Hunters welcome re-establishment of European Parliament intergroup
Three Labour MEPs will be forming part of it
The hunting federation (FKNK) has welcomed the re-establishment up of a European Parliament intergroup on biodiversity, hunting and countryside on which three Labour MEPs – Alex Agius Saliba, Josianne Cutajar and Alfred Sant – will be sitting.
Set up for the first time in 1985, this group serves as a platform for an open discussion between decision takers, the European Commission and experts with the objective of recognizing the crucial socio-cultural role of hunting and trapping in rural areas, the FKNK said.
In a statement the federation said this step endorsed by more than 130 MEPs was the result of its efforts and lobbying in Brussels after May’s European election.
Following the announcement of the European Commission’s new EU Green Deal in the European Parliament, the Conference of Presidents approved the list of the parliamentary intergroups for its next mandate. The biodiversity, hunting and countryside intergroup was one of those approved, out of a very long list of proposals. The re-establishment of this intergroup gives a strong political signal from the Members of the European Parliament to support key activities in Europe’s rural areas for biodiversity, the FKNK said.
The secretariat of the intergroup is provided by the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE) since the creation of the intergroup in 1985. The European Landowners’ Organization (ELO) joined the support of the intergroup’s work in 2004 and is acting as its co-secretariat, bringing its expertise on countryside-related topics.