Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety Ordinary meeting

Name: Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety Ordinary meeting
Uploaded: 2026-07-02T07:00:00+00:00
Duration: 1836 s

09:54 - 15:27

Speaker 1

Good morning. We start with the adoption of the agenda. If there are no objection, the agenda could be adopted. Interpretation is available in 21 language. As usual, the meeting file is available electronically via the e-meeting application and the meeting will be web streamed.

The coordinators' recommendation of Wednesday 23rd of June have been circulated electronically. If there are no objection, they can be deemed approved. I would like to inform you that we have continued the negotiation of the following file: empowering France to accede to the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles. Council and Parliament found an agreement in trilogue on Monday 29 on this file, jointly by ENVI and PECH. Council proposed to change the legal base of the proposal and also to include the environment legal base and also further clarified the status of French territories in the scope of the legislation, while Parliament proposed to highlight problems with illegal fishing activities, also resulting in incidental capture of sea turtles.

In the trilogue, a compromise was found keeping the initial fisheries legal base while clarifying the application scope of the legislation in French territories. Provision on cooperation with neighboring countries to address illegal fishing and test increasing transparency and scrutiny were included. Notably, the consultation of local stakeholder, the provision of information from the Commission to Parliament, as well as an annual report from France to Council and Parliament on the convention's activity are part of the agreed text.

Once endorsed by Coreper, the provisional agreement will be put to a vote in joint committee after summer. European Chemical Agency and amending regulation. The co-legislators agreed on a number of measures to strengthen ECHA's financial stability and adapt its governance structure, enabling the agency to deliver on its expanded mandate. In a win for Parliament, the co-legislators agreed that the Parliament or a member state can request scientific advice from the agency. They further agreed on the method of calculating and the level of the financial reserve required to ensure the agency's financial stability despite the fluctuation in fee income.

They also agreed to assess the adequacy of the agency's financial and human resources, as well as on strengthening the link between EU agency. Once endorsed by Coreper, the provisional agreement will be put in the vote in committee after summer. Now we move to the consideration of the draft ENVI opinion on 2027 budget, which is the last budget under the current MFF. As the ENVI rapporteur, I will start with presenting the main points of the opinion, afterwards I will invite the shadow rapporteurs to take the floor, and finally I will invite the Commission to present their remark. So, so colleagues, today I present as a rapporteur the draft ENVI opinion on the EU budget.

This budget comes at a decisive moment. It must help deliver the Union's environmental, climate, and public health commitments while ensuring that existing legislation is effectively implemented. Our opinion calls for 2027 budget to maximize support for the EU's climate, biodiversity, and environmental objectives. We emphasize the need to prioritize investment in climate action, nature restoration, pollution prevention, the circular economy, water resilience, and sustainable food systems. At the same time, we underline that the EU must not only maintain ambitious spending targets for climate and biodiversity, but also ensure that these expenditures are transparently tracked and effectively monitored.

The opinion also calls for reinforced funding for the LIFE program, which remains the EU's flagship instrument for supporting environmental and climate action on the ground. We highlight the importance of supporting a just transition, strengthening civil protection, and enhancing preparedness for the growing impact of climate change and environmental crisis. Furthermore, adequate financial and human resources must be provided to the Commission's services and EU agencies, including EFSA, so that they can effectively implement and enforce EU environmental and food safety legislation. I look forward to working constructively with all the shadow rapporteur. I remind you and the part of the amendment would be later maybe.

So thank you, we move to the position of the shadow rapporteur. You have three minutes each. I don't see from EPP, from Patriots and ECR I don't see any shadow, also Renew.

So we have Lena Schilling from Greens.

15:27 - 16:01

Speaker 3

Thank you so much. Good morning and thank you also for the draft opinion. As you said, this is the last annual budget under the current MFF, what also means for me, we can learn things from the last budgets we have seen for the next MFF. And I think some things you said were quite crucial, so I support especially the points on EFSA and of course also on the point on LIFE program. But I think we need to look a bit in the broader picture.

16:01 - 17:31

Lena Schilling

We see right now that the climate crisis escalating and we see also what that will mean for our budgets in the future. There are crucial milestones we are meeting like 30% on climate targets that we are reaching, but at the same time, and I think there we need to be clear, we are not reaching yet our financing goals on biodiversity at the same time where we need to strengthen our biodiversity policies, but at the same the budgets. That's exactly what you said and I think there we need to look also into the future how to reach that. And therefore I also think what is the most crucial point is that we keep the LIFE program alive and that we have dedicated funds to it. Because as you said, this is the programs on the ground, this LIFE programs that we debated a lot in this Parliament is not just about I don't know some NGOs, it is about regions, strengthening biodiversity projects.

