European Union

Council gives its final approval to Euro 7 regulation.

In this week's edition: West struggles with time on Ukraine support and Letta's report on defence and enlargement.

The EU's latest electricity market reforms should soon enter into law. But the ongoing dramatic transformation of Europe's electricity system means that these reforms may just be one building block in a much wider policy revolution. 

The US House of Representatives on Saturday approved long-delayed military aid to Ukraine, while also bolstering Israel and Taiwan defenses and threatening to ban Chinese-owned TikTok.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged Palestinians to unite amid Israel's war in Gaza following hours-long talks with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul on Saturday (20 April), his office said.

The US House of Representatives advanced a $95 billion legislative package on Friday (19 April) providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific in a broad bipartisan vote, overcoming hardline Republican opposition that had held it up for months.

Croatia's Constitutional Court ruled on Friday (19 April) that President Zoran Milanović cannot take up the more powerful position of prime minister after this week's elections, saying the firebrand leader could not head any potential coalition.

Armenia has agreed to return several villages to Azerbaijan in what both sides said on Friday (19 April) was an important milestone as they edge towards a peace deal after fighting two wars since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine shot down a Russian strategic bomber on Friday (19 April) after the warplane took part in a long-range airstrike that killed eight people in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, Kyiv said.

Written by Vivienne Halleux (1st edition).

Once dispersed in the environment, microplastic particles under 5 mm in size are extremely difficult to remove and very persistent. Today, they are present in the air, soil, freshwater, seas, oceans, plants and animals, and in several components of the human diet. Human exposure to microplastic particles is therefore widespread, raising concerns about potential health impacts.

The EU has committed to addressing microplastic pollution in two action plans –on the new circular economy and on zero pollution for air, water and soil – both of which are part of the European Green Deal. On 16 October 2023, the European Commission proposed a regulation to tackle microplastic pollution resulting from losses of plastic pellets – the industrial raw materials used to make plastic products. These losses are the third largest source of unintentional microplastic releases into the EU environment. The proposal would apply to all economic operators handling plastic pellets in the EU in quantities above 5 tonnes per year, as well as to EU and non-EU carriers transporting plastic pellets within the EU. It would set requirements for best handling practices, mandatory certification and self-declaration, and provide for the development of a harmonised methodology to estimate losses.

Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), responsible for the file, adopted its legislative report on 19 March 2024. The text awaits a vote during the second April 2024 plenary session, with a view to establishing Parliament’s position at first reading.

Complete version

• April 2024: ‘Reducing microplastic pollution from plastic pellet losses‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing plastic pellet losses to reduce microplastic pollution).Committee responsible:Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI)COM(2023) 645
16.10.2023Rapporteur:João Albuquerque (S&D, Portugal)2023/0373(COD)Shadow rapporteurs:Catherine Chabaud (Renew Europe, France)
Ska Keller (Greens/EFA, Germany)
Karol Karski (ECR, Poland)
Idoia Villanueva Ruiz (The Left, Spain)Ordinary legislative
procedure (COD)
(Parliament and Council
on equal footing –
formerly ‘co-decision’)Next steps expected: Plenary vote on the committee report

The EU executive published a proposal on Friday (19 April) to revise the Nitrates Directive to make it easier to use fertilisers made from livestock manure.

Written by Clare Ferguson.

Members sit down to a packed agenda for Parliament’s last plenary session before the European elections, with many legislative files reaching their conclusion. Parliament is scheduled to debate the conclusions of the recent European Council meeting on Tuesday morning. Members will debate Iran’s attack on Israel in a key debate on Wednesday. Parliament also marks the 20th anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement in a formal sitting on Wednesday morning. An important vote is also expected on Thursday on simplifying common agricultural policy rules, following farmers’ protests.

To support Ukraine’s economy and avert an international food crisis, autonomous trade measures liberalising Ukrainian exports to the EU were introduced following Russia’s 2022 invasion. On Tuesday afternoon, Members are scheduled to consider a provisional agreement endorsed by the Committee on International Trade (INTA) to extend these trade measures for a further year, and introduce a ‘reinforced safeguard mechanism’ to limit imports of sensitive products, to protect EU farmers.

