Mercury: dental amalgam and other mercury-added products subject to manufacturing, import and export restrictions (A9-0002/2024 - Marlene Mortler) (vote)
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Proteins are essential for human and animal nutrition. In addition to carbohydrates and fats, they form the most important nutrient group, and the bioavailability of proteins from animal products is, by the way, particularly high. The deficit has been addressed: In fact, only 29 percent of protein-rich feed comes from Europe. But at the latest w
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Reviewing the protection status of wolves and other large carnivores in the EU (topical debate)
Madam President, Commissioner! Do we want to keep grazing animals in the future? If we answer this question with a clear yes, we must not hide the fast-growing wolf population. Because more and more grazing animals are torn, injured or missing, 4,400 last year alone in Germany. And a short word to the Greens: I really prefer black humor to your green humor today. With a friend: Marlene, we're doin
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European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without animal testing’ (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. We have been silent for far too long. We have not provided enough public information: Therefore, even if we stop animal testing in Europe, even if it is still necessary, this research will not stop. Then it takes place just outside Europe, on worse conditions, on lower standards, and these in turn lead to further dependencies on third countries – according to
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Ensuring food security and the long-term resilience of EU agriculture (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to thank my colleagues for their constructive cooperation. And dear Mr. Häusling, if you continue like this, then you will still become a fairytale narrator. And addressed to Mr. Waitz: You should go home again and look at practical agriculture. Food security is not self-evident. Food security must not become a geopolitical tool for targeted dest
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Ensuring food security and the long-term resilience of EU agriculture (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. ‘And when I'm born again, I'll be a farmer again.’ My husband said this out of conviction. And this positive attitude towards our farmers must also be our goal in Europe, because food does not fall from the sky. Creating good raw materials for our food is often hard, demanding work. In its foreword to the Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Commission rightly wr
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The role of farmers as enablers of the green transition and a resilient agricultural sector (continuation of debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, And when I come back into the world, I become a farmer again, there is no better profession. My husband has said this phrase so many times. The change, the transformation on our farm is still normality and reality to this day. More than 20 years ago, we received the Grüner Oskar, a Bavarian environmental award for innovative ideas. I know that millions of busine
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European Citizens’ Initiative "Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment" (debate)
So I think, Mr. Colleague, you can't shy away from that. For example, I come from Bavaria, where beekeepers, especially young beekeepers, grow bee colonies. So we have more encouragement than ever, because everyone knows: We're all in a boat. But I do not presume to say that industrial agriculture is to blame. The question is: What is Industrial Agriculture? We agree that the use of pesticides mus
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European Citizens’ Initiative "Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment" (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner! With over a million signatures, citizens are calling for decisive action against the loss of pollinators. Thank you very much! The European Commission also wants to tackle the causes of insect deaths. That's fine! Bees and farmers save a promising headline – at first glance. At second glance, synthetic plant protection products are to be banned altogether. Alternatives
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Question Time (Commission) - Food price inflation in Europe
Mr President, Commissioner! The issue today is not just a problem for the Member States, because the war against Ukraine has a global impact. China is hoarding 50 percent of the world's wheat stocks, and India has stopped exports altogether. We have hidden price increases, international companies make huge sales and good profits, low-income earners and farmers fall by the wayside. My question: In
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Protection of livestock farming and large carnivores in Europe (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. The wolf has meanwhile refuted everything that has been tried to persuade us – that he does not jump, that he lives in the forest as an eco-police and feeds on the animals there, that he does not go to large animals such as cattle or horses or that a good fence prevents him. Herd protection and herd protection fences often fail miserably when a wolf or pack of g
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Global food security as follow-up to the G20 Agriculture Ministers meeting (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. We don't need less, we need more agriculture. Yes, I share this assessment from Prof. Dr. Dr. Rademacher of the Club of Rome. If we leave the mega-topic of global food security to ideologues and activists, we will move further and further away from the human right to food for all. The world is growing by 9 million people every month. This is also n
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International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. Those who are fed up have a lot of problems. If you're hungry, you only have one. As well-off people and politicians, we have to keep this in mind. For example, let's think about the jeans we wear. Whether designer jeans or cheap jeans - the seamstress in Bangladesh or elsewhere always receives the same inhuman hourly wage. This is and will rema
