Crop protection industry urges new direction on EU futureEurope’s political landscape is shifting dramatically, with new MEPs and a new Commission President taking office. They will be confronted with many challenges, including: loss of innovation and competitiveness in the EU and the continued need to feed a growing population with ever-scarcer natural resources.The EU needs to act on a range of initiatives to ensure Europe’s place as a world leader in promoting innovation, creating jobs and ensuring sustainable productivity.The crop protection industry has developed a new policy vision to launch an open and meaningful discussion on how we can make this happen. Our vision for Europe’s sustainable and productive future includes five key policy recommendations:Build a science-based policy framework that balances risks and benefits in policy-making and improves coordination between risk assessment and risk management Implement smarter and better regulation by running a regulatory fitness check of our sector and improving impact assessment in policy-making Ensure consistency between EU policies and international agreements, allowing fair trade and ensuring competitiveness for European agriculture and industry Foster innovation by adopting an Innovation Principle in EU decision-making and reinforcing protection of intellectual property rights Boost agricultural productivity and competitiveness in a sustainable way “Our industry is committed to contributing to a stronger Europe by supporting sustainable, resource-efficient, competitive and productive agriculture,” said Jean-Charles Bocquet, Director General of the European Crop Protection Association.“The solutions we provide to farmers bring significant benefits to society: healthy, high-quality and affordable food; economic stability; resource efficiency; and improved biodiversity. To keep delivering we need a European framework that fosters rather than discourages innovation.”To find out more and to join the discussion, please visit www.visionforeurope.eu