Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment (NAT) - Related Opinions

The revamped Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) is a tool through which the EU supports, coordinates and supplements actions of EU Member States in the field of civil protection in order to prevent, prepare and respond to natural and man-made disasters within and outside the EU. The new proposal aims to strengthen the UCPM to ensure that the EU and its Member States are better prepared to respond to large-scale emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The national provisions governing seed harvested and controlled in those countries afford the same assurances as the provisions applicable to seed harvested and controlled within the European Union as regards the seed's characteristics and the arrangements for :

• its examination;
• ensuring seed identification;
• marking;
• control.

Ukraine has submitted a request that its cereal seed is covered by Council Decision 2003/17/EC as equivalent.

This opinion deals with three of four megatrends at the heart of the new Commission priorities: climate change, biodiversity loss and globalisation. While the European Green Deal will result in higher environmental standards with, for instance, stricter climate change targets, it is important that all Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are not undermining these improvements by contributing to deforestation or biodiversity loss in other countries. As one of the world's largest importer of energy, agricultural goods and raw materials, the EU has contributed to deforestation and biodiversity loss in other countries.