The Deputy Chairman of the Committee, AKEL MP Nikos Ketteros, said that the harmonisation bill concerning the abolition of plastic products had been tabled and was being debated.
Certainly, he stressed, the aim is to move to a circular economy and reduce the impact of plastic products on the environment and human health, but there are serious concerns about the viability of businesses involved in the production of plastics, which must be given time to adjust their operations. "Concerns also arise regarding the prices of new alternative packaging and products that will replace plastics," he said. This change will undoubtedly affect the lifestyle of citizens, who will of course need time to adapt to this new situation, he added.
He expressed the Commission's readiness to examine this important issue in all seriousness and to take a careful and sensitive approach to the provisions of the bill that has been tabled.
He also said that the protection of the environment is high on the agenda for AKEL, "without this meaning that we will not protect producers and citizens in the face of the new fact of removing plastic products from the market".
DPA MP Michalis Yiakoumi said that the committee had listened to the views and concerns of all stakeholders and considered that there is fertile ground for resolving any problems that arise regarding stocks and the timing of their availability on the market.
The PPP, he said, believes that "e must and should take advantage of the benefits of the implementation of the European Green Agreement and all the financial instruments deriving from it in order to achieve the transformation of our production model into a new development model that exploits the use of renewable energy sources, rationalizes waste management, invests in the upgrading of agriculture and the circular economy".
Their guiding principle, he added, "is to upgrade and improve the quality of life of our fellow citizens."
Subject for the re-establishment of the Anti-Poaching Unit
Kettiros also stated that an ex-officio subject entitled: "The need to re-establish the Anti-Poaching Unit. The need to take preventive measures in the poaching of endemic game and wild game."
He explained that the proposal to register this own-initiative item arose after the abolition of the Poaching Suppression Unit, after which complaints about an increase in poaching and crime are received on a daily basis. The Parliamentary Committee on the Environment should be immediately informed about this serious issue that concerns the hunting future and the prevention and protection of Cyprus' rare habitats, he said.
Source: CNA
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