European Parliament legislative resolution of 4 October 2022 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 establishing a European Centre for disease prevention and control (COM(2020)0726 – C9-0366/2020 – 2020/0320(COD))

P9_TA(2022)0332 A9-0253/2021

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2020)0726),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 168(5) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0366/2020),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the reasoned opinion submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the French Senate, asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity,

–  having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 27 April 2021(1),

–  having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 7 May 2021(2),

–  having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 8 December 2021 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Budgets,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A9-0253/2021),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out(3);

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 4 October 2022 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 establishing a European centre for disease prevention and control

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2370.)

(1) OJ C 286, 16.7.2021, p. 109. (2) OJ C 300, 27.7.2021, p. 76. (3) This position replaces the amendments adopted on 14 September 2021 (Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0376).

European Parliament legislative resolution of 4 October 2022 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on serious cross-border threats to health repealing Decision No 1082/2013/EU (COM(2020)0727 – C9-0367/2020 – 2020/0322(COD))

P9_TA(2022)0333 A9-0247/2021

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2020)0727),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 168(5) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0367/2020),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the reasoned opinion submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the French Senate, asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity,

–  having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 27 April 2021(1),

–  having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 7 May 2021(2),

–  having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 29 June 2022 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A9-0247/2021),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out(3);

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 4 October 2022 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on serious cross-border threats to health and repealing Decision No 1082/2013/EU

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2371.)

(1) OJ C 286, 16.7.2021, p. 109. (2) OJ C 300, 27.7.2021, p. 76. (3) This position replaces the amendments adopted on 14 September and 11 November 2021 (Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0377 and P9_TA(2021)0449).

European Parliament resolution of 4 October 2022 on striving for a sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture: the way forward (2021/2189(INI))

P9_TA(2022)0334 A9-0215/2022

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission communication of 12 May 2021 on strategic guidelines for a more sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture for the period 2021 to 2030 (COM(2021)0236),

–  having regard to the Commission communication of 25 March 2021 on an action plan for the development of organic production (COM(2021)0141),

–  having regard to the Commission communication of 20 May 2020 entitled ‘A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system’ (COM(2020)0381), and to Parliament’s resolution of 20 October 2021(1) thereon,

–  having regard to the Commission communication of 20 May 2020 entitled ‘EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 – Bringing nature back into our lives’ (COM(2020)0380), and to Parliament’s resolution of 9 June 2021(2) thereon,

–  having regard to the Commission communication of 11 December 2019 on the European Green Deal (COM(2019)0640), and to Parliament’s resolution of 15 January 2020(3) thereon,

–  having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC(4),

–  having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1004(5),

–  having regard to Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 establishing a framework of maritime spatial planning(6),

–  having regard to Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds(7) (the ‘Birds Directive’),

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 of 24 September 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing(8),

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations(9),

–  having regard to Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998 concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes(10),

–  having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 22 September 2021 on strategic guidelines for the sustainable development of EU aquaculture,

–  having regard to the draft opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 1-3 December 2021 on sustainable blue economy and aquaculture,

–  having regard to the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 17 December 2015 on the future of European aquaculture,

–  having regard to the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) 2030 Strategy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea,

–  having regard to the interim evaluation of the Open Method of Coordination for EU aquaculture(11),

–  having regard to Special Eurobarometer 515 of 2021 on EU consumer habits regarding fishery and aquaculture products,

–  having regard to the study requested by its Committee on Fisheries (PECH) on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on EU fisheries and aquaculture, published on 7 July 2021,

–  having regard to its resolution of 12 June 2018 entitled ‘Towards a sustainable and competitive European aquaculture sector: current status and future challenges’(12),

–  having regard to its resolution of 4 December 2008 on the adoption of a European Cormorant Management Plan to minimise the increasing impact of cormorants on fish stocks, fishing and aquaculture(13),

–  having regard to Articles 3, 4, 38 and 43 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

–  having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A9-0215/2022),

A.  whereas the common fisheries policy states that aquaculture should contribute to the preservation of food production potential on a sustainable basis throughout the Union so as to guarantee long-term food security, including food supplies, growth and employment for Union citizens, and contribute to meeting the growing world demand for aquatic food; whereas the common fisheries policy should pay full regard to animal health, animal welfare, food and feed safety; whereas it is crucial to reduce the administrative burden and implement Union law in a more efficient manner that is more responsive to the needs of stakeholders;

B.  whereas the shellfish and aquaculture sectors play an important and valuable role in the EU from an economic, social and environmental perspective, and help to improve the quality of life in coastal, interior and outermost regions of the EU;

C.  whereas the food security and livelihoods that these industries provide are crucial in many coastal, riverine, island, inland and lagoon regions;

D.  whereas the European Green Deal, the biodiversity strategy and the farm to fork strategy aim to achieve a carbon neutral Europe by 2050 and make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally friendly across the Union; whereas aquaculture can provide healthy food with a smaller climate and environmental footprint than that of non-aquatic land-based farming;

E.  whereas the FAO Declaration for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture acknowledges that aquaculture has been the fastest growing global food production industry over the last five decades, and that it is responsible for the doubling of global per capita fish consumption since 1960 and has increasingly provided food and livelihoods to a growing population;

F.  whereas the EU strategic guidelines for a more sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture , the FAO Shanghai Declaration of September 2021 on aquaculture for food and sustainable development, and the 2021 Aquatic Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health establish animal welfare objectives in aquaculture to support producers and consumers;

G.  whereas EU aquaculture production accounts for just 1,15 % of global production, according to the most recent figures (2018)(14);

H.  whereas the establishment or expansion of an aquaculture farm in the EU requires various licences and authorisations and is generally a slow, complex procedure that sometimes lacks legal certainty and economic predictability; whereas this situation hinders the development of the sector, discouraging corporate investment and generating excessive costs for the sector, while promoting imports from third countries;

I.  whereas the FAO 2020 report on the state of world fisheries and aquaculture indicates that globally, the proportion of women in the total aquaculture workforce (19 %) is larger than that in fisheries (12 %) and that overall, women play a crucial role throughout the fish and aquaculture value chain and provide labour relating to both general commercial practices and artisanal practices; whereas the aquaculture sector in general directly employs more than 74 000 people in the EU in more than 12 000 companies(15);

J.  whereas one in every four seafood products consumed in Europe comes from aquaculture; whereas between 2018 and 2019, per capita apparent consumption of farmed products increased by 2 %; whereas considering that in 2019, the EU was 41,2 % self-sufficient in fish and seafood, only 10 % of EU seafood consumption comes from EU aquaculture, which accounts for less than 2 % of global production;

K.  whereas almost 70 % of aquaculture production in the EU is concentrated in four Member States (Spain, France, Italy and Greece), with mussels, trout, seabream, oysters, seabass, carp and clams accounting for the vast majority of production; whereas there is still a lot of potential for further growth and diversification in terms of producing countries and species farmed;

L.  whereas although nearly two thirds of Europeans ate fishery or aquaculture products at home at least once a month in 2021, this is a downward trend compared to 2018; whereas consumers in 2021 were divided regarding their preference for wild or farmed products, with around a third preferring wild products, a third preferring farmed products and a similar proportion having no preference;

M.  whereas some initial estimates point to a 17 % reduction in sales volume and an 18 % reduction in total income, with a particularly harsh impact on the shellfish sector;

N.  whereas EU shellfish production consists mainly of molluscs, specifically mussels, oysters and clams, and is generally a traditional, labour-intensive aquaculture activity carried out by family businesses, that is fully integrated into the local environment;

O.  whereas the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean 2030 strategy for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean and Black Sea specifies that aquaculture production needs to meet demand, grow sustainably, capitalise on innovation, digitalisation and knowledge sharing and enhance its attractiveness for investment; whereas the strategy further states that monitoring and reducing the sector’s environmental footprint, dealing with climate change and pollution and securing animal health and welfare are crucial in achieving sustainability;

P.  whereas the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries’ 2020 economic report on the EU aquaculture sector indicates that almost 80 % of all aquaculture enterprises in the EU are microenterprises with fewer than 10 employees;

Q.  whereas the interim evaluation of the Open Method of Coordination concluded that the Member States should make greater efforts to expand the EU’s aquaculture sector, enhancing its resilience and competitiveness, and guaranteeing, in particular, access to space and water, and a transparent and efficient regulatory and administrative framework;

R.  whereas, despite the sector’s potential, the development of aquaculture in the outermost regions still lags seriously behind;

S.  whereas the European Market Observatory for fisheries and aquaculture’s fishmeal and fish oil report from September 2021 indicates that most fishmeal in aquaculture feed is consumed in Asia and that in 2019, 34 % of fishmeal was used in China, 35 % in other Asian countries, and 9 % of fishmeal was used in Europe; whereas 20 million tonnes of wild fish are captured yearly for non-human feed purposes; whereas there is increasing competition for fishmeal on the global animal feed markets between aquaculture and livestock producers; whereas higher feed prices increase the need for further development of alternative feed products as well as feed efficiency to ensure profitability for high-value aquaculture products;

T.  whereas the FAO fisheries and aquaculture technical paper of 19 February 2019 entitled ‘A third assessment of global marine fisheries discards’ shows that discards amount to a total of 9,1 million tonnes, which represents 10,8 % of the annual average catch between 2010 and 2014;

U.  whereas the European Market Observatory for fisheries and aquaculture’s report of May 2017 on EU organic aquaculture from indicates that organic aquaculture production is increasing significantly in some Member States, while others are still in the early stages of developing this production method;

V.  whereas aquaculture is especially sensitive to extreme weather events in riverbeds and coastal areas that are increasingly occurring due to global warming, including droughts, floods, storms and waves, which cause severe damage to aquaculture infrastructures and the species cultivated;

W.  whereas Directive 2014/89/EU on maritime spatial planning calls for all coastal Member States to present national maritime spatial plans to the Commission ‘as soon as possible, and at the latest by 31 March 2021’;

X.  whereas the outermost regions are particularly exposed to unstable climates and severe weather events, which may jeopardise the sector’s potential in those regions;

Y.  whereas the population of cormorants has seen a massive increase; whereas this increase is causing serious damage to many marine sectors, including aquaculture;

Z.  whereas in its resolution on the adoption of a European cormorant management plan to minimise the increasing impact of cormorants on fish stocks, fishing and aquaculture, adopted 13 years ago, Parliament proposed several possible actions to solve the problems that cormorants continue to pose;

