Otsing

The European Parliament has a range of supervisory and control powers, allowing it to exercise oversight over other European Union institutions. To strengthen this oversight, Parliament has revived the practice of holding 'question time' with the European Commission and the High Representative during plenary sessions. For the June I session, questions to the Commission will concern pesticide use and consumer protection.

In 2014, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products. Aimed at revising the existing legislation on organic production in order to remove obstacles to the sustainable development of this sector, the proposal is intended to strengthen the rules on the control system, the trade regime, various animal welfare practices and the use of non-authorised substances. The proposed regulation will introduce one set of EU-wide rules covering ...

Developing organic production is an EU policy objective. While the EU organic market is constantly expanding, only 6 % of total EU agricultural area is used for organic cultivation, and the difference between EU demand and production is covered by growing imports. To overcome the regulatory obstacles to the development of the sector and increase consumer confidence in the EU organic logo, the Commission adopted a proposal in March 2014 for a regulation on organic production and labelling of organic ...

Every year, the EU's 600 000 beekeepers and their 16 million beehives produce 200 000 tonnes of honey. This is not however sufficient to cover demand on the EU market, and the shortfall is made up by imports, above all from China. Threats to bee health and market competition make the economic viability of apiculture a critical matter. EU policies aim therefore to address these issues and promote beekeeping, an activity that is of vital importance to the environment.

Controls undertaken by Member States to ensure the safety of our food are essential. The operating principals of the 'official controls' are to be updated and modernised. Parliament is expected to adopt during its March II plenary its second-reading position, following a trilogue agreement with the Council, on the proposal which aims to guarantee that food business operators are controlled with equal effectiveness in all Member States throughout the whole food chain.

The document summarises the presentations and discussions which took place in the course of the workshop on Food Contact Materials, held on 26 January 2016. The aim of the workshop was to provide background information and advice for the members of the ENVI Committee and to provide input for the EP draft implementation report on Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004. At the workshop, many of the speakers - including representatives of NGOs, industry and academia - called for further harmonisation of legislation ...

This study was prepared for Policy Department A at the request of the Environmental, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee, and updates the earlier 2013 briefing. It provides an overview of the food safety situation in Ireland. It outlines the Irish food and drink industry, the structure and organisation of the food safety and control system involved in food safety in Ireland and a description of current food safety issues in Ireland. An overview of the structure and competencies of the ...

This research paper was undertaken at the request of the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). It provides a complementary impact assessment, reviewing and updating the 2008 European Commission Impact Assessment of a proposal for a Regulation replacing Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 on Novel Foods and Novel Food Ingredients. In particular, it assesses the impacts of the Commission’s 2013 proposal on the various parties concerned, i.e., EU-level and Member ...

Concern about the rising number of incidents of food fraud has led to calls for stronger action in this area, not least because the food chain in Europe is worth some €750 billion a year. Following the horsemeat scandal, which hit the EU at the beginning of 2013, the European Commission set about restoring consumer and market confidence through a number of measures, including proposals to strengthen controls along the food chain and toughen penalties for fraudsters.

This note is composed of two parts. Part one reviews the Serbian food and drink industry, the organisations and controls involved in food safety, food safety concerns, the risk management and risk communication of animal diseases and finally the status of preparation of Serbia against the acquis in the area of food safety. Part two provides an overview of the public health situation in Serbia. It presents the health status of the population and its determinants, and describes the Serbian health ...