AGRI Committee report on the new EU Forest Strategy for 2030
The AGRI Committee report on the EU Forest Strategy for 2030 was prepared by the rapporteur MEP Ulrike Müller (RE, DE) and includes elements of the opinion by the ENVI committee that had exclusive competence on several parts.
On the contrary to the European Commission, the AGRI report takes a balanced approach on EU forests and stresses their diversity and multifunctionality. Active sustainable forest management adapted to local and regional circumstances is addressed in the report as the key to improve forests’ ecosystem adaptation and resilience. The report also highlights the role of European forest owners as the cornerstones of the strategy’s implementation.
Important points still need to be clarified and improved in the vote in September’s plenary including the report’s provisions related to closer-to-nature forestry, and sustainable forest management indicators defined by the European Commission.
ENVI Committee report on the Proposal for a Regulation on Deforestation and Forest Degradation
The report on the proposal for a Regulation on Deforestation and Forest Degradation of the ENVI committee prepared by MEP Christophe Hansen (EPP, LU).
MEPs have voted for very ambitious provisions. Companies would be obliged to verify that products placed on the EU market have not contributed to deforestation, forest or other ecosystem degradation or natural ecosystem conversion. Furthermore, a new geo-localisation requirement and wide rights for legal and natural persons to access justice would be introduced. Compared to the Council’s general approach, which was agreed on 28 June 2022, several of the provisions from the ENVI committee’s report are very restrictive and open to varying interpretations.
Improvements to the ENVI committee report are needed in September’s plenary vote to propose measures which are feasible and realistic for operators who will bear the responsibility of the implementation.
ITRE Committee report on the Proposal of Directive amending the Renewable Energy Directive
The ITRE Committee report for the revision of the directive on renewable energy (REDIII) was prepared by MEP Markus Pieper (EPP, DE).
Among other things, the committee supported raising the EU’s renewable energy target to 45 percent by 2030. The article 29 on the sustainability criteria was not addressed since it is in the competence of the ENVI committee. Nevertheless, the cascading use principle was discussed part of the article 3 in the ITRE committee and the ITRE committee called the Commission to adopt an implementing act (and not a delegated act as proposed by the Commission) on how to apply the cascading principle for forest biomass.
European forest owners have expressed strong concerns on EU regulatory requirements on cascading as well as on proposed changes to bioenergy sustainability criteria and call for these issues to be addressed in September’s plenary vote.
