromise was found at all and the proposal was not outright rejected, they lamented that parts of the proposal were watered down. “Although the cocktail mixed for the law is drinkable, it certainly tastes bitter,” German Green Martin Häusling said in a statement.
NGT debate Left-wing parties in the European Parliament pushed back this week against a proposal by European People’s Party (EPP) lawmaker Jessica Polfjärd to relax rules on new genomic techniques (NGTs). Polfjärd wanted even more liberalisation than what the Commission aimed for in its proposal on gene editing – a number of new scientific methods used to alter genomes with the aim of genetically engineering certain traits into plants. The most controversial tweaks proposed by the centre-right lawmaker on Tuesday (7 November) include allowing NGTs in organic farming and removing the labelling requirements for NGT-based crops that are indistinguishable from those obtained through conventional breeding.
Glyphosate showdown coming up The vote on the re-approval of glyphosate is going into the second round next week after a first vote in October remained inconclusive. On Thursday (16 November), national representatives are set to re-vote on the Commission’s proposal to renew the approval of the most widely used herbicide in the EU for 10 years. Should the second-round vote produce neither a so-called qualified majority in favour nor against the proposal, the Commission is free to take the decision unilaterally. Time, in any case, is running out: The current approval of glyphosate expires in December, so a decision will need to be made before then.
Enough is enough, says the WHO on alcohol EU policymaking Anyone who has worked in the Brussels bubble is used to the practice of industry associations, big corporations, NGOs, and civil society organisations to lobby MEPs before an important vote at the Parliament. This time, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has decided to address the EU lawmakers ahead of a crucial European Parliament vote, expressing increasing concern about a “scientifically inaccurate and worrisome” wording on alcohol use. The attempt from MEPs to ‘water down’ the alcohol cancer risk by warning only against an alleged ‘harmful use’ was not well-digested and triggered the unprecedented action. EURACTIV’s agrifood editor Gerardo Fortuna put his hands on the letter, you can read more in this story.
Hidden costs of food systems Health-related costs account for most of the hidden costs of the EU agri-food system, an official of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) told Euractiv while presenting the UN agency’s latest report on the matter. The study, published on Monday (6 November), found that in Europe, 82% of the hidden costs are due to unhealthy diets which lead to lower labour productivity. The FAO expects the global hidden costs in 2023 to reach $13.2 trillion – with the bulk of the increase on the health side – and acknowledges that food marketing, labelling and certification are “vital” to influence consumers’ behaviour.
Not-so-hidden costs of olive oil Olive oil prices in the EU have continued to go through the roof this year, as new data from EU statistics agency Eurostat shows. By September this year, prices were 75% higher than in January 2021. The spike is mostly seen as a consequence of extreme weather events in producing regions – think of the recent severe drought on the Iberian Peninsula, for instance. In Spain, oil practically achieved luxury status when some supermarkets started putting anti-theft alarms on the bottles- the same ones they use for perfumes and liquor. | 