For weeks everything has been about the corona virus - also in the EU. Today the EU Commission is reflecting on its original top issue of environmental and climate protection. A lot could change for consumers.
Brussels (dpa) - A nutritional logo on food, less pesticides in the field, more protection for the afflicted nature: According to the will of the EU Commission, Europe should become a global pioneer for sustainable nutrition and biological diversity.
Today, the agency presents its plans as part of the European "green deal" for a climate neutral Europe by 2050. They are likely to affect the diet of millions of consumers.
The fight against climate change is a hot topic for the EU Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen, but was recently overshadowed by the Corona crisis. For this reason, the presentation of the two strategies, which are later to be cast into legislative proposals, was delayed.
Specifically, alongside a strategy to strengthen species protection, the "from the farm to the plate" strategy for more environmentally friendly food production is at stake. The aim is to use fewer pesticides, antibiotics and fertilizers, to improve animal welfare and to make fishing more sustainable, as is clear from a draft that is available to the German Press Agency. The amount of food thrown away and packaging waste should also be reduced.
To make it easier for consumers to make a choice in the supermarket, the EU Commission also wants to propose a mandatory nutritional logo for food. The draft aims to empower people to make healthy, sustainable choices. Germany is already introducing such a nutrition label - but on a voluntary basis by the manufacturers. The new rules should come into force this year. It is a voluntary use of the logo on the front of finished products.
The second strategy is to ensure biodiversity, which has decreased drastically in the past decades. The central point of the biodiversity plan is the expansion of protected areas: 30 percent of the European land and sea area are to be placed under protection, ten percent are to be left virtually untouched even under particularly strict conditions, according to dpa information from a draft. The goal is also to plant three billion new trees by 2030.
In an interview with dpa, the Green European politician Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg expressly praised the fact that the EU Commission is pushing ahead with the "Green Deal" despite the Corona crisis. However, she criticized that the strategy had been watered down at various points under pressure from lobbyists. Securing ten percent of the country as a place of retreat and a "biological reservoir" for biodiversity is a strong signal, but it is not enough.
Ultimately, a new approach to agricultural policy is needed: "We will not be able to achieve the" from the farm to the plate "strategy or the biodiversity strategy unless we approach the common agricultural policy," said the MEP. The EU countries have been advising on agricultural reform for years, but are making little progress.
The "Green Deal" aims to make the European Union "climate neutral" by 2050. This means that from then on no new greenhouse gases should be blown into the atmosphere. Anything that cannot be saved must be saved. Agriculture contributes significant amounts of greenhouse gases, especially in animal husbandry. On the other hand, afforestation can bind large amounts of carbon dioxide.