AA.  whereas its resolution entitled ‘Towards a sustainable and competitive European aquaculture sector: current status and future challenges’ highlights the importance, among many other actions, of minimising the increasing impact of cormorants on aquaculture;

AB.  whereas financial compensation is available to aquaculture and fisheries operators for losses deriving from cormorants’ interaction with fisheries;

AC.  whereas the entire aquaculture sector in Europe will have to bear the burden of increasing electricity and gas costs, with an even worse outlook due to rising production costs and marketing uncertainty caused also by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis;

AD.  whereas large fish and fish product producers in the EU neighbourhood area are planning by 2030 to double their aquaculture production compared to 2020 levels, which could ramp up the pressure on the EU’s production;

AE.  whereas not all Member States are giving sufficient consideration to the potential of aquaculture development or its potential socioeconomic and environmental effects;

AF.  whereas the annual consumption of fish products per capita in the EU varies very widely, from approximately 6 kg to approximately 60 kg; whereas demand for aquaculture products in the EU could therefore increase in the foreseeable future;

AG.  whereas many enterprises are finding it difficult to maintain their market share, both domestically and abroad;

AH.  whereas, according to the most recent data from Eurostat and the FAO, in 2019 around 76 % of the fish consumed in the EU was wild and 24 % was farmed;

AI.  whereas there are only 62 products with protected geographical indication (PGI) registered in Class 1.7. — Fresh fish, molluscs, and crustaceans and products derived therefrom, out of a total of 1 382 PGI products; whereas protection procedures are under way for 14 other products; whereas the register of Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG) foods contains just four products in that class; whereas some of the successful registrations have been for aquaculture products;

AJ.  whereas the EU fisheries funds (the European Fisheries Fund (EFF), the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and the European Maritime, fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF)) have provided financial support to the EU aquaculture sector;

AK.  whereas escapees from aquaculture farms can cause genetic alterations in wild populations;

Aquaculture’s contribution to the European Green Deal

1.  Welcomes the Commission communication on the strategic guidelines for a more sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture for the period 2021 to 2030; considers these guidelines comprehensive, sound and fit for the purpose of promoting sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture with a long-term focus on the sustainability of the aquaculture sector and on its contribution to the European Green Deal; regrets, however, the fact that they are much focused on environmental aspects and that they need more ambition to boost sustainable production and the development of a genuinely thriving and competitive EU aquaculture sector; considers that it is important to establish quantitative objectives for the growth of this sector in the framework of the guidelines, just as the biodiversity strategy, the farm to fork strategy and other Green Deal strategies set environmental targets; urges the Members States and the Aquaculture Advisory Council to implement the actions recommended in the guidelines; calls on the Commission to regularly monitor compliance with these recommendations and to keep Parliament informed;

2.  Emphasises the importance of proper and coordinated implementation of the guidelines by Member States in order to achieve their objectives; points out the importance of the role of the Commission in assisting and coordinating the implementation among Member States to ensure a level playing field for EU aquaculture farmers; encourages the Commission to continuously follow the implementation of these guidelines and other legal acts affecting aquaculture such as the Regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products(16) and if appropriate to present amendments to this regulation, and potentially others, with a view to addressing hurdles hampering the realisation of EU objectives on organic production, such as those set out in the farm to fork strategy;

3.  Highlights the potential of the aquaculture sector’s contributions to achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal, and highlights the need to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of the sector, notably in the light of the COVID-19 crisis; considers that the transition to a sustainable food system in Europe needs to take advantage of the untapped potential in the aquaculture sector as it can play an important and even bigger part in the circular economy and as a net contributor to the transformation of excess nutrients into high-quality protein;

4.  Underlines that EU aquaculture meets high standards in terms of product quality and animal health, but that there is still margin for improvement in terms of diversification, competitiveness and environmental performance; notes that low-impact aquaculture (such as low-trophic, multitrophic and organic aquaculture), and environmental services from aquaculture can, if further developed, greatly contribute to the European Green Deal, to the farm-to-fork strategy and to a sustainable blue economy(17);

5.  Points out that aquaculture is expected to contribute to food supply and food security by rebalancing the fish gap, since the EU imports 70 % of all the aquatic food it consumes and that causes an annual EUR 21 billion trade deficit (in 2019); considers that aquaculture has sizeable development and growth potential that needs to be enhanced while remaining within ecological limits, so that it can provide sustainable and quality food products, reduce our dependence on aquatic food imports and create more jobs and other socioeconomic opportunities, especially in coastal regions but also in rural areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide a robust, reliable, predictable, streamlined and business-friendly legal framework, and making full use of the available financing resources of the EMFAF, as this is the funding instrument specifically dedicated to the objectives of EU fisheries and aquaculture management; urges Member States to earmark sufficient funding under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to support the innovation, sustainability and resilience of the EU aquaculture sector;

6.  Underlines that aquaculture was developed as a social necessity to provide a constant supply of fresh aquatic food in seasons and regions where capture fisheries failed to deliver it, thus fulfilling one of the most important roles for society: the provision of healthy fresh food mainly for the local or regional market; stresses therefore that the expansion of aquaculture in Europe is strongly linked to traditional cultural practices, which are more or less specific to their own particular part of the continent;

7.  Points out the importance of precise data and statistics for aquaculture products, especially in relation to consumption, imports and exports, in order to ensure that we are reaching the targets and objectives we are setting for the sector; calls for more data to be made available and accessible in this regard;

8.  Points out that the external trade imbalance in aquatic products produced in the Union is unacceptable, both from an economic point of view, given the trade deficit that this entails, and from a social point of view, given the missed opportunities for employment;

9.  Stresses that progress towards the objectives of the European Green Deal must be aligned with ensuring the food security of third countries;

10.  Supports the establishment of the new EU aquaculture assistance mechanism as an innovative tool to aid the Commission, Member States, regional authorities, industry and other stakeholders to develop further guidance and consolidate best practices on different relevant areas; considers that all relevant stakeholders, including Parliament, should be involved in the creation of this mechanism, in particular all members of the Aquaculture Advisory Council, in accordance with Article 11 TEU that recognises participatory democracy as a fundamental democratic principle; calls for the creation of meaningful dialogue with civil society;

11.  Stresses that the growth potential of the EU aquaculture sector needs to be developed in a sustainable manner, taking all three pillars of sustainability – economic, social and environmental – into consideration; points out the need to have an attractive and market-oriented sector, also for new fish farmers, with a legal framework for attracting business investments, creating and maintaining good working conditions, and protecting the environment by using sustainable feed sources and improving aquatic health, animal welfare and biosecurity, as well as reducing the use of antimicrobials in accordance with the best available scientific advice, encouraging responsible and prudent practices, in line with the farm to fork strategy;

12.  Considers that the aquaculture sector is capable of providing a consistent contribution to ecosystem services for society, and that pond aquaculture, algae and shellfish farming can contribute to decarbonising the EU economy and mitigating climate change; stresses, however, that carbon sequestration by algae and shellfish farming is limited depending on the production method and use when the product is harvested; supports the proposed actions on climate change but highlights the need for a common methodology to measure the carbon footprint of individual aquaculture farms and requests an impact assessment for all the proposed measures including their impact on individual aquaculture sectors; calls on Member States to promote efficient short supply chains, where appropriate, with a view to contributing to the combat against climate change;

13.  Believes that large-scale investment is required through mitigation and adaptation measures to prevent and reduce the impact of catastrophes and extreme weather events on the fishing and aquaculture sectors, with a view to strengthening productive and resilient aquatic ecosystems and maintaining benefits for consumers and animal welfare;

14.  Points out that the implementation of the strategic guidelines should pay more attention to micro and small aquaculture enterprises and their specific needs;

15.  Urges the Commission to support the establishment of vocational training courses for the aquaculture sector by providing technical and financial resources, in order to attract young people and allow fishermen to retrain, which will help to create jobs in coastal and island regions that are traditionally more dependent on fishing activities;

16.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to facilitate, encourage and provide adequate support for environmentally friendly aquaculture, such as organic aquaculture, closed-system aquaculture, algae, shellfish, pond fish farming and integrated multi-trophic and aquaponic aquaculture systems;

17.  Takes the view that support should be provided for developing aquaponic systems, which are closed production systems on land that combine aquaculture production with crop production, with the latter using the organic matter in the water, thereby reducing the effects of pollution caused by excess organic matter;

18.  Considers that freshwater aquaculture is very important in many rural regions of Europe, and provides not only high-quality food and employment but also interesting ecosystem services; calls on the Commission to generalise the use of the term ‘aquatic food’ which is a more comprehensive and inclusive expression and does not leave freshwater farmers behind;

19.  Points out that for freshwater aquaculture in particular, predators and drought also pose a challenge, reflected in the quantity, size and quality of farmed fish, and they ultimately have a negative impact on the profitability of the sector;

20.  Reiterates the need for a food traceability system in the EU that enhances the sustainability of the aquaculture sector and responds to consumer demands by providing information on where, when, how and what fish or aquatic food has been farmed, primarily to improve food safety but also to enable checks throughout the chain of both EU products and imports from outside the EU and to combat fraud; believes that this system should involve all actors in the value chain, so that they can collaborate with one another using digital systems, artificial intelligence and other technological innovations;

21.  Highlights the value that European consumers place on quality designations, including both designations of origin and protected geographical indications; calls on the Commission and the Member States to encourage their use in aquaculture products that offer the necessary qualities and meet the requirements laid down in the European Regulation on quality, for example the Mexillón de Galicia PDO;

22.  Welcomes the Commission’s intention to support green business models, such as those based on carbon sequestration, in order to make supply chains more sustainable; stresses, in this regard, that certain aquaculture practices, such as mussel or oyster farming and pond polyculture, can be successful models for future emissions credit systems, in the context of EU climate legislation; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support this type of green business in the light of the strategy’s objectives;

23.  Highlights the importance of applying evidence-based standards and interventions to improve fish welfare during keeping, transport and slaughter, including maintaining water quality within welfare and environment-relevant limits, as a way of reducing the prevalence and spread of diseases and further diminishing the need for the use of antibiotics, which in any case should be further reduced; calls for particular attention to be paid to feeding methods in order to control levels of organic matter, whether in open or closed circuits, with the aim of maintaining and improving good environmental practises; highlights the importance of continuing to improve farming methods in line with the most up-to-date scientific knowledge available in order to achieve animal welfare that contributes to better environmental results, resilience against climate change and the optimisation of resource use;

