8.2.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 67/39 Wednesday 9 June 2021
need to include measures such as a minimum share of green roofs on new buildings, supporting urban farming, including the use of fruit trees, where appropriate, ensuring no chemical pesticides are used and reducing fertiliser use in EU urban green areas, and increasing the number of green spaces according to the number of inhabitants, while also addressing inequalities in access to green spaces; calls further on the Commission and the Member States to extend terrestrial and marine ecological corridors in urban areas, including by developing a Trans-European Network for Green Infrastructure (TEN-G) linked to a Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N);
Direct exploitation of organisms 52.
Expresses its support for the 2030 targets of bringing at least 25 % of agricultural land under organic farm management, which should increase in the medium to long term; strongly welcomes, furthermore, the target of ensuring that at least 10 % of agricultural land consists of high-diversity landscape features, which should be implemented at an appropriate level to provide ecological connectivity for habitats across and in between farmed landscapes; stresses that both targets should be incorporated into EU legislation and be implemented by each Member State, also within the common agricultural policy (CAP) strategic plans; 53.
Notes with great concern that according to the ECA report on biodiversity on farmland, the number and variety of species on farmland in the EU has been continuously declining; regrets the fact that the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 did not set measurable targets and actions for agriculture, making it difficult to assess progress; recalls that the tracking of CAP spending for biodiversity has been unreliable and that there has been a lack of coordination between EU policies and strategies, one result of which is that they do not address the decline in genetic diversity (75); calls on the Commission to follow the recommendations of the ECA on biodiversity on farmland and to build on the lessons learned in the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (76); 54.
Stresses that biodiversity is crucial for safeguarding food security in the EU; highlights the important role that the EU agricultural sector plays in the production of healthy, safe and affordable foods; emphasises that farmers have a key role to play in the success of this strategy and that this strategy should be aligned with the measures, goals and targets of the Farm to Fork Strategy; 55.
Considers it imperative that EU agriculture be transformed to make it sustainable and ensure high animal welfare standards, in line with the ecological and climate transitions, with minimised use of fossil and chemical inputs and antibiotic treatments; stresses that agriculture should contribute to protecting and restoring biodiversity; 56.
Considers it imperative, in view of potential socio-economic impacts, that farmers receive support, including economic support, and training in relation to the transition towards sustainable agricultural systems to promote agro-ecological and other innovative sustainable practices; highlights, therefore, the importance of ensuring well-defined and sufficient financial support, including under the multiannual financial framework, to help reach these objectives, and calls in this regard on the Member States to use the CAP strategic plans and its green components for these purposes while developing win-win solutions for biodiversity protection; 57.
Calls on the Commission to develop a strategy to support local value chains in reaching the proposed targets and stresses that small-scale agricultural businesses require specific support in contributing to the strategy; 58.
Welcomes the recognition of organic farming as one of the strong components on the EU’s path towards more sustainable food systems, namely as regards biodiversity concerns, and in achieving the public policy objectives of economic development, rural employment, environmental protection and climate action; stresses the importance of the European action plan for organic farming in increasing the uptake of organic farming; 59.
Underlines that the development of organic food production must be accompanied by market-driven and supply chain developments and measures that stimulate demand for organic food, including through public procurement and a broad variety of promotion measures, research, innovation, training and scientific knowledge transfer, aiming to support the stability of the organic products market and the fair remuneration of farmers and promoting measures that support
(75) (76)
ECA Special Report of 5 June 2020 entitled ‘Biodiversity on farmland: CAP contribution has not halted the decline’.
Idem.