Also partly responding to farmers’ demands, Members are due to consider two reports from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI), in a debate set for Tuesday evening. The proposed revision addresses a dozen laws on seeds and other plant and forest reproductive material created to regulate marketing of seeds, young plants and other types of reproductive material. The committee proposes exemptions for materials sold in specific cases, such as small quantities of plant materials exchanged by farmers, and that new sustainability tests are only mandatory for agricultural crops. The committee also wants the Commission to provide technical assistance for forest reproductive contingency plans.

Protecting our environment

Members are due to consider several proposals during this session that seek to protect the environment. Revising EU rules on packaging and packaging waste returns to the plenary agenda on Wednesday, when Members are set to consider a provisional agreement endorsed by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). As per Parliament’s demands, the agreed text bans per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances in food packaging, and sets new rules on bio-based feedstock in plastic packaging. If agreed, the new law could mean all packaging sold in the EU from 2030 is recyclable, and some packaging formats, such as single-use plastic packaging for condiments, would be forbidden. Take-away outlets would have to provide a way for customers to use their own containers, and EU countries should set up deposit return systems for drinks containers.

Plastic pellet losses are the third largest source of unintentional microplastic releases in the EU environment. Once dispersed, they are extremely difficult to remove – and no EU-level law covers this issue. Members are therefore scheduled to debate an ENVI committee report on a proposal aimed at preventing plastic pellet losses on Monday afternoon. The ENVI report seeks to widen the definition of pellets, as well as to include their transport in the scope of the proposal. The committee would like to see more complete risk assessments from economic operators, who would be required to use specific labels for better management of the pellets.

The proposal to better promote the repair of goods also returns to Parliament on Monday afternoon, when Members are expected to consider a political agreement on the file. The agreed text would ensure all EU countries introduce at least one measure promoting repair, that manufacturers ensure spare parts and tools are available (and do not hamper the repair of goods). Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) negotiators have ensured an extension of legal guarantees on repaired products of one year.

Protecting EU borders

Following the adoption of the immigration package during the last plenary session, Members are due to consider revising another tool used to improve border controls, combat illegal immigration and for other law-enforcement purposes, advanced passenger information (API), in a debate scheduled for Wednesday evening. If agreed, the provisional agreement reached between Parliament and Council would result in parallel new rules on the use of API for border management and for law enforcement, that will boost fundamental rights safeguards and data security, and strengthen supervision of the collection and transfer of passenger information.

Recent migration, security, and public health challenges led many EU countries within the Schengen area to reintroduce internal border checks. In response, the European Commission has proposed to revise the Schengen Borders Code, which lays down the rules for such temporary derogations. Earlier on Wednesday, Members are set to vote on a provisional agreement reached (after the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) rejected the Commission’s proposal on the instrumentalisation of migrants) by the co-legislators. The agreed text tightens the rules on temporary reintroduction of internal border controls and introduces bilateral voluntary cooperation on non-EU nationals found in border areas, which could apply to minors, but should not apply to asylum-seekers.

Protecting people

Several of Parliament’s key demands were retained in the compromise agreed on new laws to combat violence against women and domestic violence, despite the removal of the criminalisation of rape (on grounds of national competence). These include criminalisation of forced marriage and cyber-flashing; additional aggravating circumstances; and a five-year review of the legislation’s impact. If agreed, minimum EU standards will apply for criminalising severe violence and for enhancing prevention, access to justice and protection of victims. Members are scheduled to debate the compromise text negotiated by Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and the LIBE committee, on Tuesday afternoon.

Often involving violence, trafficking in human beings is a persistent crime that affects mostly women, with an estimated 7 000 victims per year in the EU – although the true figures are probably much higher. To step up EU action on combating this crime, Members are expected to debate a draft agreement on revising the Human Trafficking Directive on Monday afternoon. Endorsed by the LIBE and FEMM committees, the agreement supports Parliament’s inclusion of surrogacy, as well as the criminalisation of knowingly using services of a human-trafficking victim in the revised law.

