A two-year reprieve for the EU's "food for the needy" programme, on which 18 million of the EU's most deprived people rely, was backed by the Agriculture Committee on Monday. If Parliament as a whole endorses the plan to rescue the programme, it will run until the end of 2013, with a budget of up to €500 million per year.

Līdz 50% no ēšanai derīgās pārtikas nonāk ES mājsaimniecību, lielveikalu un sabiedriskās ēdināšanas iestāžu atkritumos. Vienlaikus 79 miljoni ES iedzīvotāju dzīvo zem nabadzības sliekšņa un 16 miljoni ir atkarīgi no labdarības iestāžu nodrošinātas pārtikas. Parlaments ceturtdien pieņemtajā rezolūcijā aicina steidzami rīkoties, lai līdz 2025. gadam uz pusi mazinātu pārtikas šķērdēšanu Eiropā un uzlabotu trūcīgo iedzīvotāju piekļuvi pārtikai.

Parliament voted on Wednesday to reject a proposed extension of the controversial EU-Morocco fisheries agreement. It called on the Commission to negotiate a new, more environmentally and economically beneficial deal, which should take account of the interests of the Sahrawi population. The current protocol, which has applied provisionally since 28 February 2011, will cease to apply immediately.

Eiropas Savienībai ir jāsedz līdz 95% no lauku attīstības projektu izmaksām Latvijā un citās krīzes skartās valstīs — Grieķijā, Īrijā, Portugālē, un Rumānijā, tādējādi veicinot ekonomikas atgūšanos no krīzes, sekmējot ieguldījumus un palielinot konkurētspēju. Palielinātas līdzfinansējuma likmes būs spēkā īslaicīgi, līdz 2013. gada beigām.

New rules to give farmers fairer prices for raw milk were agreed by MEPs and Council negotiators on Tuesday, but still need to be confirmed by the Parliament as a whole and the Council.

Almost 50% of edible and healthy food gets wasted in EU households and supermarkets each year while 79 million EU citizens live beneath the poverty line and 16 million depend on food aid from charitable institutions. The Agriculture Committee called on Wednesday for urgent measures to halve food waste by 2025 and to improve access to food for needy EU citizens.

The European Parliament should agree to extend the controversial EU-Morocco fisheries agreement, said the Fisheries Committee in an eagerly awaited vote on Tuesday. If approved by the whole House, the new protocol would provide fishing opportunities for 119 EU vessels and allocate special funds to support sustainable fisheries in Morocco until the end of February 2012.

To protect law-abiding EU fishermen and to preserve biodiversity of the world's oceans, the EU must promote international action to fight illegal fishing, including stepping up inspections at sea, closing markets to illegal seafood and imposing sanctions on negligent states, says resolution voted by Parliament on Thursday.

Bišu mirstība pieaug, un tas var apdraudēt pārtikas ražošanu Eiropā un pasliktināt vides stāvokli, jo bites apputeksnē lielāko daļu augu. Par to deputāti brīdina otrdien pieņemtajā rezolūcijā, kurā aicina Eiropas Savienību palielināt ieguldījumus jaunu zāļu pētniecībā un koordinēt pasākumus arvien vairāk apdraudēto medus bišu aizsardzībai.

How can EU farm policy be reshaped to make it less bureaucratic, and help farmers to produce high-quality foods at competitive prices even in times of crisis? Legislative reform proposals were debated Monday at a unique meeting of EP Agriculture Committee MEPs, Member States' farm ministers and the European Commission.