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The urgent need for an EU strategy on fertilisers to ensure food security in Europe (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Mr. Waitz, keep dreaming, we need solutions now. The variety of important nutrients is essential for good yields and high-quality foods. A balanced diet is the be-all and end-all for our arable soils, for our arable crops, but also for us humans. Putin's war has brought us more suffering, more hunger, more inflation, higher prices. And I see a glob
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New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 – Sustainable Forest Management in Europe (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner! Whether it's the agricultural, food, transport or energy transition, the Greens in Germany have been trying to re-educate us with these buzzwords for years. At the same time, the green economy minister is kneeling in front of the sheikh in Qatar. I want to break a lance for our forest owners today, because wood is the most important renewable resource. Forests are key i
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner! The total amount of precipitation per square metre per year is not the only decisive factor. Rainwater must fall from the sky at the right time of year. In Germany, 99% of rainwater is still used in agriculture, i.e. green water. However, extreme weather events are on the rise, whether extreme precipitation or drought, as is currently the case in I
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Addressing food security in developing countries (debate)
Dear Mr President, Colleagues! For a long time, the Greens in Germany were of the opinion that only a weak army is a good army. The European Commission's agricultural policy makes a similar impression. Mr Timmermans has launched a study on food security. The goal is probably already clear: How can we further weaken European agriculture? On the other hand, my question is fundamental: What humanitar
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Revision of the Market Stability Reserve for the EU Emissions Trading System (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr President! Successful climate protection is only possible in the sum of the different solutions. The decisive approach for a climate-friendly and greenhouse gas-neutral future is technological solutions and future-oriented innovations. Thus, on the one hand, value creation can be secured at the business location and, on the other hand, an effective limitat
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Need for an urgent EU action plan to ensure food security inside and outside the EU in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (debate)
– Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! When this brutal war began in the middle of Europe, the first reaction of a representative of the Commission was: Putin wants to distract from the climate problem, and: Parliament is abusing the Putin war because it calls for more production. Let me tell you clearly: We are not only responsible for what we do, but also for what we do not do. O
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General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030 (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. Over the past decades, EU environmental policy has brought significant benefits to both people and the planet. That is why I welcome the Eighth Environment Action Programme for European environmental policy up to 2030, with its ambitious goals and projects for people and our planet. We want to be pioneers. But the criminal Putin war in Ukraine p
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! What do you expect from the 21st century? That was the question I asked Horst Köhler at the time. It will be the century of women, he said. And I: Why? His answer: Because they are more capable of suffering. Horst Köhler was, among other things, President of the Federal Republic of Germany and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund fo
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Implementation report on on-farm animal welfare (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner! What do farmers need in order to do their job well for animal welfare? You need the same as all other professions: fewer obstacles, fewer obstacles, less bureaucracy. The following principle must apply: First the animals, then the papers, because good work must be visible and transparent. That is why I am calling for mandatory labeling of holdings and origins in Euro
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Protection of animals during transport - Protection of animals during transport (Recommendation) (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! In recent months, the ANIT Committee has heard numerous experts, discussed ideas and sought solutions. We often disagreed on the solutions. However, we agreed that the protection of animals during transport is not negotiable. Thanks to Isabel, to Daniel, but also to Tilly! All actors involved in transport must ensure that they correctly and full
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Outcome of Global Summit Nutrition for Growth (Japan, 7-8 December) and increased food insecurity in developing countries (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. Health, nutrition and resilience – these three commitments were at the heart of the Global Summit on Food for Growth on 7 and 8. December in Japan. It's a hit! These are at the heart of economic and social development in every country. They are key to eradicating poverty, hunger and malnutrition. More than 140 million children suffer from underdeve
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Common agricultural policy - support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States and financed by the EAGF and by the EAFRD - Common agricultural policy: financing, management and monitoring - Common agricultural policy – amendment of the CMO and other regulations (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The biggest reform of EU agricultural policy in 30 years has arrived at its target. The negotiations were turbulent, intense and conflictual. The challenges for our farmers remain diverse and great. For the first time, there is a mandatory redistribution of direct payments in favour of smaller farms. To some colleagues: I find it disrespectful if y