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- Ελληνικά
The Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the contribution of national parliaments to improving the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), hosted by the Croatian Parliament, concluded yesterday in Zagreb.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. The President of the Parliamentary Committee of the European Union (EU), Mr. Yannakis Gavriel, was one of the main speakers during the last thematic session of the Conference, where representatives of the Agriculture Committees of the national parliaments of the European Union (EU) Member States presented the initiatives taken by their legislative bodies, in the framework of political dialogue, to address issues related to the CAP. In his speech, he presented the opinion submitted by the House of Representatives in July 2023, in the context of the political dialogue, on the proposal for a regulation on the rational use of plant protection products.
Gabriel noted that in light of the massive mobilization of the Cypriot agricultural movement, which protested against the unfavourable provisions of the proposed regulation on the rational use of plant protection products, the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture approved the ex officio examination of the issue and convened a series of meetings in order to listen to the strong concerns of agricultural organizations.
Gabriel pointed out that the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture shared the reservations expressed by several national parliaments and farmers' organisations across the EU on certain aspects of the proposal which needed to be improved. In this respect, he stressed the need to take into account the specificities of each EU Member State and the difficulties faced by the primary sector in Cyprus, given that some plant pests cannot be controlled without the use of pesticides. He also pointed out that the extreme weather events in Cyprus, related to climate change, contribute to the rapid spread of crop pests.
The Cypriot MEP further underlined the need to redefine the term "sensitive areas", noting that the widespread use of the term "sensitive areas" where a complete ban on pesticides would have a disproportionate negative impact on the conduct of agricultural activities in Cyprus. Furthermore, he stressed that the implementation of the proposal in small Member States, such as Cyprus, would impose disproportionate costs on the competent authorities and farmers. He also called for greater flexibility at national level and for the possibility of additional funding from the EU to cover the increased costs that farmers will have to bear when implementing the proposal, in order to prevent the costs from being passed on to consumers.
Mr. Gabriel noted that Cyprus looks forward to the adoption of a compromise solution, within the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, which, on the one hand, will ensure food sufficiency and sustainable production in the primary sector and, on the other hand, will contribute to the reduction of pesticide use and the protection of the environment and health. Finally, he pointed out that the Committee on Agriculture would continue to contribute to the improvement of EU legislative proposals, making full use of the tools provided for in the Lisbon Treaty concerning the control of the subsidiarity principle.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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