ENA summer meeting in Istanbul discusses further steps in EU Plant Health Directive
ENA delegates discussed current European industry issues at this year's summer meeting in Turkey from June 25 to 28. The EU's proposal for a new plant protection directive was on the agenda, as was the planned regulation on renaturation.There were also personnel changes: BdB General Manager Markus Guhl was elected chair man of the working group sustainability.
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The ENA General Assembly took place in Istanbul at the invitation of the Turkish Nursery Association. The range of topics covered mainly current EU legislative projects. With regard to the EU Plant Health Directive SUR, the ENA delegates reiterated their critical stance. In view of the maximum demands, which are represented by the rapporteur in the European Parliament, Sarah Wiener, one pleaded in Istanbul for an exception of the special culture tree nursery from the regulation, in so-called sensitive areas no more conventional plant protection to bring to the application to be allowed.
The same applies to the immense bureaucratic record-keeping obligations on farms. The representatives of the European nursery associations considered a revised Commission proposal after the new elections to the European Parliament in 2024 to make the most sense. The ENA representatives took the same stance with regard to the EU nature restoration law, a planned EU regulation that would result in extensive set-asides within the European Union. ENA will continue its lobbying on both proposals in Brussels in the coming weeks. The BdB representatives also called on delegates from the other EU countries to make separate representations to their national governments and EU parliamentarians once again.
In order to be better able to tackle the important issues of sustainability at ENA level in the future, BdB CEO Markus Guhl was elected chairman of the sustainability working group. Problem areas here are in particular the use of plastic, peat and fertilizers.
Following the General Assembly, ENA delegates visited several nurseries near Istanbul to learn about production standards and market prospects.
The next ENA General Assembly is traditionally held on the sidelines of the IPM in Essen in January 2024.