It's about our our hometowns. And I think especially in times where we debating so much about renaturation and heat, about a time where we really would need a budget that is actually answering to the questions that we are facing in the future. And of course as well we are in favor of strengthening EFSA and we think that a science a scientific approach is needed in times like this. But all in all we know this annual budget will not be the big the big stone that will start something rolling, but I think we can learn something for the next budget. So thank you so much for the draft report.

I'm looking forward to work with you and yeah, thank you.

17:31 - 17:35

Pierfrancesco Maran

Thank you. Now the floor go to Jonas Sjöstedt for the Left.

17:35 - 18:47

Jonas Sjöstedt

Thank you, Chair. Today I'm on the far left. Thank you, Chair. And thank you. Yeah.

So, thank you very much for your work. I think the draft report is really pointing in the right direction, but there's still some room for improvement. We will make a couple of amendments. I think I mean we are in a very obvious climate crisis with all these temperature records being set all over Europe. And I think we really have to stress that as the Environment Committee, insist on meeting the targets on investments for the green transition, but also on biodiversity.

That's really worrying that we cannot fulfill that obligation that we already have. Secondly, I think it's also important to stress the fact that we should no longer accept or allow any subsidies to fossil fuels or investment that increase the use of fossil fuels. So, that's really important and also that we have sufficient resources to to implement this work for the relevant agencies and parts of the European Union that actually do the practical work with implementing this. So those will be some of the main points for us and I think this is a good foundation for finding a common compromise in the committee. Thank you.

18:47 - 19:12

Thank you. I don't know if from the other groups there are some shadow or delegated from the shadow that has to take the floor or some of the other colleagues for catch the eye. I don't see anybody, so I leave the floor to the Commission for the DG ENV, the Head of Unit for Finance, Audit and Budget, Konstantinos Prevedouros.

19:12 - 20:39

Konstantinos Prevedouros

Thank you, Chair. Honorable members, the Commission welcomes the draft opinion and shares this committee's commitment to advancing the Union's environmental objectives.

The draft budget of 2027 has been prepared in particularly challenging context. As the final annual budget under the current MFF, budgetary flexibility is very limited. The Commission has therefore focused on ensuring the financing of all legal obligations and programmed activities while making the best use of available resources. The LIFE programme remains the Union's dedicated instrument for environmental and climate actions. Demand for LIFE funding remains consistently high, confirming its clear European added value.

The Commission takes note also of the committee's emphasis on biodiversity expenditure and the ambition to progress towards the 10% objective through further integration of biodiversity considerations into relevant programmes. The proposed appropriations are fully consistent with the financial programming and based on careful assessment of implementation needs. The Commission will also continue to closely monitor resources needed for the effective implementation of the Union environmental legislation. Thank you, Chair, I will pass the floor to my colleague from DG Environment, Yiannos Asimakis. Clima, sorry.

20:39 - 22:37

Yiannos Asimakis

Thanks for the floor, Mr. Chair, honorable members, we would like to welcome the draft opinion from our side as well and to note that the Commission remains strongly committed in continuing to deliver the Green Deal and in reaching the set overall climate spending target. Over the past years of the current MFF, the support of the ENVI committee has been crucial in providing the Commission... Maybe, I don't know if you are far from the microphone or that, but we can't hear very well. Apologies, Chair. So let me repeat the last phrase, the Commission remains strongly committed in continuing to deliver the Green Deal and in reaching the set overall climate spending target.

Over the past years of the current MFF, the support of the ENVI committee has been crucial in providing the Commission with the means to do so. We expect that this support will continue for the 2027 budgetary procedure. Mr. Chair, members of the ENVI committee, many thanks for your time and the continuous support, and I pass the floor to our health department.

Dear Chair, dear honorable members, also from DG SANTE's side, we welcome the draft opinion. We would like to thank the ENVI committee for the support to provide the necessary resources for the Single Market Programme food chain strand, and in particular also for to the EFSA agency to allow reducing the backlog of renewals. We also like to stress that in terms of financing of the Single Market Programme food chain strand, the Commission would need additional financial resources to cover for the co-financing of the high number of outbreaks of animal diseases, such as highly pathogenic avian influenza, African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, and small ruminant diseases. Thank you very much.

22:37 - 23:41

Thank you. So... So, I thank you all, the shadow rapporteur, the one that took the floor and the one that supported by distance. And the deadline for amendments for the budgetary opinion is the 7th of July at 11:00, while for the budgetary amendments it's the 14th of July at 11:00 AM. The vote in ENVI will be the 1st of September, the vote in budget on budgetary amendment will be the 5th of October, while for the budgetary resolution will take place the 12th of October.

The vote in plenary is supposed to be for the mandate at the second session of October and for the adoption in November. So now we have a break. I ask kindly the colleague from ENVI to leave the room because now the room is belongs to another committee and we will be back for the joint committee at 9:45.