PAN enters Agriculture, Budget and Fisheries committees

Brussels, 1 July 2019- This week the newly elected PAN MEP, Francisco Guerreiro, takes office in Strasbourg. These are the three commissions where he will be a full member. Francisco Guerreiro will represent PAN and the Greens/EFA in the Committees on Agriculture (AGRI), Budget (BUDGET) and Fisheries (PECH).

“We were determined in these difficult negotiations, which ensured PAN a leading role in three structural commissions for the reinforcement and sustainable development of the European project. Being a full member in Agriculture, Budget and Fisheries is a considerable achievement for someone who has just made his debut in the European Parliament and in the Greens family,” highlights the PAN MEP.

According to the priorities of PAN and the European Greens, the new Common Agricultural Policy should reduce the investment in highly intensive production, such as livestock production, directing community funds towards sustainable and responsible production methods that regenerate soils and ensure better management of water resources, namely through Organic Farming. The party believes that AGRI will have a decisive role in ensuring that Portugal achieves the Paris climate goals, as it will be through the improvement of land use planning that the fight against forest monocultures, namely of eucalyptus, will be pursued, with the reforestation of native species and the creation of ecological corridors.

Strengthening animal protection legislation will also be a priority for PAN in this Commission, working towards ending the transport of live animals to third countries outside the European Union and improving current Community legislation on the matter. 

In Fisheries, the focus will be on securing an agreement in the EU to end overfishing, combating the expansion of industrial aquaculture, the prohibition of deepwater mining and the mitigation of the proliferation of microplastics in the food chain. In parallel, it will be a priority for PAN to expand the areas of marine biodiversity and guarantee the reduction of the impact of noise, light and waste pollution, resulting from international trade, on marine environments.

“This 5-year term is fundamental for us to break with the dogmas of traditional parties and with the myth of infinite growth. European Greens are the only family with the ability to simultaneously influence real goals to decarbonise the economy, make a just social transition creating thousands of green jobs, ensure respect for human rights, and ensure that there is a European voice for improving animal welfare,” says Francisco Guerreiro.

Regarding the next community support framework, PAN’s priority is to ensure funding for the transition to a low carbon economy and the anticipation of the Pais climate goals. The creation of taxes on polluting industries like aviation and livestock production will also be a priority to ensure a just social and economic transition. For the party, the end of subsidies for fossil fuel industries must be a short term goal for the next European Commission. The reinforcement of funding for structural areas such as 'Erasmus +' will also be a priority for PAN in the Budget Committee.

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