To protect animal welfare, consumers and public health, the Environment and Public Health Committee called for EU Action Plan to address illegal trade in companion animals.

In a debate with Frans Timmermans, the Environment Committee says the EU must remain firm on climate change and the timetable foreseen for the Climate Law.

Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

The share of municipal waste to be recycled will rise to 55% by 2025, from 44% today, under legislation on circular economy backed by Environment MEPs on Tuesday.

Environment MEPs advocate a full and immediate EU-wide ban on ivory and rhinoceros horn trade, and call for common sanctions at EU level against wildlife trafficking, in a resolution voted on Thursday. Wildlife trafficking is worth an estimated €20 billion annually. It has grown in recent years, becoming one of the biggest and most profitable forms of organised cross-border crime.

Single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery, straws and cotton buds, will be banned in the EU under plans provisionally agreed between Parliament and Council, on Wednesday.

Draft plans to tighten up official controls from farm to fork were informally agreed by food safety MEPs and the Dutch Presidency of the Council on Wednesday. It aims to guarantee that the food consumers buy and eat in Europe is safe and wholesome, hence improving consumer’s health and preventing food crises.

The share of waste to be recycled should be raised to 70% by 2030, from 44% today, while landfilling, which has a big environmental impact, should be limited to 5%, said Environment Committee MEPs on Tuesday, as they amended the draft EU “waste package” legislation. They also advocate a 50% reduction in food waste by 2030.

A draft law to make smoking less attractive to the young by banning the use of "characterised" flavours such as strawberry or menthol in tobacco products was backed by Public Health Committee MEPs on Wednesday. But they also amended the draft to require health warnings on every side of a cigarette pack and ban slim cigarettes and "attractive" packaging.

An agreement on draft legislation to make tobacco products less attractive to young people was reached on Wednesday by MEPs and the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of Ministers. This legislation would require all packs to carry a health warning covering 65% of their surface.E-cigarettes should be regulated, either as medicinal products, if they are presented as having curative or preventive properties, or as tobacco products..

Environment MEPs put forward a number of possible measures to cut the EU 88 million tonnes per year food waste by half by 2030 on Tuesday. MEPs called on the European Commission to lift existing restrictions on food donations and stressed a solution is needed for the confusion created for many consumers by the “best before” and “use by” labelling.

Environment and Public Health Committee MEPs will discuss the current Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak with the European Commission on Thursday morning.

The Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee called for sufficient means to match the needs of the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism programme post-2020.

Ministers outlined the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU to parliamentary committees, in a series of meetings.

The EP Committee responsible for public health quizzed the Director-General of the WHO on its response to COVID-19, underlining the need for global cooperation.

To raise global climate ambition and prevent ‘carbon leakage’, the EU must place a carbon price on imports from less climate-ambitious countries, say Environment MEPs.

The EU’s lead negotiator on COVID-19 vaccines contracts, Sandra Gallina, will update MEPs on the latest developments concerning COVID-19 vaccines, on Tuesday at 9 am.

To decarbonise maritime transport, the Environment Committee voted on Tuesday to include CO2 emissions from the maritime sector in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

On Tuesday, MEPs quizzed the European Commission and European Medicines Agency on latest developments concerning the authorisation and purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.

A provisional deal on the EU programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) to boost EU action in 2021-2027 was agreed with member states.