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Peter Liese: Crucial for Patients, but also for Competitiveness and Jobs / Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens block a clear timetable

The European Parliament is urging swift amendments to the controversial Medical Devices Regulation. In the plenary session in Strasbourg, the Parliament passed a text by a large majority, calling on the Commission to make targeted changes in the first quarter of 2025 to address the most pressing challenges. A proposal that outlined a clear timetable for a comprehensive revision of all problematic articles was blocked by the Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens, as some oppose any revision in principle, while others found the timeline too "ambitious."

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Peter Liese: Entry into force on 30/12/2024 would have caused chaos / Chance for sensible dialogue and avoidance of unnecessary bureaucracy through clarification

The European Commission has proposed postponing the controversial regulation on deforestation by one year. The regulation had been heavily criticised not only by forest owners and farmers, but also by many economic operators and, above all, third countries, as the necessary conditions for an unbureaucratic implementation are not in place. “I very much welcome the proposal and am sure that my group and the entire Parliament will adopt it in the short term. The regulation entering into force on 30 December 2024 would have plunged us into irresponsible chaos. Many of the conditions for application are not clear and many third countries are rightly complaining. Small farmers, e.g. in Latin America, need much more support and we must ensure an unbureaucratic implementation. None of this is possible in the few remaining months. Of course, deforestation is a huge problem. Every minute, forests the size of eleven football pitches disappear. This is a disaster for the global climate as for other things, but we have to do it the right way and get those affected by the law more involved. Many third countries that want to take fundamental action against deforestation have so far been unable to use the instrument. Medium-sized coffee roasters that import fair-trade organic coffee complained, for example, that the rules could only be implemented promptly by large corporations. By rushing it into force, we would have done a disservice to the cause,” explained Peter Liese, environmental policy spokesman for the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats).

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Proposal in the first 100 days of new Commission expected


The biggest group in the European Parliament (EPP Christian Democrats) demands an urgent review of the Medical Device Regulation. “The Regulation was not only well intended but it was also necessary due to a lot of scandals, including the PIP breast implant scandal. It is good that we have unannounced controls, a better surveillance of the notified bodies, and some other improvements. But, unfortunately, we have to clearly see that the EU institutions exaggerated and that there is a lot of red tape that does not really add safety but hinders the production of very much needed medical devices, like for example cardiac catheters for children,” explained Dr. Peter Liese, spokesperson of the EPP in the Committee for Environment and Health, and Tomislav Sokol, spokesperson in the Subcommittee on Health.

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Peter Liese: Decision is overdue / Grazing livestock farmers are suffering extremely

“I am very happy about this decision. People are worried about the increase of wolves in Europe. It has long ceased to be an endangered species, but threatens grazing livestock in particular. Livestock grazing is a near-natural form of agriculture, and it is being pushed back more and more by the wolf. It is therefore good that we finally see the necessary action,” commented Dr Peter Liese, environmental policy spokesperson for the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), on the decision by the EU Member States to downgrade the protection status of the wolf. The European Parliament had already called for this in 2022. At the end of last year, the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen made a corresponding proposal. However, it took Member States very long to finally agree.

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