24.  Reiterates that various recommendations on animal welfare do not apply to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors because of their nature;

25.  Calls on the Member States to continue encouraging the promotion of algae farming and facilitate the use and development of algae as food and feed, including by enabling easier authorisation processes, without neglecting other aquaculture farmed species; highlights that there is untapped potential in algae farming for creating new jobs and providing ecosystem services and more environmentally friendly food and feed; considers that better managing algae populations could to a certain extent be an effective way, in addition to their farming, to help combat eutrophication and remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from water, as well as excess carbon if the algae remain in the water and are left to deposit on the seafloor; welcomes the Commission’s intention to present a specific initiative to support algae consumption in the EU; points out that better protecting seaweed populations may provide ecosystem services, act as a carbon sink and contribute to improving biodiversity;

26.  Welcomes the role of women in aquaculture value chains and urges accordingly that they be guaranteed decent working conditions and that the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value be respected; considers further that their visibility and representation in decision-making structures and processes should be enhanced;

Main obstacles to aquaculture in the Union and possible solutions

27.  Urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure that national plans for the sustainable development of aquaculture take into account the main barriers to the development of the potential of the sector and to recognise the need to allocate space to aquaculture through appropriate spatial planning; highlights the importance of a transparent and participative mechanism, in line with Directive 2014/89/EU on maritime spatial planning, for allocating space, including to existing and new fishing grounds and aquaculture farms and marine protected areas as well as fisheries restricted areas to all stakeholders in an equitable manner; regrets that some Member States have yet to present to the Commission their national maritime spatial plans, despite the deadline laid down in the directive, and urges them to present their plans as soon as possible;

28.  Supports the aim of the Commission to initiate promotion campaigns to encourage consumption of EU aquaculture products and highlight EU aquaculture and to further support its sustainable development; highlights the need in this regard for comprehensive and easy-to-access consumer information including on healthy diets, environmental benefits and other sustainability parameters such as climate impact;

29.  Considers that aquaculture production sites planned and established in open water should not coincide or conflict with fishing zones; considers, further, that the fisheries sector and its operators and representatives should be fully involved in this process;

30.  Points out that EU aquaculture production remains highly concentrated in terms of both Member States and species farmed, so there is significant potential for diversification;

31.  Points out that spatial planning is one of the key tools for creating the preconditions for the long-term development of aquaculture and should ensure suitable planning locations for aquaculture, taking into account other activities in the areas concerned;

32.  Stresses that the development of aquaculture requires a solid, reliable, clear and administratively simple legal framework for the use of space and licences that provides confidence and security for investment in the sector; stresses that spatial planning should result in an effective and flexible plan that considers the ever-changing marine and freshwater environments within which aquaculture functions, and that overly restrictive zoning may deter investment and development;

33.  Highlights the importance of legal certainty and investment predictability for the sustainable growth of the Union’s aquaculture sector; stresses that all of the measures adopted by the various public authorities in the Member States must help to simplify administrative deadlines and procedures, so that public administrations fulfil their requirements, resolve issues on time and avoid unnecessary delays in authorisation or licensing procedures; rejects retroactive action reducing the period of validity of licences or extensions, and calls on the Member States to safeguard the confidence and legitimate expectations of licence holders;

34.  Points out that, in terms of licensing and planning, existing bureaucratic complexity and delays result in additional costs for potential investors; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure clear and transparent licensing procedures in order to encourage investors;

35.  Stresses that the Open Method of Coordination should be further implemented to achieve coordination with national, regional and local public administrations that have competences in the aquaculture sector; considers this coordination very necessary for streamlining national legislation and providing guidance on the regulatory framework applicable to the sector; calls on the Commission to publish country-specific recommendations to provide the Member States with guidance concerning the development of EU aquaculture;

36.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure better coordination as regards the EU’s shared competences, and coordination among national, regional and local authorities;

37.  Stresses the importance of sustainable feed ingredients for aquaculture in the Union; considers that aquaculture can only fill the fish gap if all species farmed provide a net gain in fish protein, meaning that aquaculture does not remove more wild fish from the oceans and other bodies of water for feed requirements than it produces; highlights that globally, a large share of fish used to produce fishmeal and fish oil is caught in the exclusive economic zones of developing countries; stresses the need to promote ecologically sustainable marine proteins and oils to be used as feed in the form of by-products and trimmings, other proteins and innovative solutions, such as insect meal and microalgae, and the partial replacement of marine proteins and oils with non-marine alternatives that are sustainably produced; calls on the Commission and the Member States to invest in research and innovation in order to promote a transition to sustainable and new sources of protein and asks the Commission to assess whether any legislative changes are needed in this regard; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote sustainable practices and increase the percentage of independently certified fishmeal and fish oil within feeds, with certification carried out by credible and independent environmental and social certification schemes that use low trophic index assessment criteria and the FAO code of conduct;

38.  Acknowledges the fact that it is not currently possible to provide enough fishmeal and fish oil to aquaculture with just discards and by-products from the fishing industry, in part because of increasing demand on the fishmeal market; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure sustainable fishmeal and fish oil production and to jointly step up efforts on research and innovation to solve the problem of increased demand on the fishmeal market by developing sustainable alternatives;

39.  Is concerned about the growing number of fishmeal and fish oil factories along the West African coast, managed mainly by Chinese companies whose unsustainable production is causing existential problems for regional and non-industrial fisheries, and calls on the Commission therefore to ensure that no feed from such production is used in aquaculture facilities within the EU;

40.  Calls on the Commission to use digital systems and artificial intelligence to improve the traceability and sustainability of aquaculture products and to extend traceability to the feed used;

41.  Calls on the Commission to acknowledge the importance of conducting EU-wide communication campaigns about sustainable EU aquaculture and the importance of production with funds under direct management in line with the objectives of the strategic guidelines; calls on the Member States and the Commission to include the organisation of information and communication campaigns in all operational programmes, in line with the objectives of the strategic guidelines, on specific subsectors of sustainable EU aquaculture;

42.  Urges the Commission to promote programmes under the EU agricultural promotion policy through which aquaculture products can be promoted specifically and individually; stresses the importance of making use of the current review of the agricultural promotion policy to better position the promotion of sustainable aquaculture products and encourages the Commission to use the agricultural promotion policy to support sectors and operators that inherently contribute to, or lead the transition towards, achieving the objectives of the Green Deal;

43.  Welcomes the quality of the work carried out by the European Market Observatory for fisheries and aquaculture (EUMOFA); calls on the Commission to give EUMOFA additional targeted funding to translate the Observatory’s reports into all EU official languages as they are often available in only one or no more than five official EU languages; believes that such information will help the aquaculture sector to obtain up-to-date and high-quality information to enhance its marketing performance;

44.  Urges the Commission and the Member States to substantially increase funds for research and innovation in the aquaculture sector (both marine and freshwater), especially new knowledge fields such as the study of the microbiome or the scientific monitoring of aquaculture environmental services; calls on the Member States to provide or increase funding for research and development in the aquaculture sector, and enhance the transfer of scientific knowledge to the sector and other stakeholders;

45.  Calls on the Member States and their administrations to ensure that the potential of the agricultural product and food quality schemes is used more widely for aquaculture products; recalls the possibility for setting up regional or national quality schemes, which can help producers to enhance their visibility and thus their marketing performance and income;

46.  Underlines that knowledge and innovation (including the use of digital technology) are key to achieving the other objectives set for the EU aquaculture sector and that Horizon Europe, the EU framework programme for research and innovation, offers a significant opportunity to take a step forward in this area;

47.  Urges the Commission to improve and collect information on the potential of the aquaculture sector in the outermost regions through viability studies and feedback, and to provide specific support for start-ups that want to work in this sector in those regions;

48.  Expresses its strongest support for innovation and advances in the breeding of new aquaculture species;

49.  Takes note of the fact that an innovative aquaculture sector also demands the development of appropriate skills achieved through the promotion of specialised curriculums and knowledge on aquaculture (e.g. specialised veterinary studies for fish and training on fish health for aquaculture operators), as well as life-long training for farmers on innovative approaches for the aquaculture sector;

50.  Calls on the Commission to work further on levelling the playing field for EU aquaculture vis-a-vis third country producers through the revision of international trade agreements and the possible signing of new ones in the future, in relation to imports of products that do not have the same market access, environmental and social sustainability, or fish welfare standards as those produced in the EU, including by updating rules for the better implementation of aquatic food labelling; considers that, in specific cases such as caviar labelling, the legal framework on information for consumers should be revised; calls on the Commission to analyse, by means of an impact assessment, the inclusion of sustainable aquaculture sectors in the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in order to create incentives for European industries and EU trade partners to decarbonise their industries in favour of implementing measures that will positively help to reduce greenhouse gases with the aim of reaching zero net emissions, and therefore supporting both EU and global climate policies towards greenhouse gas neutrality, and at the same time, without being discriminatory or constituting a disguised restriction on international trade;

51.  Recalls the opportunities for the sector to step up trade in aquaculture products, especially in countries and regions where consumption of these products is low;

52.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support scientific knowledge on fish welfare, promote best aquaculture practices on fish well-being and promote the creation of EU reference centres for fish welfare; stresses that good animal welfare practices are the best preventive step to reduce the need for medicines and to ensure fish health and welfare; encourages further use of technologies and innovation to address illnesses in a more targeted manner, reducing the amount of medicine needed; stresses the need to improve the availability of veterinary medicines, when needed for the aquaculture sector;

53.  Recommends that the Commission devise legislative proposals on the basis of the latest scientific knowledge on the needs of fish and other aquatic animals and on transport methods in order to minimise their suffering during transport; stresses that the new provisions should provide a detailed checklist for pre-transport planning and preparation, specific provisions concerning water quality parameters, density, handling during loading and unloading, and post-transport welfare controls; calls on the Commission to ensure that the guidelines it publishes are updated on the basis of the latest scientific evidence and are in line with Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 and calls for specific requirements for the commercial movement of fish; stresses, furthermore, that specific training and certification should be provided regarding fish transportation;

54.  Supports increasing the capacity of Copernicus and the European Marine Observation and Data Network to observe, model and forecast to better anticipate the effects of extreme weather events both on land and at sea, to which aquaculture facilities are especially sensitive;

55.  Stresses the importance of adequate training both for competent authorities and farmers on how to limit the environmental impact of aquaculture practises and ensure the respect of high animal welfare and health standards;