An estimated 27.6 million people, including 3.3 million children, suffer under forced labour worldwide. To tackle the issue, Members are due to consider a draft agreement introducing new legislation to ban products produced under forced labour from the EU market, also on Monday afternoon. Endorsed by the Committees on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and on International Trade (INTA), the text tasks the Commission with EU-wide bans, withdrawal or disposal of such products. Parliament has ensured they are then donated, recycled or destroyed.

The EU is determined to resolve the employment issues created by digital platforms’ use of ‘gig’ work – for taxi or food-delivery services, for example. To this end, Members are set to vote on an agreement on a new law to improve platform working conditions on Wednesday afternoon. The outcome of difficult negotiations, and less stringent than the initial proposal, if agreed the legislation will set minimum working conditions for people who work through digital labour platforms, and introduce the first-ever EU rules on algorithmic management in the workplace.

Parliament has long supported facilitating access to education, employment, healthcare and culture for the millions of people in the EU with a form of disability. On Tuesday afternoon, Members are scheduled to consider a text agreed between the co-legislators on a proposal to create an EU-wide European disability card and European parking card. Endorsed by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), the resulting law should mean disabled people’s rights to participate fully in daily life are equally recognised throughout the EU (including for non-EU residents).

To solve conflicts of competence between national courts when it comes to which court should try a criminal case in the EU, the co-legislators have agreed a draft law to regulate the transfer of proceedings in criminal matters. Members are set to consider the text endorsed by the LIBE committee, on Tuesday afternoon. The draft text largely maintains the original Commission proposal, with the addition of Parliament’s position on legal persons as victims, and proportionality as a criterion in transfer requests.

For its own part, Parliament proposed to set up a body to oversee ethical standards back in 2021. Subsequent negotiations between eight EU institutions and bodies led to a draft agreement on creating an interinstitutional body for ethical standards. Members are expected to debate the draft agreement in plenary on Thursday morning. The body should strengthen EU institutions’ ethics, integrity and transparency, by ensuring they have equivalent rules and an ethics culture, and raising awareness.

Reinforcing economic governance

To ensure prosperity and improve the balance between debt sustainability and sustainable and inclusive growth throughout the EU, the Council and Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on a far-reaching new economic governance framework to update the stability and growth pact. A debate on the package of economic files is expected on Tuesday morning. These would introduce nationally set medium-term fiscal plans and a reference trajectory for countries in debt. The plans would be based on net spending, and backed by a debt sustainability analysis that includes safeguards on debt sustainability and deficit resilience. As the first national plans will be based on 2023 figures, it is likely that a number of EU countries will come under the excessive deficit procedure.

To prevent EU banks from failing, holding sufficient prudential capital (‘own funds’) is essential. The Commission is therefore proposing to strengthen the prudential framework within the banking union through a pair of interconnected proposals, supported by Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). Members are therefore due to consider a political agreement reached on the amendments to the Capital Requirements Directive and Regulation on Wednesday afternoon, which largely retains the Commission’s proposal and most of the committee’s amendments. To align with the Basel Agreement and harmonise banking supervision, a new ‘output floor’ should ensure firms do not go below a certain level of risk-weighted asset. Banks will also have to take environment, social and governance risks into account when assessing collateral. As banks become exposed to crypto-assets, their disclosure will become mandatory under the new rules.

Also on Wednesday afternoon, Members are scheduled to debate a package of three draft agreements on tackling money-laundering and terrorist financing, strengthening the current rules and establishing an EU Anti-Money-Laundering Authority (AMLA) to ensure they are implemented correctly. Parliament insisted that AMLA mediate in disagreements between national supervisors and between Financial Intelligence Units. It also ensured that reporting of non-implementation or sanctions evasion and money-laundering risks are now included in the single rulebook. If agreed, a €10 000 EU-wide limit will apply for cash payments. Parliament also amended the proposal to extend the legitimate interest category to journalists and civil society organisations.

