MEPs on the European Parliament’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee have called on the European Commission to support a transition to organic fertilisers.
The members of the committee say that this will end reliance on imported fertilisers from Russia.
A draft text to that effect was voted on by the committee today (Tuesday, January 31), and was passed by its members by 38 votes to seven, with two abstentions.
The text states that all mineral fertilisers, apart from those coming from Russia and Belarus (which has aided Russia in its invasion of Ukraine), should continue to be temporarily exempt from import duties in order to stabilise prices.
The MEPs agreed that Russia “has abused its dominance in gas supplies and used fertilisers as a political weapon”.
“Further high-level use of these fertilisers risks fueling Russian war efforts and supporting other autocratic regimes,” the text said.
However, the MEPs do not want imported fertilisers from Russia and Belarus replaced by imported fertilisers from elsewhere.
The text called on the commission to develop a long-term fertiliser strategy for the EU, and to present an EU sustainable soil nutrient strategy by June 2023.
The MEPs highlighted that the EU’s crisis reserve is not sufficient to tackle rising cots of fertiliser, and therefore called on the commission and the member states to support farmers until the market stabilises and alternatives to mineral fertilisers become available.
The members of the committee also asked the commission to compensate for the consecutive reductions in the budget of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) when it carries out its mid-term review of the EU budget (the Multiannual Financial Framework) this year.
The MEPs believe that the EU should pursue other ways to fund agricultural activities beyond the CAP.
The text from the committee also called on member states to use their CAP Strategic Plans, and particularly their eco-schemes, to promote organic fertilisation.
Furthermore, it asks for organic alternatives to chemical fertilisers to be allowed above the threshold in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones under the Nitrates Directive.
The text voted on today by the agriculture committee will be voted on by a full session of the parliament in the near future, most likely in February.