56.  Calls on the Commission to prepare a proposal for an EU great cormorant management plan that could properly and definitively address the problem the aquaculture sector has been facing for many years, based on the best available scientific advice and experiences and practices already tested in Member States; urges that the plan be designed for the effective mitigation and control of their effect on aquaculture farms, with a view to reducing their economic, environmental and social impact on production and biodiversity; highlights that the plan should include a list of eligible measures on preventive coexistence solutions and adequate compensation for losses and measures, financed with EU or national funds; insists that financial support for tailor-made research aimed at finding and testing preventive measures is key, but also for allowing proper monitoring, including recording and analysing the effects of the measures undertaken; calls on the Member States to implement those measures on a local case-by-case basis and report to the Commission every year on the implementation of the plan, including the effectiveness of the measures chosen; calls on the Commission to evaluate the EU great cormorant management plan every five years and report to Parliament; urges the Commission to prepare, as an immediate action, a guidance document on how to apply derogations provided for in Article 9 of the Birds Directive, and to assess the need to modify the current legislation where preventive measures have proven insufficient and the financial and social impact does not allow for coexistence solutions, according to the best scientific advice;

57.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to simplify licensing procedures, and to make further efforts and provide the additional help necessary to enable users of the EMFAF to gain access to funding;

Organic aquaculture

58.  Welcomes the Commission communication on an action plan for the development of organic production and the 23 actions included in its annex; points out that organic aquaculture needs to play a key role in the planned growth of the aquaculture sector, given its ample untapped potential for development, in line with the transition to a sustainable food system in Europe, and which should be given assistance through the EMFAF;

59.  Agrees that organic aquaculture has potential, but emphasises the differences in organic aquaculture production across the Member States;

60.  Agrees with the objective of a significant increase in organic aquaculture by 2030 without setting any concrete percentage in this plan, given that this is a relatively new sector and its growth is not easy to predict; encourages Member States, however, to set targets, if appropriate, taking into account their knowledge of local- and regional specificities and market developments; points out that although EU organic aquaculture has experienced an increase in the farming of certain species and in certain countries in recent years (including salmon in Ireland and mussels in Denmark and Ireland), the demand for EU organic aquaculture is uncertain and, moreover, the economic performance of organic aquaculture is still not sufficient in some areas;

61.  Considers that sustainable aquaculture, in general, and organic aquaculture, in particular, will play a key role in meeting the EU’s ambition for a carbon neutral Europe by 2050 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to climate change mitigation, while supplying additional benefits to the environment and biodiversity;

62.  Points out that sustainable aquaculture, in general, and organic aquaculture, in particular, can help meet consumer demands for diversified high-quality food produced in a way that respects the environment and ensures fish welfare, thereby filling the gap between demand and supply of fishery products in the EU, and relieving pressure on wild stocks;

63.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States, within the framework of national plans for the sustainable development of aquaculture, to analyse the main barriers to the development of organic aquaculture and propose appropriate measures; calls further on the Member States to include, based on an ex-ante impact assessment, an increase in organic aquaculture among the objectives of their reviewed multi-annual national strategic plans for aquaculture; considers that the EMFAF should be used to promote sustainable aquaculture practices, including organic production, and to provide support during the conversion period, which would level the playing field with respect to other organic farmers;

64.  Stresses the need for increased support for research and innovation on alternative sources of nutrients, treatments, breeding and animal welfare in aquaculture; considers it necessary to promote investments in adapted polyculture and multi-trophic aquaculture systems and to promote hatcheries and nursery activities for organic juveniles; welcomes the Open Method of Coordination for the exchange of best practices and innovation in organic aquaculture;

65.  Highlights that innovation, including different types of aquaculture, has developed since the Regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products was adopted; points out in this regard that certain provisions, such as those on reproduction, are ill equipped for the new innovative and sustainable aquaculture methods developed; urges the Commission to assess this Regulation accordingly and present the necessary amendments;

66.  Calls on the Commission to analyse how the rules for organic aquaculture are interpreted, implemented and monitored in each Member State; urges the Commission to publish guidelines for the Member States, certification bodies and fish farmers, aimed at reducing heterogeneity in the implementation of the organic regulation, based on the conclusions of that analysis;

67.  Urges the Commission to consider re-authorising the use of 30 % of the daily ration of fishmeal and fish oil from non-organic aquaculture trimmings, or trimmings of fish caught for human consumption that come from sustainable EU fishery products, for a transitional period of five years for all newcomers in the organic aquaculture sector, given its positive impact on the circular economy and as a necessary support measure in view of the low availability and high prices of organic feed; calls on the Commission to consider also the use of species (which may not naturally spawn in Europe) for which induced reproduction is performed using pituitary extracts, species which are used in polyculture practices in order to use other trophic niches of the culture environment, thus contributing to carbon sequestration, mitigating eutrophication, increasing overall pond productivity and reducing the nutrient load of fish farming;

68.  Highlights the need to level the playing field for EU organic farmers across the Union, as well as with imported organic products, by providing the same rules, support and harmonising treatments for diseases used in organic aquaculture and organic livestock farming;

69.  Recalls that Parliament’s resolution entitled ‘Towards a sustainable and competitive European aquaculture sector: current status and future challenges’ proposes 92 actions to unlock the potential of EU aquaculture through: simplifying administrative procedures; ensuring equity in interaction with other sectors; enhancing the competitiveness of EU aquaculture within and outside the Union’s borders; improving consumer information; ensuring animal welfare and the availability of veterinary products; pursuing better promotional campaigns and communication; supporting research and innovation; encouraging training and employment; increasing the sustainability of the EU’s aquaculture sector; ensuring adequate financing through the EMFF and other structural funds; and achieving a harmonious symbiosis with fisheries; urges the Commission to work closely with Member States to implement these actions;

70.  Points out that the conflict between extractive fishing and aquaculture makes no sense in the current context, in which demand for marine products is rising while the pressure on wild fish populations is gradually starting to decrease in the Union, and stresses that these two activities complement one another;

71.  Stresses that cooperation between aquaculture, on the one hand, and the canning and processing sector, on the other, can generate significant added value for aquaculture products if the cooperation is carried out in synergy and promotes both activities;

o
o   o

72.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the common fisheries policy Advisory Councils.

(1) OJ C 184, 5.5.2022, p. 2. (2) OJ C 67, 8.2.2022, p. 25. (3) OJ C 270, 7.7.2021, p. 2. (4) OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22. (5) OJ L 247, 13.7.2021, p. 1. (6) OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 135. (7) OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7. (8) OJ L 303, 18.11.2009, p. 1. (9) OJ L 3, 5.1.2005, p. 1. (10) OJ L 221, 8.8.1998, p. 23. (11) European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Study on an interim evaluation of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) for the sustainable development of EU aquaculture, 2019. (12) OJ C 28, 27.1.2020, p. 26. (13) OJ C 21 E, 28.1.2010, p. 11. (14) European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, The EU fish market: 2020 edition, Publications Office, 2021. (15) Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – The EU Aquaculture Sector – Economic report 2020 (STECF-20-12). EUR 28359 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2021. (16) Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products (OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 1). (17) Transforming the EU's Blue Economy for a Sustainable Future (2021) – https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0240&from=EN

European Parliament resolution of 4 October 2022 on the impact of new technologies on taxation: crypto and blockchain (2021/2201(INI))

P9_TA(2022)0335 A9-0204/2022

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission communication on 15 July 2020 entitled ‘An action plan for fair and simple taxation supporting the recovery strategy’ (COM(2020)0312),

–  having regard to the Commission proposal of 24 September 2020 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on markets in crypto-assets (COM(2020)0593),

–  having regard to the Commission communication of 24 September 2020 on a digital finance strategy for the EU (COM(2020)0591),

–  having regard to the report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) of 12 October 2020 entitled ‘Taxing Virtual Currencies: An Overview of Tax Treatments and Emerging Tax Policy Issues’,

–  having regard to the Commission communication of 18 May 2021 entitled ‘Business Taxation for the 21st Century’ (COM(2021)0251),

–  having regard to the 2021 working paper on taxation and structural reforms by the Joint Research Centre of the Commission entitled ‘Cryptocurrencies: an empirical view from a tax perspective’,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal of 20 July 2021 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets (COM(2021)0422),

–  having regard to the World Bank’s working paper entitled ‘Crypto-Assets Activity around the World: Evolution and Macro-Financial Drivers’ published on 8 March 2022,

–  having regard to the public consultation document of the OECD released on 22 March 2022 entitled ‘Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and Amendments to the Common Reporting Standard’,

–  having regard to its study of 15 October 2018 entitled ‘VAT fraud: economic impact, challenges and policy issues’, its study of July 2018 entitled ‘Cryptocurrencies and blockchain – Legal context and implications for financial crime, money laundering and tax evasion’ and its study of 15 February 2018 entitled ‘Impact of Digitalisation on International Tax Matters’,

–  having regard to its study of 21 October 2021 entitled ‘Exploring the opportunities and challenges of new technologies for EU tax administration and policy’,

–  having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A9-0204/2022),

A.  whereas the use of new technologies in the EU single market and the digitalisation of tax administrations across Europe are transforming relations between taxpayers, namely citizens and companies, on the one hand, and national tax authorities on the other; whereas the EU could play a leading role in ensuring that the procedural and technical aspects of the digitalisation of tax administrations are coordinated to avoid barriers to the interoperability of national technical platforms;

B.  whereas the different characteristics of different types of crypto-assets and the boundaries between different kinds of crypto-assets might be relevant for determining their tax treatment;

C.  whereas the market dynamic of crypto-assets shows that there is a need to create a clear, stable and transparent legal framework;

D.  whereas tax authorities today face many challenges regarding effective tax enforcement and in particular cross-border cooperation, given the acceleration of digital transactions, the increasing mobility of taxpayers, the number of cross-border transactions and the internationalisation of economic operations and business models, as well as the risks of double taxation or complex aggressive tax schemes;

E.  whereas tax authorities need to keep up with potential risks for the sustainability of tax systems and their ability to enforce national and European legal frameworks regarding taxation;

F.  whereas new technological solutions, such as blockchain, can be used by tax administrations to better serve the needs of tax payers, to exchange information between jurisdictions, for various types of record-keeping, and to deter and/or address corruption, while such technologies can also be abused and serve as vehicles for illicit activities, with the criminal intent to avoid paying taxes; whereas the increased visibility of blockchain transactions, in particular, might facilitate tax administrations’ efforts to combat tax fraud;

G.  whereas several tax administrations across Europe are already taking important steps towards the digitalisation of processes, although to varying degrees, making tax compliance easier, faster and more effective; whereas the use of new technologies still varies considerably between Member States; whereas national tax administrations, in general, need a further push for more incentives and awareness-raising measures to realise the potential in the field of technological and digital transformation; whereas technology can help facilitate cooperation between different government bodies, namely on matters related to taxation;

H.  whereas the increasing use of crypto-assets is forcing tax administrations to adapt current tax practices within the single market; whereas within the crypto-assets market, the identification of tax-relevant activities is complex, as it relies less on traditional financial intermediaries, who typically provide information for tax purposes;

I.  whereas five of the 27 Member States have specific legal provisions on the taxation of crypto-assets; whereas 19 Member States have administrative guidance on the taxation of crypto-assets;

J.  whereas the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS) has improved international tax transparency by requiring jurisdictions to obtain information on offshore assets held with financial institutions and automatically exchange that information with the jurisdictions of residence of taxpayers on an annual basis; whereas in most instances, however, crypto-assets will not fall within the scope of the CRS, which applies to traditional financial assets and fiat currencies;

K.  whereas there is an international effort and commitment to better regulate the fair taxation of the digital economy; whereas crypto-assets could be exploited to undermine existing international tax transparency initiatives, as recognised by the OECD; whereas, in this context, it is crucial for the EU to take a leading role, in particular through close cooperation between Member States to tax crypto-assets in a fair and transparent way;

L.  whereas the global economy is changing and becoming progressively digitalised, and whereas the principles underpinning the current international tax framework are progressively being outdated and can no longer ensure that profits are taxed where the economic activities generating those profits are performed and where value is created;

M.  whereas there is no international instrument regarding the taxation of crypto-assets and there is a wide spectrum of approaches to this matter taken by different countries; whereas the EU must lead the way to more inclusive financial participation of citizens, both within and outside its borders, in the relevant international platforms;

N.  whereas the OECD identifies, in its 2020 report on the taxation of virtual currencies, a number of material points to address, namely the definition of taxable events, the forms of income that are associated with virtual currencies, and how taxation can be adjusted to the nature and dynamics of crypto-assets in order to capture profits in a fair and efficient manner, among other aspects;

O.  whereas the Union has already taken important steps towards a clear definition of certain crypto-assets and crypto-asset service providers and, more broadly, towards establishing a suitable regulatory framework for crypto-assets – the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation; whereas this framework and these definitions will facilitate the fair and simple taxation of these assets; whereas definitions of such crypto-assets must be aligned with international standards, namely those developed by the OECD and the Financial Action Task Force;

P.  whereas definitions of crypto-assets need to be uniform across the EU and aligned with international standards; whereas the same crypto-asset may be categorised as a ‘tax object’ in a number of different ways across the EU, resulting in different tax treatment;

Q.  whereas certain fields of tax policy are a national competence and cooperation between Member States remains essential and necessary to respond to the challenges posed to the integrity of the single market and the sustainability of tax systems, inter alia the increasing use of crypto-assets; whereas a framework of 27 significantly different approaches to crypto-asset taxation could lead to significant obstacles to the fulfilment of the objectives of the digital single market; whereas there is therefore a clear case for coordination and cooperation at EU level;

R.  whereas the EU and its single market must ensure an innovation-friendly environment for companies (in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups) regarding new technologies in the area of financial services and crypto-assets; whereas this main goal requires a strong commitment from Member States with policies, namely on taxation, to ensure a stable, clear and secure regulatory framework for businesses to thrive and contribute to economic growth; whereas, finally, this effort requires strong commitment to safeguard citizens’ rights, as taxpayers and consumers of financial services;

S.  whereas clear guidelines are essential for a fair and efficient taxation system that, if efficiently implemented by the Member States, could achieve beneficial reforms through reducing administrative costs and time, lowering barriers to entry and ensuring certainty and stability, which are prerequisites for competitiveness, as well as for bridging gaps among companies, especially for SMEs;

T.  whereas crypto-assets are a fast moving environment and policymakers need to deliver on equal terms; whereas the tax policy and tax evasion implications still need to be looked at closely, as they form an important aspect of the overall regulatory framework;

U.  whereas Parliament has already underlined that ‘current international corporate tax rules are no longer suitable in the context of digitalisation and globalisation of the economy’, and that ‘developments in digitalisation and a stronger reliance on intangible assets and their increase in value chains create prospects and challenges in terms of traceability of economic operations and taxable events, including enabling of tax avoidance practices, especially when these operations are cross-border or take place outside the Union’(1);

V.  whereas, unlike in traditional finance, the crypto world is sometimes organised in a decentralised way, making it more difficult to draw on intermediaries to assist tax authorities; whereas such intermediaries often serve as relevant information providers in traditional third-party tax reporting regimes; whereas on the intersection between the crypto sector and the traditional financial system, an intermediary such as an exchange is usually involved;

The potential of new technologies such as blockchain to better serve taxpayers, deter corrupt practices, empower tax administrations and tackle tax fraud and evasion

1.  Considers that national tax administrations should be better equipped with the adequate resources to facilitate efficient tax collection, enforce rules, better serve taxpayers and ensure compliance; calls on the Member States to commit, in the light of the increased challenges of the digital transition, to making sufficient investments in human resources, including training, digital infrastructures and specialised personnel and equipment;

2.  Calls on the Commission to explore in future legislative proposals how to ensure that the technology underpinning newly adopted legislation is intrinsically linked to the correct implementation of the legislation;

3.  Points out that adapting the IT capacities of tax authorities through new emerging technologies, such as distributed ledger technologies like blockchain or artificial intelligence, promises to foster intelligent, effective and efficient tax and administrative procedures, deter and limit corruption, facilitate tax compliance by citizens and businesses, and increase the traceability and identification of taxable transactions and ownership of tangible and intangible assets in a globalised environment where cross-border transactions have increased, thus creating opportunities for better and more fairly designed tax systems to tax both mobile taxpayers and assets; asks the Commission to analyse and evaluate the effects on data protection and revenue of implementing a possible tax on personal data storage;

4.  Stresses that emerging technologies such as distributed ledger technology and blockchain, through their unique features such as traceability and their capacity for storing immutable and reliable data, protecting that data’s integrity, could offer a new way to automate tax collection; believes that this would ensure that people pay what they owe, assure efficient tax compliance and facilitate the collection of tax revenues at the source of the different stages of the lifecycle of a product or service in a timely manner, while protecting the personal data of citizens and guaranteeing a high standard of data protection;

5.  Highlights the need to identify the best ways to use technology to strengthen the analytical capacity of tax administrations (through better data analysis), to standardise data to facilitate tax compliance for SMEs and taxpayers (including through common reporting standards), and to ensure that taxation better reflects the business environment in the digital age and at the same time guarantees high levels of data protection;

6.  Takes note of the launch of the EU Advanced International Administrative Cooperation Community (EU AIAC Community) and the valuable contribution of the Tax Administrations EU Summit (TADEUS) to the debate on the impact of new technologies on the work of national tax authorities; calls on the Commission, therefore, to involve these forums in the design of a special training programme for tax administration staff on the use of new technologies in the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion as well as to build on their role in the improvement of the interoperability of tax systems as regards the standardisation of data and automatic real-time data sharing in a cross-border context; recalls that such a programme must be integrated in the activity of the Fiscalis programme;

7.  Highlights, however, that the use of blockchain, AI and other digital tools by tax administrations has its merits and risks, which must be properly mitigated, notably to prevent violations of privacy and biased and discriminatory treatment of taxpayers;

8.  Highlights in particular the risks associated with data quality; notes in this regard that a permissioned blockchain, with restricted permissions granted to intermediaries, is crucial in the context of tax administrations and may help improve the integrity of the system as it allows tax information, among other data, to be shared in a secure environment;

9.  Calls on the Commission to assess the ways in which different Member States tax crypto-assets and the different national policies regarding the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion in the field of crypto-assets, underlining best practices and potential loopholes, and taking advantage of cooperation platforms in the field of taxation, namely the Fiscalis programme; calls on the Commission, with the support of the Code of Conduct Group on business taxation, to tackle harmful tax practices in the area of crypto-assets in the EU;

10.  Recognises that the impact of new technologies such as blockchain on tax matters can be viewed differently depending on whether the focus is on direct taxation (withholding tax, for example), indirect taxation (VAT or customs duties) or compliance; underlines the potential of distributed ledger technology to make the withholding tax system more efficient in each country, but also to facilitate seamless cross-border procedures and prevent fraudulent activity; advises the Commission to take into consideration the specific characteristics of each dimension; calls on the Commission to take account of existing digital solutions in the Member States and evaluate the opportunity to integrate blockchain-based solutions on information exchange platforms in order to promote real-time auditing and exchange of information while fully respecting EU data protection rules;

11.  Invites the Commission to evaluate the creation of a new platform for training and best-practice sharing between national tax authorities in the field of combating tax fraud and tax evasion in the digital economy, notably through the use of crypto-assets; understands that this new platform could be integrated in current initiatives such the Fiscalis programme;

12.  Invites the Commission to continue evaluating the operational impact and tax governance aspects of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies, notably through the Fiscalis programme;

13.  Recalls its proposal for a Commission initiative on a ‘standard for online reporting of data for (in the first instance) cross-border Union trade, preferably by using data from e-invoicing (or from an alternative, but keeping the principle that the data must be provided only once), including efficient and highly secure centralised/decentralised data processing for detection of fraud’(2);

14.  Insists on its call on the Member States ‘to continue reforming tax authorities, to speed up digitalisation and to start implementing strategic approaches to support SMEs with tax compliance as well as to identify opportunities for burden reductions’(3);

15.  Calls on the Commission to explore all the opportunities created by the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) – a peer-to-peer network of interconnected nodes running blockchain-based services infrastructure – for national tax authorities, mainly in the area of VAT compliance, in full respect of the highest standards of data protection and privacy, with the aim of making multiple and innovative blockchain protocols available to them, and with the mission of assisting national tax administrations in their adaptation to the use of such technologies;

16.  Recalls the importance of the European Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and calls on the Commission to evaluate the added value of blockchain-based technologies in assuring a proper cross-border tax identity, with high standards of data protection and privacy safeguards;