Turning to its own finances, the recent revision of the EU’s 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework to address EU priorities means amending the EU’s budget for this year. Draft amending budget No 1 (DAB1/2024) specifically raises the 2024 budget for security and defence, the neighbourhood and the world heading, and for the new Ukraine Reserve. Parliament’s Committee on Budgets (BUDG) recommends approval of the Council position, which Members are set to consider on Thursday afternoon. The revision is also expected to considerably strengthen support for the Western Balkans under the current budget.

Members are earlier expected to debate a text agreed following the conclusion of interinstitutional negotiations on a new Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, on Tuesday afternoon. To help advance their internal reforms, the €6 billion fund should provide Western Balkan countries with certain benefits of EU membership before they join the EU. Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and BUDG committee nevertheless demand clear progress indicators, more safeguards and greater focus on rule of law and conditionality, and recommend stronger parliamentary oversight and transparency.

Strengthening industry

Members are due to vote on the draft agreement on a proposal to reduce the cost of deploying gigabit electronic communications networks on Tuesday afternoon. The new gigabit infrastructure act, agreed between the co-legislators and endorsed by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), would allow tacit approval for permit-granting, the introduction of an optional fibre-ready label for buildings and an end to fees for intra-EU calls by 2029.

On Thursday morning, Members are scheduled to return to the proposed net zero industry act and a text agreed between the co-legislators in February. The proposal seeks to expand EU capacity to manufacture the clean energy technologies it needs to achieve its climate targets. Parliament’s ITRE committee negotiators ensured the agreement includes Parliament’s demand that EU countries can designate specific ‘net-zero acceleration valleys’ and take measures to increase their attractiveness.

Parliament is set to debate another agreement with the Council, negotiated by the ITRE committee, on a proposed cyber solidarity act on Wednesday afternoon. Aiming for stronger solidarity in the EU in detecting and responding to cyber-threats, if agreed, the new regulation would provide for a pan-European cybersecurity alert system, as well as emergency and incidence review mechanisms. Parliament has ensured new workforce skills are included in the objectives; a greater role and resources for the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA); and that funding for Digital Europe programme objectives, such as digital skills and artificial intelligence, are not diverted.

• European Parliament Plenary Session, April II 2024
• Targeted CAP amendments on environmental conditionality
• Extension of EU trade benefits to Ukraine
• Seeds and other plant and forest reproductive material
• Revising rules on packaging and packaging waste
• Microplastic pollution from plastic pellet losses
• Promoting the repair of goods
• Revised rules on advance passenger information
• Revision of the Schengen Borders Code
• EU rules on combating violence against women
• Revision of the Human Trafficking Directive
• Ban on products made using forced labour
• EU directive on platform work
• European disability card and European parking card
• The transfer of proceedings in criminal matters
• Interinstitutional body for ethical standards
• New economic governance framework
• Banking union
• Anti-money-laundering package
• Draft amending budget No 1/2024: Amendments required following MFF revision
• Establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans
• Gigabit infrastructure act
• Net-zero industry act
• Cyber-solidarity act

Marie Toussaint, the lead of the French Greens' campaign for the June European elections, presented a plan for a "European pharmaceutical sovereignty" at a press conference on Friday (19 April), after media reported that a French pharma company could be acquired by Indian buyers. 

Eurobarometer’s latest survey ahead of European elections in June shows that health is one of the top issues for voters.

Plenary session, Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

When former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta presented his long-awaited report on the future of the single market to European leaders on Thursday, he was careful not to play up its significance.  

In the next meeting on pesticides between the Commission and member states, on Monday and Tuesday, the bloc’s executive will table a regulation to slash to zero the insecticide thiacloprid residues in all food products, after having proposed to raise the limit of the maximum quantity of residues in imported food.

Germany is the worst-performing major economy in the world, but ideological differences within the governing coalition are preventing a strong response, one way or another.

Written by Nera Kuljanic

Proteins are the building blocks of our bodies. They are also important for bodily function and regulatory processes. We get these essential nutrients from food. Is there enough protein to feed everyone? Where does it come from? Looking at the future, will there be enough sustainable and diverse protein, considering the growing population, climate change effects and geopolitical tensions? Is there room for some new protein sources on our plates and how easy are they to find on the market today?

