The ENVI Committee of the European Parliament is sending a clear signal against the climate protection policy of US President Donald Trump. While Trump formally announced at the beginning of the week that he would be withdrawing from the Paris climate protection agreement, a large majority of the members of the ENVI Committee even voted for a stronger commitment to climate protection. The EU should not only raise its own climate targets but above all cooperate with other industrialised and emerging countries to raise ambitions together.
"Donald Trump's announcement is a very bad signal, but I am sure that it will survive Donald Trump. The resignation can only come into force once the next presidential election has taken place in the USA and I then hope for improvement", said the environmental policy spokesperson of the largest Group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats).
Stella Kyriakides will become new commissioner for health. This is for sure now, after her Hearing on Tuesday night in the European Parliament’s ENVI committee, where she performed great. On Wednesday the coordinators of the political groups nominated her with broad majority. MEP Peter Liese, EPP spokesperson on health was very pleased with Stella Kyriakides' performance at the European Parliament as well as the support of his colleagues. "Stella Kyriakides is indeed highly qualified for this post. She impressed with detailed knowledge and a vision for the EU’s health policy. As she herself suffered from cancer and won the fight against the disease, she emotionally showed that she is able empathize with patients and that she will do everything possible to fight cancer in Europe. She also showed great persuasiveness in topics such as telemedicine, combating antimicrobial resistances and the development of pesticides with fewer risks", Liese concluded.
Liese in favour of new plan, based on latest scientific and technical knowledge
"The European Parliament wants the European Commission to come up with a new plan how to protect bees better. We cannot allow that the bees become victims of the incapacity of member states to agree on better rules", said Peter Liese, the EPP Group Spokesperson on Environment.
The European Parliament today objected to new rules to asses bee-harming pesticides in the EU. The MEPS legally oblige European Commission to come up with a new plan.
"We demand from the Member States to do their job. We want a real plan, protecting European bees, which are important for both environment and agriculture, and we want the Member States to support us in this. The current proposal is not good enough. It does not protect bees enough. The European Commission must propose a new plan, based on the latest scientific and technical knowledge", Liese said.
“The devastating situation of the forests inside the European Union and worldwide will be a priority of the European Parliament in the next months”, said Peter Liese, environment spokesman of the biggest group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats). The coordinators of the ENVI committee decided to not only do a hearing on deforestation worldwide but also to ask for legislative initiative report “We need concrete sustainable action and not only actionism. For the EPP Group it is also important to protect the forests inside the European Union. We have a major crisis in the forests in central Europe. Experts warn that in big areas fifty percent of the forests will be destroyed by drought and by the bork beetle. All actors at European, national and local level need to work together to protect our forest and to immediately support forestation. Our forests, not only in other parts of the world but also in Europe are important to protect the climate but at the same time they are a major economic factor. Sustainable forest management is indispensable from an environmental and economic point of view", said Liese.