Taxation challenges regarding crypto-assets

17.  Considers that crypto-assets must be subject to fair, transparent and effective taxation in order to guarantee fair competition and a level playing field between the tax treatment of assets and financial products and between financial services providers; understands that decisions on the taxation of crypto-assets lie with Member States, in accordance with the Treaties; invites authorities to consider a simplified tax treatment for occasional or small traders and small transactions; stands for an innovation-friendly environment in the digital single market, where entrepreneurs, SMEs and start-ups can thrive, generate growth, create jobs and contribute to economic recovery through tax revenues under an effective regulatory framework;

18.  Notes that digital economy operators can engage in significant business activities in a Member State without establishing a physical presence there, and therefore taxes paid in one jurisdiction no longer reflect the value and profits created there; underlines, therefore, the need to adapt the concept of permanent establishment, namely with a clear definition of virtual permanent establishment, in line with international standards; recalls, therefore, the importance of an effective transposition of pillar one of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting;

19.  Acknowledges that the definition of the tax base for crypto-assets is one of the core issues for tax policy; notes that there is currently no internationally-agreed standard definition of crypto-assets and the types of assets that the term should include; understands the need for such a definition as a main priority in the European legislative framework in order to guarantee a leading position for the Union at international level; understands that the OECD, mandated by the G20, is working on a new global tax transparency framework to provide for the reporting and exchange of information with respect to crypto-assets;

20.  Considers that it is necessary to have a clear, broadly accepted definition of crypto-assets for tax purposes; underlines that this definition should be aligned with that of the MiCA Regulation; insists on the need to guarantee systematic coherence between the several legal instruments that regulate or will regulate crypto assets (for example the MiCA Regulation, the Transfer of Funds Regulation(4), the Administrative Cooperation Directive(5) and other anti-money laundering-related initiatives) and, most importantly, to safeguard legal certainty and stability;

21.  Points out that with crypto assets, there may be different options to define a relevant taxable event such as the creation of coins via mining, the exchange of crypto-assets into fiat currency or other crypto-assets, a hard fork or the staking of crypto-assets; notes that a coherent definition of a taxable event needs to be found in order to ensure a proper level of taxation, while avoiding instances of double taxation;

22.  Calls on the Commission to present an assessment on the conversion of one type of crypto-asset into a different kind of crypto-asset and present options on defining the taxable event, bearing in mind the risk of increasing the number of taxable events considerably while creating significant valuation problems; calls on the Commission to check the option that the conversion of a crypto-asset into fiat currency might be a more appropriate choice for a taxable event, if gains have been made;

23.  Notes that each country tends to use their own terminology when designing their national regulatory solutions to crypto-assets, which could cause legal uncertainty for citizens and companies, be a threat to the integrity of the EU single market as cross-border cooperation could be significantly impaired, inadvertently create loopholes providing opportunities for tax abuse and avoidance and be exploited to undermine existing international tax transparency standards such as the CRS;

24.  Emphasises that the dynamic of the markets in crypto-assets(6) makes it urgent to have rules in place defining the type of taxation to be applied, the definition of the taxable event, the timing of when and where a taxable event occurs and its valuation;

25.  Points out that the taxation of crypto-assets in cross-border situations is linked to several dimensions of tax policy such as income tax and VAT and that currently such dimensions are distributed between national and European competences, but that the benefits of a common European approach might be most marked in areas linked, among others, to administrative cooperation, exchange of information and corporate taxation;

26.  Calls on the Commission to consider the dimension of crypto-assets, digitalisation and new technologies in all its planned and future legislative proposals on tax matters, in particular the upcoming proposal entitled ‘Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation’ (BEFIT); calls on the Member States, in this context, to be ambitious and lead the international debate;

27.  Calls on the Member States to consider the specificities of the use of crypto-assets in their national tax reforms, and to consider implementing more effective systems that ensure lower compliance costs and administrative burdens, but that guarantee, at the same time, the fair, transparent, proportionate and effective taxation of crypto-assets; highlights that temporary and justified tax incentives may be appropriate for promoting technological innovation and development, particularly of the blockchain technology sector; highlights the key importance of common reporting standards for crypto-asset service providers as well as individuals and entities;

28.  Calls on Member States to treat different types of crypto-assets in a manner that is consistent with the tax treatment of similar non-crypto assets;

29.  Calls on the Member States to consider the EU policy objectives as enshrined in Article 3 of the Treaty of European Union, especially a highly competitive social market economy and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment, in the framework of their legislative options regarding the tax treatment of crypto-assets;

30.  Asks the Commission to evaluate whether the tax treatment of crypto-assets compared to the tax treatment of other assets is consistent and fair, especially regarding the VAT treatment of those assets;

Moving forward with the development of an effective regulatory/legal framework

31.  Points out that the crypto-asset landscape is global and that the tax treatment of crypto-assets requires a coordinated international approach; understands, in this regard, the need to further negotiate international instruments on the matter; considers that the OECD, which has already done substantial work on both taxation and the treatment of crypto-assets, could be a suitable forum in this regard, notably for the revision of the CRS;

32.  Notes that the OECD has already commenced work on a new crypto-asset reporting framework;

33.  Considers that the absence of an international agreement on the taxation of crypto-assets leaves the EU and its Member States without a foundation on which to build an intelligent and future-driven approach;

34.  Calls on the Commission to present an assessment of major taxable events and forms of income associated with crypto-assets, focusing on the tax consequences of a number of key operations such as the issuance of crypto-assets, the exchange of crypto-assets for fiat currencies, goods or services, and bestowal via gift or inheritance, as well as loss or theft, etc.;

35.  Asks the Commission to conduct an impact assessment on the best practices identified to fairly and effectively tax crypto-assets, respecting the set of EU competences in tax matters, to look into the role of crypto-asset services providers and to determine to what extent crypto-assets fit within the existing tax framework; takes the view that tax policy should be integrated within a sound regulatory framework for crypto-assets and that it should be coherent with other policy aspects including tax transparency and legal, financial and consumer protection requirements;

36.  Recalls that a fully integrated EU single market requires a common approach on the taxation of crypto-assets, respecting competences defined by the Treaties; calls on the Council, therefore, in its Economic and Financial Affairs Council formation, to initiate a structured dialogue with Parliament on this matter; calls also on the president of the Eurogroup to put forward a debate on the taxation of crypto-assets with the finance ministers of the euro area;

37.  Believes that it is necessary to amend the scope of the Administrative Cooperation Directive so that the exchange of information framework in the field of taxation includes crypto-assets and e-money; calls on the OECD to adopt without any further delay a new definition of a reporting standard for the exchange of information; considers that the revision of the Administrative cooperation Directive is a priority in the field of taxation; calls on the Commission to include in its future revision of the Directive, without any delay, the future OECD recommendations on crypto-asset reporting and revisions of the CRS as well as Parliament’s recommendations as laid out in its resolution on the implementation of the EU requirements for exchange of tax information(7); calls on the Council to swiftly adopt these proposed changes;

38.  Stresses the importance of guaranteeing that a future revision of the Administrative Cooperation Directive will complement reporting obligations under other legal instruments, by helping authorities to automatically exchange data about crypto-assets and e-money so that they can assess income and revenue from investments and payments using crypto-assets and e-money; underlines the need to safeguard a systematic coherence that provides legal certainty to operators and technical guidance to national tax authorities;

39.  Calls on the Commission and national public authorities to ensure that blockchain technology that is used to enforce rules or provide public services complies with fundamental rights, as well as standards related to cybersecurity and anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism;

40.  Encourages the Commission to take account of existing digital solutions, legal provisions and administrative guidance used in Member States in order to assess how to leverage blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies to prevent tax fraud and tax avoidance and to address corruption; supports the development of a European blockchain services infrastructure;

41.  Asks the Commission to evaluate how to support improved tax compliance, taking into account the fast moving values of crypto-assets and the lack of obvious translation into fiat currency in some cases, but also the challenge for tax administrations to obtain reliable and timely information on these transactions;

42.  Considers that, insofar as the crypto sector is currently in transition and is not expected to stabilise in the near future, the need to assess the situation should not prevent the EU institutions from legislating on better supervision and better taxation of crypto-assets;

43.  Points out the need for frequent review and adaptation of tax policy in order to be able to respond to the evolutions of the sector and to ensure that it remains relevant in the face of technological and market developments related to virtual currencies and other emerging asset types;

o
o   o

44.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

(1) European Parliament resolution of 10 March 2022 with recommendations to the Commission on fair and simple taxation supporting the recovery strategy (EP follow-up to the July Commission’s Action Plan and its 25 initiatives in the area of VAT, business and individual taxation) (OJ C 347, 9.9.2022, p. 211). (2) OJ C 347, 9.9.2022, p. 211. (3) European Parliament resolution of 15 February 2022 on the impact of national tax reforms on the EU economy (OJ C 342, 6.9.2022, p. 14). (4) Regulation (EU) 2015/847 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on information accompanying transfers of funds (OJ L 141, 5.6.2015, p. 1). (5) Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011 on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (OJ L 64, 11.3.2011, p. 1). (6) The economic size of the cryptocurrencies market was valued at EUR 2,2 trillion in May 2021, with a peak of EUR 2,5 trillion in October 2021 (Joint Research Centre of the Commission, 2021). (7) European Parliament resolution of 16 September 2021 on the implementation of the EU requirements for exchange of tax information: progress, lessons learnt and obstacles to overcome (OJ C 117, 11.3.2022, p. 120).

European Parliament legislative resolution of 4 October 2022 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down management, conservation and control measures applicable in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) Area of Competence, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1936/2001, (EC) No 1984/2003 and (EC) No 520/2007 (COM(2021)0113 – C9-0095/2021 – 2021/0058(COD))

P9_TA(2022)0336 A9-0312/2021

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2021)0113),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 43(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0095/2021),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 9 June 2021(1),

–  having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 22 June 2022 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A9-0312/2021),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 4 October 2022 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down management, conservation and control measures applicable in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) Area of Competence, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1936/2001, (EC) No 1984/2003 and (EC) No 520/2007

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2343.)

(1) OJ C 341, 24.8.2021, p. 106.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 4 October 2022 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 as regards additional flexibility to address the consequences of the military aggression of the Russian Federation FAST (Flexible Assistance for Territories) - CARE (COM(2022)0325 – C9-0218/2022 – 2022/0208(COD))

P9_TA(2022)0337 A9-0232/2022

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2022)0325),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 177 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9-0218/2022),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 20 July 2022 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Development (A9-0232/2022),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 4 October 2022 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) 2021/1060 as regards additional flexibility to address the consequences of the military aggression of the Russian Federation FAST (Flexible Assistance for Territories) - CARE

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2039.)