The Parliament has been active on this topic in recent years. In 2021, the Parliament highlighted the potential of non-plant based alternative protein sources in the EU. After the COVID‑19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted supply chains and highlighted dependencies on foreign suppliers for agricultural inputs and commodities in 2022, Parliament invited the European Commission to propose ‘a comprehensive European protein strategy in order to increase European protein production and reduce the EU’s dependency on third countries in this regard’. Parliament also demanded measures to ‘facilitate access to markets of alternative proteins’. Most recently, in October 2023, the Parliament outlined its own vision for a European protein strategy. The Commission is currently putting together a legislative proposal on sustainable food systems (it was due by the end of 2023). 

In this context, the European Parliament Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) commissioned a study on the future role of alternative protein sources in sustainable animal and human nutrition, as proposed by STOA Panel member Martin Hlaváček (Renew, CZ). The study examines the current and projected protein balance, focusing on conventional and alternative protein sources (algae, insects, microbially fermented products, and cultured meat), analyses the current state-of-the-art of the alternatives and challenges and opportunities for their adoption, and describes policy options to support the development of those alternatives.

Protein balance

The data shows conventional proteins dominate the current protein balance. While globally most dietary protein comes from plants (57 %), in Europe most human dietary protein comes from animal sources (55‑60 %). Total alternative proteins consumed represent only a small fraction (2 % of the animal protein market). The sources of protein used in animal feed are both non-edible for humans (such as grass) and edible (mostly grains, including cereals and pulses). The EU is 77 % self-sufficient in feed protein sources, and has an ample supply of roughage, which is the primary feed protein source (but relatively low in proteins). However, the EU only produces a quarter of the high-protein oilseed meals it requires to feed its livestock sector.

Looking to 2050, the demand for proteins will increase and there are strong reasons – population growth, health, climate, environment, geopolitics – for questioning whether the current distribution of animal and plant-based proteins, and their relative contribution to the overall intake globally and in the EU can and should be maintained. Alternative proteins offer potential to contribute to a more sustainable and resilient protein balance. However, their current contribution is minimal and data on their usage, particularly in an EU context, are limited and sometimes outdated.

Closer look into alternative protein sources

While alternative proteins generally require less water and land and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional animal proteins, there are variations and complexities within each alternative that necessitate further research and optimisation. For example, the energy use in producing some alternative proteins can be equivalent to or even higher than their conventional counterparts, and specific feed sources for alternatives such as insects and algae can result in higher greenhouse gas emissions compared to soybean. Alternative proteins generally tend to generate less waste, with some even offering circular economy benefits by utilising waste as an input, the full extent of their sustainability potential requires further investigation.

The potential of alternative proteins to replace conventional protein sources hinges on their nutritional contribution to people and animals’ diets. In human nutrition, some of the alternative protein sources offer a beneficial macronutrient profile when compared to conventional animal-based proteins, although research on their bioavailability depending on type of alternative protein, and how they are produced and processed, is ongoing. Similarly, for their micronutrient content, the impact of different production processes and processing deserves further investigation. Moreover, there are also questions of price, regulation, and consumer acceptance. The level of investment in R&D, commercial and technological maturity and industrial capacity further point to how the future of alternative proteins may play out.

Future support for the alternative proteins sector

While alternative protein sources present opportunities to strengthen European food security and sustainability, they face considerable obstacles in scaling up technologies, achieving commercial viability against subsidised conventional sources, and navigating complex regulations and legislative barriers. The study lays out complementary policy options to help scale up alternative protein development and production in the EU. Proposed interventions include 1) targeted research funding to advance technologies and address knowledge gaps, 2) industrial policy investments in infrastructure and processing facilities, 3) incorporating environmental considerations into regulatory approval processes, and 4) enhanced coordination across policies and stakeholders.

Read the interview with Professor Arnold van Huis about entomophagy (the human consumption of insects), and with Professor Mark Post about lab-grown meat.

Your opinion counts for us. To let us know what you think, get in touch via stoa@europarl.europa.eu.

Following a final plenary vote, rapporteurs Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques (S&D, PT) and Samira Rafaela (Renew, NL) will discuss new rules banning products made with force labour.
Committee on International Trade

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP