BETTER PLENARIES: The European Parliament is mulling measures to make its proceedings more interesting for citizens, more visible in the media and more central to the European debate
du jour. The exercise, designed as a “rethink” of “parliamentary democracy,” as President David Sassoli described it at its launch back in April, is now yielding results in the form of recommendations, seen by Playbook, on a post-pandemic Parliament. The proposals came together over the course of five “focus groups,” one of which looked into how to reform the plenary.
‘Prioritize controversy’: The paper suggests reducing “the number of items to be placed on the agenda,” which would give MEPs “more speaking time,” and allow “for a real debate.” There’s also a call to “prioritize controversial legislative files.” Read: The MEPs in the group want Parliament to put on a better show and to ponder technical files less prominently. One proposal is to “hold debates on
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Expert advises on use of biodegradable plastics
Use of biodegradable plastics can potentially reduce harmful, polluting plastic waste in the open environment and contribute to Green targets. But most such plastics only degrade in specific environments and should only be used in line with new recommendations from the European Commission’s independent Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA), led by Oxford Professor Nicole Grobert.
The GCSA recommends biodegradable plastics offer potential environmental benefits in the open environment over conventional plastics – but only in certain circumstances.
Assessing which specific biodegradable plastic applications can offer environmental benefits requires careful consideration
News14 December 2020Brussels, BelgiumResearch and Innovation
New scientific opinion on the Biodegradability of Plastics in the Open Environment
Today the European Commission’s independent Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) delivered a Scientific Opinion on the Biodegradability of Plastics in the Open Environment. In their opinion, the GCSA provides recommendations to assess which specific applications of biodegradable plastics in the open environment offer potential environmental benefits over conventional plastics.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said:
The Scientific Opinion on Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment demonstrates that scientific research is indispensable to inform policy-makers. I am confident that these recommendations will help us to deliver on the Green Deal and the Horizon Europe Missions Healthy Oceans and Soil Health.