European Parliament legislative resolution of 4 October 2022 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2014/53/EU on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment (COM(2021)0547 – C9-0366/2021 – 2021/0291(COD))

P9_TA(2022)0338 A9-0129/2022

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2021)0547),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0366/2021),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 8 December 2021(1),

–  having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 29 June 2022 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rules 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (A9-0129/2022),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 4 October 2022 with a view to the adoption of Directive (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2014/53/EU on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Directive (EU) 2022/2380.)

(1) OJ C 152, 6.4.2022, p. 82.

European Parliament resolution of 4 October 2022 on AccessibleEU Centre in support of accessibility policies in the EU internal market (2022/2013(INI))

P9_TA(2022)0339 A9-0209/2022

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union,

–  having regard to Articles 19, 48, 67(4), 153, 165, 168 and 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Articles 3, 21, 24, 26, 34, 35, 41 and 47 thereof,

–  having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and its entry into force on 21 January 2011 in accordance with Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(1),

–  having regard to the general comments on the CRPD, drawn up by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as the authoritative guidance on its implementation, and in particular general comment No. 2 on Article 9: Accessibility, adopted on 11 April 2014,

–  having regard to the Code of Conduct between the Council, the Member States and the Commission setting out internal arrangements for the implementation by and representation of the European Union relating to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(2),

–  having regard to the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2 October 2015 on the initial report of the European Union,

–  having regard to the European Ombudsman’s strategic inquiry into how the Commission monitors EU Funds used to promote the right of persons with disabilities and older persons in independent living,

–  having regard to the Commission communication of 3 March 2021 entitled ‘Union of Equality: Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030’ (COM(2021)0101),

–  having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (COM(2008)0426, ‘the anti-discrimination directive’) and Parliament’s position of 2 April 2009 thereon(3),

–  having regard to its resolution of 18 June 2020 on the European disability strategy post‑2020(4),

–  having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations(5),

–  having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services(6) (European Accessibility Act),

–  having regard to Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies(7),

–  having regard to Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code(8),

–  having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/612 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 April 2022 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (recast)(9),

–  having regard to the Commission communication entitled ‘2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Decade’ (COM(2021)0118),

–  having regard to Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive)(10),

–  having regard to the Commission communication entitled ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track for the future’ (COM(2020)0789),

–  having regard to the New Consumer Agenda (COM(2020)0696), that has amongst its five priorities the specific needs of certain consumer groups, amongst them, persons with disabilities,

–  having regard to Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC(11) (Public Procurement Directive),

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027(12),

–  having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2018/254 of 15 February 2018 on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or otherwise Print Disabled(13),

–  having regard to the accessibility standards resulting from Commission mandates 376, 554, 420 and 473,

–  having regard to Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004(14),

–  having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 concerning the rights of passengers when travelling by sea and inland waterway and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004(15),

–  having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air(16),

–  having regard to Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91(17),

–  having regard to Commission Regulation (EU) No 1300/2014 of 18 November 2014 on the technical specifications for interoperability relating to accessibility of the Union’s rail system for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility(18),

–  having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (A9-0209/2022),

A.  whereas persons with disabilities have equal rights on an equal basis with others in all fields of life and have the inalienable rights to dignity, equal treatment, independent living, autonomy and full participation in society, which benefits all levels of society;

B.  whereas more than 87 million people in the Union have some form of disability, and whereas the ageing demographic trend in the Union must be taken into account;

C.  whereas accessibility is an essential precondition for persons with disabilities to fully enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms; whereas according to Article 9 of the CRPD on accessibility, in order to enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, state parties must take appropriate measures to ensure that they have access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies (ICT) and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas;

D.  whereas Member States must ensure that accessibility becomes mainstreamed at all levels, not only in public buildings and transport, but also in health and education, as well as increasing mobility for and the integration of people with disabilities;

E.  whereas the CRPD defines ‘universal design’ as the design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialised design and without excluding assistive devices for particular groups of persons with disabilities; whereas accessibility is one of the CRPD’s general principles, and the EU and Member States are legally bound by the CRPD under Decision 2010/48/EC; whereas general comment No. 2 on the CRPD notes the obligation of state parties to adopt action plans and strategies to identify existing barriers to accessibility, set time frames with specific deadlines and provide both the human and material resources necessary to remove the barriers; whereas accessibility is crucial for persons with disabilities to enjoy the rights to privacy, non-discrimination, employment, inclusive education, political participation, and other rights enshrined in the CRPD;

F.  whereas local authorities play a crucial role in supporting Member States in the development of social policies, including policies on disability and accessibility, through the analysis of the needs on the ground and the implementation of specific measures;

G.  whereas ensuring high-quality and affordable assistive technologies will foster the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and benefit both persons with disabilities and the providers of these technologies, as well as society as a whole; whereas assistive technologies will help to reduce disparities among Member States and whereas these technologies can only work in accessible environments;

H.  whereas higher levels of employment of people with disabilities, greater accessibility and greater inclusion of this group in the workforce have clear economic potential;

I.  whereas the Union has established a comprehensive legal framework for accessibility in the internal market, notably with the adoption of specific accessibility legislation such as the European Accessibility Act, and including accessibility obligations in various pieces of sectoral legislation, including the EU funds regulations; whereas the European Accessibility Act, which will apply from 28 June 2025, will introduce significant new requirements in respect of accessibility for products and services;

J.  whereas the actual implementation of policies related to disabilities will contribute positively to the competitiveness of the EU’s internal market and therefore represents an integral resource for the EU economy;

K.  whereas the evaluation of the European disability strategy 2010-2020 showed that its contribution improved the situation in a number of areas, but also highlighted the fact that persons with disabilities still face considerable barriers to access to healthcare, education, transport, the built environment, ICT, employment and recreational activities, as well to participation in political life and other areas of life;

1.  Welcomes the Commission communication entitled ‘Union of Equality: European Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030’ (the Strategy), whose aim is to ensure that all persons with disabilities in Europe are able to enjoy their rights, take part in society and in the economy under equal conditions and no longer be the subject of discrimination, addressing the considerable barriers highlighted in the evaluation of the European disability strategy 2010-2020;

2.  Welcomes the Commission’s initiative, announced in the Strategy, to establish the AccessibleEU Centre (the Centre); acknowledges that the Centre aims to increase the coherence of harmonised accessibility policies, to support their implementation, and to facilitate access to relevant knowledge and skills, promoting a culture of equal opportunities and full participation in society for persons with disabilities, including at professional level, in a collaborative space between public administrations, business representatives, disability civil society, accessibility experts and users;

3.  Notes that greater accessibility outcomes in society can only be achieved if the Centre follows the ‘universal design’ approach; emphasises the need to ensure that this comprehensive approach to accessibility is duly taken into account, in particular concerning the physical environment, transportation, information, communication, services, and the area of public procurement contracts and tenders; considers that this approach also implies effective participation of all stakeholders and rights-holders in their proceedings;

4.  Highlights that the EU has established a comprehensive legal framework for accessibility in the single market based on the mandate of the CRPD, which includes, inter alia, the European Accessibility Act, the Web Accessibility Directive, directives on audiovisual media services and electronic communications, and technical specifications for railway stations and vehicles; recalls that aspects of this framework have implementation deadlines in the future and encourages further efforts towards achieving early implementation; regrets the fact that, where already required, the implementation of such crucial legislation varies widely across Member States and, in general, has not yet been satisfactory, mostly due to the lack of qualified accessibility experts; stresses, therefore, the need to improve the overall knowledge of, as well as practical and theoretical expertise on accessibility policies among public administrations, economic operators and society in general, in order to help find suitable, sustainable and affordable solutions in each Member State and thus improve the implementation of existing and forthcoming accessibility requirements; stresses in this context that the Centre should act as an important resource to provide such knowledge and support to Member States in the implementation phase;

5.  Acknowledges the establishment of ad hoc working groups for the implementation of certain accessibility legislation; believes, however, that the absence of a coordination and cooperation framework between the EU, the Member States, in particular public authorities monitoring or enforcing accessibility laws, and the relevant stakeholders that support cross-cutting solutions, namely persons with disabilities through their representative organisations, accessibility professionals and the private sector, represents a further obstacle to the implementation of accessibility laws and to their harmonised enforcement across the EU;

6.  Calls on the Commission to ensure adequate resources, both in terms of funding and human resources, for the establishment and functioning of the Centre; calls on the Member States to ensure the resources needed for the implementation and enforcement of accessibility policies, including through EU funds; stresses that sufficient funding is imperative for the pursuit of effective public policies on accessibility, as well as for achieving progress on a wide range of topics such as raising awareness through communication actions, in particular towards organisations representing persons with disabilities, recognition of invisible disabilities and harmonisation of national disability cards or accessibility standards;

Structure

7.  Calls on the Commission to establish a secretariat and a forum to steer and lead the work of the Centre; underlines that the forum should guarantee the balanced participation of stakeholders from the public and private sectors and right-holders with suitable experience in the field of accessibility; stresses that gender balance should be ensured; underlines that the participation of organisations representing persons with disabilities must be ensured as an essential part of the Centre’s work, in order to ensure the highest possible level of transparency concerning its activities; believes that the Centre should publish an annual work programme and should include in the forum representatives among the Members of the European Parliament;

8.  Highlights the specific challenges posed by particular domains of accessibility policies, such as built environment, public procurement, digital technologies, media and culture, transportation, emerging technologies and assistive technologies, and products and services open to the public; calls on the Commission to establish specialised sub-groups of experts for certain areas; is convinced that these groups should work closely with the Centre, the Member States, persons with disabilities and organisations representing persons with disabilities, in order to guarantee better assessment, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of accessibility-related legislation;

9.  Calls on the Member States to establish national accessibility hubs, which could comprise of contact points and mirror groups of experts to work hand in hand with the Centre on implementing, monitoring and enforcing accessibility legislation; is of the opinion that the national accessibility hubs should facilitate exchange and coordination among relevant stakeholders and rights-holders, including economic operators, organisations of persons with disabilities and national authorities responsible for accessibility and the implementation of sectoral legislation; is convinced that the subject matter experts of the Centre should provide guidance and training to all relevant stakeholders; believes that such groups could help to find accessibility solutions which take into account the national specificities;

