Latest from Brussels

Pesticide Regulation Progresses to Plenary Following Environment Committee Vote

The Environment Committee in the European Parliament (ENVI) has ensured a core part of the EU Green Deal – the pesticide regulation –  progress towards completion. In a vote yesterday (24th October)  the  SUR – sustainable use of pesticides regulation  – saw some changes introduced, but progress maintained. Despite many delays over the regulation since last June, the SUR text will now face a plenary vote by all Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in November. […]

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GMO-Free Europe – Still Possible?

In Brussels, resistance is brewing against the European Commission’s bold plans for new GMO technologies (NGTs) in plant breeding, unveiled on July 5. The stage for this showdown was set at the 10th GMO-Free Europe Conference, a collaborative effort between the GMO-Free Network and the Green European Parliament group. Here, a diverse coalition of 200+ experts, practitioners, scientists, consumers, and policy-makers converged to dissect the Commission’s proposal from every angle. Ashley Parsons reports. […]

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France – Pesticides, Mega-Basins and Who Gets to do What

The French retirement age isn’t the only debate making waves in the land of fraternity and croissants right now. One-third of French drinking water turns out to be contaminated thanks to a banned pesticide, which is unsettling news. So shouldn’t it be about time to retire some pesticides? This and the emergence of water-grabbing make up this this week’s round-up, French edition. Dive in with Ashley Parsons […]

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Protest, Pesticides and the Parliament – European news round up

Citizens voices are making noise in early 2023: Jan 21, in Berlin 10,000 turn up to march for a green, social agricultural future. And on Jan 19th, the EU Court of Justice announced the end of exceptions on the use of bee-killing neonicotinoids. Will the momentum spill over into the January 24th hearing at the EU Parliament? The Save Bees and Farmers citizens initiative will be presented and Members EU Commission Reps invited to exchange. […]

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SURe to find excuses – MEPs, Ministers & their PPPs (Persistent Pesticide Proposals)

After last week’s clear challenge to the SUR pesticide reform, this week the guns are blazing between MEPs and Commissioners pushing the reform. And in a familiar pattern in EU law-making, many Ministers are backing the business-as-usual block. Will we be reporting on the SUR until there are no more puns to be made? It seems that’s just what many politicians, with thier persistent pesticide proposals, want to enSURe. Ashley Parsons and Oliver Moore report. […]

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Winds of Change at COP27? Agri-climate news round

The winds of winter are blowing into Europe, over in Egypt is a different wind gathering force? A wind of change? Until the 18th of November, COP27 is taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Last year’s COP in Glasgow has largely been viewed by the international community as underwhelming. So what’s going on in COP and in agri-climate news? Sometimes it’s important to follow the money… […]