The Agriculture and Rural Development Committee met on 20 April to vote on the REDIII opinion and to discuss the New EU Forest Strategy (see full agenda). Much of the discussion focused on the multifunctionality of forests and the subsidiarity principle (video broadcast). A committee vote is expected on 12 July and the Council has already released its Conclusions on the New EU Forest Strategy back in November. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.
The Working Group Sustainability met on 13 April and updates on the REDII implementation status on national level, the current developments on REDIII as well as an overview of the next steps of the EU Taxonomy on sustainable finance were presented and discussed. Further, the latest information from the Task Forces National Advocacy and Carbon Dioxide Removals was presented. The slides and minutes are now available. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.
The feedback period for the new EU Framework for Forest Monitoring and Strategic Plans is open until 6 May and members are welcomed to submit feedback. The aim of the initiative is to develop a EU-wide forest observation framework to provide information on the condition and management of forests to protect them from natural disturbances and illegal logging. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.
Bioenergy Europe recently sent a joint statement on the ENVI draft opinion calling for a revision that supports sustainable forest management and respects the subsidiarity principle, while avoiding market distortions, and unnecessary administrative and financial burdens, especially to small-scale actors to key MEPs in the ENVI committee together with the forest and forest-based sectors (Cepi, Copa-Cogeca, ELO, EOS, EUSTAFOR). A second joint statement on the ITRE draft report calling for a revision that supports a stable regulatory environment without retroactive measures and avoids burdensome administrative requirements that would fail to deliver on sustainability was sent to key MEPs in the ITRE committee together with bioenergy end-users: Cepi, Cogen Europe, EOS, and EHP. For more information, please contact Daniel Reinemann.
The ENVI draft report on the regulation on certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation was released. The new proposal would replace the EU Timber Regulation and the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation.
The ITRE committee published its amendments (142-314, 315-595, 596-885, 886-1190) to the EED draft report of MEP Niels Fuglsang (S&D, DK). The current proposal seems to be aligned with Bioenergy Europe’s position and the deadline for the consideration of the amendments is 20 April. The final adoption of the recast is planned by mid-June.
The AGRI committee has postponed its committee vote on REDIII which was originally scheduled for 31 March and will now take place at the end of April. The delay is due to challenging discussions on compromise amendments. The final text seems to be more favourable on Article 3 and the cascading issue calling for an updated guidance instead of a delegated act.
The REDII Committee on the Sustainability of Biofuels, Bioliquids and Biomass Fuels approved the implementing act on rules to verify sustainability and GHG emissions saving criteria and low indirect land-use change-risk criteria during the 10 March meeting. The vote passed with 21 Member States in favour representing 68,17% of the EU’s population. 13 schemes have been positively assessed and an additional scheme is likely to be recognized shortly.
The Environment Council met on 17 March and discussed among other topics the regulation on certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation. Minister Barbara Pompili (FR) opened the discussion highlighting the fight against deforestation as one of the French Presidency’s priorities and many of the Member States’ representatives were supportive of the proposal and the ambition.
The AGRI committee held a hearing on 16 March to consider the draft report on the New EU Forest Strategy. The rapporteur, Ulrike Müller (RE, DE), opened the session (17:07:00) highlighting the multifunctionality of forests and the need to empower foresters while recognising sustainable forestry is a dynamic concept.
