We at ENA, the European Nurserystock Association, are very appreciative of the active involvement of the many Members of the European Parliament who today called upon the European Commission to help the EU flowers and live plants sector in a more effective and impactful way.
On 27 April, 50 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), originating from a large number of Member States and stemming from several political groups, have sent a joint letter to the EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski calling for EU support to the flower & live plants sector which has been dramatically hit by the exceptional crisis derived from COVID-19. The MEPs urge the Commission to be more ambitious and pragmatic and to activate as soon as possible tailor-made and urgent financial support for the sector, going beyond the measures proposed last week which are not sufficient to keep the sector afloat.
“ As Members of the European Parliament, we consider it the duty of the European Commission to not abandon this highly interdependent and very performing European sector and to invest in it as soon as possible to offer it a lifeline,” says the letter, while recalling that the sector sustains 760.000 jobs across the EU and contributes annually to the EU economy with a total turnover of 48 Billion EUR.
The list of signatory MEPs is headed by Annie Schreijer-Pierik (NL, EPP), Juan Ignacio Zoido Alvarez (ES, EPP) and Anne Sander (FR, EPP) and includes many members of the Agriculture Commission of the European Parliament, notably its Chair Norbert Lins (DE, EPP) but also a large number of prominent MEPs from across the political spectrum (S&D, ECR, RENEW Europe and ID political groups) and with a large European geographical coverage.
This exceptional mobilization and call for support by such a large and representative group of MEPs reflect how much the dramatic situation of the flower & live plants sector does appeal to many people and in the first place to the elected representatives of citizens across the EU. The letter aptly recalls how flowers & live plants positively contribute to the quality of life of EU citizens and have enormous potential in being part of the solution for the overall EU Green Deal ambitions by greening cities and offsetting the effects of climate change.
ENA – European Nurserystock Association represents nursery stock growers’ organisations all over Europe. The nurseries, where live plants are propagated, grown and traded, are members of regional or national nursery organisations that are members of the ENA. Sixteen EU countries currently constitute the membership of ENA: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