Mandate

10.  Believes that the Centre should function as a hub which provides relevant EU institutions and bodies and its Member States when implementing Union law with regular assistance and expertise relating to accessibility policies and technical requirements; believes that the Centre should establish and coordinate a cooperation framework that would bring together the relevant national and Union bodies with all user groups, in particular organisations representing persons with disabilities, civil society organisations, academia, companies and professionals from all areas of accessibility and consumer rights, in order to support harmonised implementation and enforcement across the EU, provide guidance and training, and to inspire policy developments and innovation at national and EU level, including through the identification and sharing of best practices across sectors, as well as through the creation of tools aiming to facilitate the implementation of Union law; believes moreover, that the Centre could enhance the collaboration between the above-mentioned bodies and organisations with highly innovative stakeholders, in order to promote the development of assistive technologies; considers that the Centre should also provide advice, including guidelines, to relevant EU institutions and bodies and its Member States on their internal accessibility policies and practises;

11.  Stresses the potential benefits of the Centre in supporting the Commission’s work, inter alia identifying and helping overcome gaps and inconsistencies in current legislation, providing policy recommendations for updating and developing accessibility laws, mainstreaming accessibility in all relevant policies under the responsibility of different Directorates-General of the Commission, including by identifying priority areas where accessibility should be improved, conducting projects that explore innovative ways to implement accessibility, assisting in drafting technical accessibility specifications, and helping EU agencies and bodies with accessibility-related matters;

12.  Is of the opinion that the Centre should generate valuable knowledge on accessibility through the use of research and studies, which it should provide to both the Commission and the Member States, and that it should collect and consolidate specialised and comparable information and fully accessible data, including feedback on the implementation of accessibility laws; highlights that these actions would help accessibility policies to be solidly based on users’ requirements and experiences; stresses that the Centre should help to address gaps in the collection of statistical data at national level on the situation of persons with disabilities and that cooperation with the relevant statistical bodies, in particular Eurostat, should be envisaged;

13.  Considers that the role of the Centre would be essential in providing the Commission and the Member States, stakeholders and right-holders with knowledge and support for the implementation, monitoring and enforcement of accessibility policies, including through training and guidance documents in all EU official languages and written in accessible, understandable and easy-to-read language;

14.  Stresses that the Centre should help to overcome inconsistencies between the CRPD and EU policies, and should thereby help Member States in achieving the primary goal of increasing employment levels among persons with disabilities; points out that this mainstreaming activity needs to involve the EU and the Member States also through close cooperation with organisations representing persons with disabilities and other civil society organisations, public authorities, and the private sector;

15.  Notes that implementing accessibility policies requires a high degree of technical expertise and is not sufficiently included in higher education programmes, thus contributing to a lack of qualified accessibility experts in the public and private sectors across domains; stresses that the Centre should support Member States in developing dedicated education programmes for accessibility-related matters and should provide training to professionals, EU and national public officials as well as relevant stakeholders and right-holders in order to increase awareness on these issues;

16.  Regrets that the standardisation system does not adequately allow persons with disabilities and their representative organisations to participate on an equal footing with other stakeholders in the activities of European and national standardisation bodies when drafting accessibility standards; calls, therefore, for improved representation within the standardisation system and for balanced representation among designated experts, in order to guarantee a fair outcome of the Union’s accessibility legislation and standards; considers that the Centre should play a significant role in the standard-setting system and could provide expertise to the Commission when the Commission is participating in the work of the standardisation committees, including through the provision of advice from the standardisation experts of organisations representing persons with disabilities, and, where possible, assist the Commission in drafting technical specifications and requests for European standards and deliverables in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012(19), including through the involvement of all relevant stakeholders and right-holders; believes that the involvement of the Centre would bring clear benefits to persons with disabilities with regard to movement around the EU and would empower them to enjoy their right to work, live and travel freely;

17.  Calls on the Commission to conduct an assessment within five years of the creation of the Centre to evaluate its effectiveness and added value in enhancing accessibility policies within the EU; underlines that on the basis of this assessment, the Commission should take appropriate steps to update and improve the Centre, including evaluating the possibility of establishing an agency if the objectives listed in its mandate are not accomplished; calls on the Commission to monitor the work of the Centre and its achievements through yearly reports to be presented to Parliament;

o
o   o

18.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Member States.

(1) OJ L 23, 27.1.2010, p. 35. (2) OJ C 340, 15.12.2010, p. 11. (3) OJ C 137 E, 27.5.2010, p. 68. (4) OJ C 362, 8.9.2021, p. 8. (5) OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 1. (6) OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 70. (7) OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p. 1. (8) OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36. (9) OJ L 115, 13.4.2022, p. 1. (10) OJ L 95, 15.4.2010, p. 1. (11) OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65. (12) OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 11. (13) OJ L 48, 21.2.2018, p. 1. (14) OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 1. (15) OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 1. (16) OJ L 204, 26.7.2006, p. 1. (17) OJ L 46, 17.2.2004, p. 1. (18) OJ L 356, 12.12.2014, p. 110. (19) Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European standardisation (OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 12).

European Parliament legislative resolution of 4 October 2022 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Union Single Window Environment for Customs and amending Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (COM(2020)0673 – C9-0338/2020 – 2020/0306(COD))

P9_TA(2022)0340 A9-0279/2021

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2020)0673),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Articles 33, 114 and 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0338/2020),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 24 March 2021(1),

–  having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 15 June 2022 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the letter from the Committee on International Trade,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (A9-0279/2021),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 4 October 2022 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Union Single Window Environment for Customs and amending Regulation (EU) No 952/2013

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2399.)

(1) OJ C 220, 9.6.2021, p. 62.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 4 October 2022 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on statistics on agricultural input and output and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1165/2008, (EC) No 543/2009, (EC) No 1185/2009 and Council Directive 96/16/EC (COM(2021)0037 – C9-0009/2021 – 2021/0020(COD))

P9_TA(2022)0341 A9-0285/2021

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2021)0037),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 338(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0009/2021),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 17 June 2022 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A9-0285/2021),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2.  Approves the joint statement by Parliament and the Council annexed to this resolution, which will be published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union;

3.  Takes note of the statement by the Commission annexed to this resolution, which will be published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union;

4.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 4 October 2022 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on statistics on agricultural input and output, amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 617/2008 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1165/2008, (EC) No 543/2009 and (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 96/16/EC

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2379.)

ANNEX TO THE LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

JOINT STATEMENT BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL IN RELATION TO REGULATION (EU) 2022/2379, AS REGARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ESTABLISHING IN ALL MEMBER STATES A REGISTER HELD BY NATIONAL COMPETENT AUTHORITIES ON THE USE OF PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS IN AGRICULTURE

As part of the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy highlight the need for a transition to a sustainable food system, in particular by reducing the use and risk of pesticides by 50 % by 2030 and by increasing organic farming and biodiversity-rich landscape features on agricultural land.

Under Regulation (EU) 2022/2379 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1), the full collection of data on the use of plant protection products by professional users in an agricultural activity, that is a coverage of 95 % of the use in each Member State, can only be achieved when a legal requirement for professional users of plant protection products to transmit their records in electronic format to national competent authorities is applicable under Union law.

The European Parliament and the Council recognise the importance of introducing such a requirement into Union legislation and commit to working together to that end.

STATEMENT BY THE COMMISSION IN RELATION TO REGULATION (EU) 2022/2379, AS REGARDS ON-GOING WORK TO ENSURE THE AVAILABILITY IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT OF THE RECORDS TO BE KEPT BY PROFESSIONAL USERS OF PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 67(1) OF REGULATION (EC) NO 1107/2009

The European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy establish a reduction in the use and risk of chemical pesticides as a key objective for the Union. In order to ensure effective and impactful policies, robust and comprehensive data on the use of pesticides at farm level is crucial. The on-going work to ensure the availability in electronic format of the records kept by professional users of plant protection products is an important enabling factor to implementing the reporting obligations on pesticides that are part of Regulation (EU) 2022/2379 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2) (SAIO).

Therefore, the Commission has prepared a draft Commission Implementing Regulation, on the basis of Article 67(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council(3), as regards the content and format of the records of the use of plant protection products to be kept by professional users in accordance with Article 67(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009.

That Implementing Regulation would, if adopted as currently foreseen, regulate the record-keeping required under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 in detail, including by identifying the elements to be recorded by the professional users, and by ensuring that those records will be available in electronic format from 1 January 2025 at the latest.

The draft of that Implementing Regulation is currently under discussion in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, Section Phytopharmaceuticals - Legislation. The Commission intends to seek the opinion of the committee pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council(4) in the coming months.

The Commission intends to adopt that Implementing Regulation before the end of 2022.

(1) Regulation (EU) 2022/2379 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 on statistics on agricultural input and output, amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 617/2008 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1165/2008, (EC) No 543/2009 and (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 96/16/EC (OJ L 315, 7.12.2022, p. 1). (2) Regulation (EU) 2022/2379 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 on statistics on agricultural input and output, amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 617/2008 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1165/2008, (EC) No 543/2009 and (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 96/16/EC (OJ L 315, 7.12.2022, p. 1). (3) Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC (OJ L 309, 24.11.2009, p. 1). (4) Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).

European Parliament legislative resolution of 4 October 2022 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council on persistent organic pollutants (COM(2021)0656 – C9-0396/2021 – 2021/0340(COD))

P9_TA(2022)0342 A9-0092/2022

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2021)0656),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0396/2021),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 8 December 2021(1),

–  after consulting the Committee of the Regions,

–  having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 29 June 2022 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A9-0092/2022),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out(2);

2.  Takes note of the statement by the Commission annexed to this resolution;

3.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

4.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 4 October 2022 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2400.)

ANNEX TO THE LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

Commission statement

Commission statement on the occasion of the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/2400(3), on inclusion of waste code 17 05 04 “soil and stones other than those mentioned in 17 05 03” in part 2 of Annex V of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021

The inclusion in part 2 of Annex V of the waste code for “soils and stones other than those mentioned in 170503” should not be understood to favour disposal of soil as waste over remediation in view of preventing waste generation.

Where disposal offers the best environmental waste management option, the exceptional derogation from destructive treatment is subject to the requirements of Article 7(4) of the Regulation (EU) 2019/1021.

(1) OJ C 152, 6.4.2022, p. 197. (2) This position replaces the amendments adopted on 3 May 2022 (Texts adopted, P9_TA(2022)0130). (3) Regulation (EU) 2022/2400 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 amending Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants (OJ L 317, 9.12.2022, p. 24).