I am very happy to have participated in today’s Council, my first as a Commissioner. By being here together with Commissioner Hansen, I believe we give an important signal that we take working together hand in hand seriously to deliver on the vision for agriculture. We had a fruitful exchange with Ministers on the forest monitoring law, bioeconomy and also pollinators. Allow me to briefly address these issues.
Forest Monitoring Law
First, we discussed the progress report from the Hungarian presidency on the forest monitoring law. As you know, the Commission made its proposal last year. And Council and Parliament are currently examining it. Forests cover around 40% of the EU land surface. They play an important role in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. This is the starting point on which we all agree. But forests in Europe are under a lot of pressure. And we don’t have comparable information to monitor this. The result is that we are not well equipped to predict, prevent or manage crises like droughts, storms and wildfires. With our proposal, we try to fill that data gap. In today’s discussion, I listened very carefully to the views and concerns expressed by the Member States. I have reassured them that we are ready to look for solutions. I will be particularly mindful of the need to avoid regulatory burden and limit costs.
Bioeconomy Strategy
Second, we also discussed the bioeconomy and the future opportunities this sector holds for the European economy and our competitiveness. Already today it is an important part of our economy. It contributes 5% to EU GDP– almost as much as the automotive industry so it’s big and growing. I am looking forward to propose a new Bioeconomy strategy by the end of 2025, of which Member States are supportive. This first round with Ministers forms part of the broad consultations and outreach I intend to have with stakeholders on this topic. I was very encouraged by the positive feedback and interest shown by many Ministers. Our discussions focused on what I believe should be the 4 pillars of achieving a sustainable and circular bioeconomy:
- First, biomass as a valuable resource;
- Second, industries supplying sustainable products and services;
- Third, farmers and foresters acting as stewards of our land; and
- Fourth, young innovators and start-ups getting to scale up and move to the market stage.
Pollinators
Third, we also briefly discussed the importance of pollinators and their crucial contribution to a rich biodiversity. In our discussion we stressed the continued need for a great diversity of pollinators as their population declines. One in three species are under threat and many are on the verge of extinction. Yet, pollination brings tangible benefits to the economy with an estimated value of between EUR 5-15 billion per year. It is also a topic that many citizens care deeply about. We need to restore nature if we want to bring back pollinators to the fields. Under the nature restoration law we will support Member States with monitoring and next year the Commission will adopt a delegated act with common methodologies to help achieve this as a first step.
Thank you.
Source – EU Commission