EU states decide fast ratification of Paris climate agreement
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European Parliament agrees to ratification next week
EU states agreed a shortcut to ratify the Paris climate deal today in order to trigger its entry into force next week. The decision was reached at an extraordinary meeting of the Environment Council in Brussels. “Commissioner Arias Cañete did a great job to accommodate concerns. This is a real success for the EU. It is very good news that all EU Member states now back the agreement. Poland sought concessions during the negotiations until the last minute”, said environmental policy spokesman, Dr. Peter Liese, of the EPP-Group in the European Parliament. “We will maintain Europe’s leadership role in combating climate change. The European Parliament will vote on the ratification on October 4 and will approve the fast-track ratification. It short-cuts 28 separate national ratification processes and shows that the EU is able to agree quickly. We delivered on our promises”
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Medical Devices law strengthened - better for patients and industry
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Negotiations on the better regulation of Medical Devices and Medical Diagnostics (IVD) in the EU successfully concluded on Wednesday evening, according to EPP Group lead negotiators, Dr Peter Liese MEP and Mairead McGuinness MEP.
"We are delighted that a deal is finally done. Following some deeply worrying scandals, including that of defective PIP breast implants in 2011, action was needed to ensure patient safety."
“The new Regulation is good news for patients, and by tackling fraudulent producers we will strengthen reputable producers of medical devices, an important industry and employer in Europe," said MEP Liese, EPP Group health spokesperson and Rapporteur for Diagnostic Devices, after lengthy, tough negotiations between the European Parliament and Council.
“The new Regulation tackles the gaps in the outdated existing laws with a clear focus on patient safety at every stage of the process from product development, to market placement and surveillance,” added European Parliament Vice-President McGuinness, who led negotiations on the Medical Devices file for the EPP Group.
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Airline Greenhouse Gas Emissions
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European Parliament‘s Environment Committee expresses deep disappointment about ICAO proposal
Unambitious agreement for aviation would be unfair for the rest of the industries
“Any amendment of the existing legislation on including aviation in the EU ETS can only be considered if the Global Market Based Measure (GMBM) is ambitious and in any case intra-European flights will continue to be covered by the EU ETS.”
This strong message has been sent by the environment committee of the European Parliament to the delegates meeting at the 39th ICAO Assembly in Montreal from today Tuesday on. The European Union already in 2008 adopted a Directive that covers all flights that start and or land in Europe, including intercontinental flights, in the EU ETS. The legislation came into force in 2012 but to trigger the international process at ICAO, the European Union stopped the clock two times, so that in the first four years only flights inside Europe were covered. It was never true that Europe stood in the way of an international agreement, but unfortunately third-countries managed to give this impression. That is why, we did stop the clock as a sign of good will”, said Peter Liese EP rapporteur on the file. “But the current proposal on the table at ICAO is not meeting the expectations of the European Parliament. The committee in its resolution on the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2016 UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco (COP22) adopted 13.09.2016 expresses its deep disappointment about the current proposal discussed at ICAO.”
European Commission's initial proposal to renew the authorisation of glyphosate won't fly
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Parliament will demand drastic amendments
"The European Commission's proposal on the re-approval of the controversial plant protection product glyphosate does no longer have any chance". This declared the health policy spokesman of the biggest political group in the European Parliament (EPP), Dr Peter Liese. The European Parliament will vote on this question next week. "There are still different opinions among the political groups. Some are in favour of an immediate ban. Our Christian democratic group declares itself in favour of a temporally limited renewal of the authorisation under strict conditions. Thus, as the proposal is also highly controversial among Member States and could not find a majority there, the Commission's initial proposal is politically dead. Besides, the responsible Commissioner for Health Andriukaitis announced that he will not act against political majorities in both institutions, the Parliament and the Council. The Christian democrats speak out against an immediate prohibition. They acknowledge that glyphosate is a problematical substance; however they do not want to run the risk that, in the case of its prohibition, glyphosate will be substituted by even more poisonous substances. "We therefore need a prudent strategy. We want to prohibit, in particular, the pre-harvest use of glyphosate on crops to determine the date of harvesting as well as its use just before the harvest aiming at making the use of harvesting machines easier. In Germany, these particular treatments have been prohibited for a couple of years already. If the pesticide is used just before harvest, the danger of residues on food is of course much higher than when using it earlier". Furthermore, the 15-year authorisation should be shortened and the Commission is asked to prohibit dangerous co-formulants as soon as possible.