Sajtószoba 

New EU ambitious targets for renewables, including self-consumption and biofuels, were agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators on Wednesday night.

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.

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 reform the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), by reducing the surplus of carbon credits available for trading into order to support the price, was informally agreed upon by MEPs and the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers on Tuesday. The surplus reserve would start operating in 2019.

On Wednesday, climate activist Greta Thunberg spoke at a meeting in the Parliament’s Environment Committee.

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

To protect human health and the environment, the Environment Committee objected on Tuesday to a Commission proposal allowing lead in recycled PVC.

A European Citizens’ Initiative petition calling for an EU-wide ban on herbicide glyphosate was discussed on Monday with the petitioners and the European Commission.

Plans to curb the use of antibiotics on farms, so as to keep resistant bacteria out of human foods, were informally agreed by MEPs and ministers on Tuesday.

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 and Public Health MEPs will debate on Monday the Coronavirus outbreak with the Executive Director of the EU Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Ministers are outlining the priorities of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU to parliamentary committees, in a series of meetings.

MEPs discussed the EU risk assessment of the herbicide glyphosate, in the light of the so-called “Monsanto Papers”, with experts in a public hearing on Wednesday.

Plans to boost greenhouse-gas emission curbs through the EU carbon market (EU ETS) were backed by the Environment Committee on Thursday. MEPs propose reducing the carbon credits to be auctioned by 2.4% each year, and doubling the capacity of the market stability reserve (MSR) to absorb the excess of allowances on the market.

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.

Draft legislation agreed with the Council of Ministers to make tobacco products less attractive to young people was endorsed by Public Health Committee MEPs on Wednesday. This legislation, updating the EU Tobacco Directive, would require all packs to carry a health warning covering 65% of their surface. E-cigarettes would be regulated, either as medicinal products, if they make quit claims, or as tobacco products.

All of the EP’s 20 standing committees and two subcommittees held their constitutive meetings on Wednesday to elect their chair and vice-chairs.

Further reducing use of pesticides, more funds for research and better monitoring are urgently needed to save the EU’s bees, says the Environment Committee.

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.

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.