Last week the European Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN) delayed consideration of its opinion on the RED II proposal. In response, associations representing the EU's biofuels value chain wrote coordinators expressing concern about the timing of the next key steps in the legislative process, including the coming vote of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee scheduled for next week.
Dated October 16, the letter was undersigned by eight European trade associations that between them represent farmers and feedstock growers, vegetable oil and oilmeal processors along with ethanol and biodiesel producers – the EU Biofuels Value Chain.
Expressing clear concern over TRAN committee’s decision to postpone its vote on its opinion on RED II, the organisations – European Vegetable Oil and Proteinmeal Industry (FEDIOL), European Biodiesel Board (EBB), European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE), European Association of Cereals, Rice, Feedstuffs, Oilseeds, Olive oil, Oils and Fats and Agrosupply (COCERAL), European Oilseed Alliance (EOA), International Confederation of European Beet Growers (C.I.B.E), European Confederation of Maize Production (CEPM) and Copa & Cogeca – suggest that unless the TRAN Committee is able to hold its vote this week that the ENVI Committee should also delay its vote, currently scheduled for October 23.
The debate on the future of the EU renewable energy policy is at a key moment and, as the associations representing the entire biofuels value chain in Europe, we consider it crucial to get it right. That is why the decision last Thursday by the TRAN committee to postpone the vote on its opinion on RED II is of concern to us – just as it was clearly of concern to several Members of the TRAN Committee. We believe that Members of the TRAN Committee should have their say on the legislation and that their view should be given full consideration by the ENVI Committee, given its exclusive competence on key aspects of the file, including the sustainability criteria (article 25) and treatment of conventional biofuels (article 7).
