Smith invites Pesticides Draftswoman to Scotland

Alyn Smith MEP, Scotland's only full member of the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, has invited the draftswoman of the EU pesticides package to Scotland to come meet farmers and crofters to hear and see first hand the potential impact of the pesticides package. He has also published a briefing on the package so that non-agricultural MEPs will be able to understand the issues.

Mr Smith has invited the draftswoman, Hiltrud Breyer, who as a German Green MEP sits in the same parliamentary Group as the SNP,  in the hope of persuading her that a number of the proposals currently in the package will cause grave concern in Scotland. Negotiations on the package begin in earnest in the Parliament in September.

Alyn said:

"The relationship between the SNP and the European Greens is really pretty comfortable, we agree on most things, and where we disagree it is with mutual respect and the dialogue is always frank.

"I suspect I do disagree with Hiltrud on this one, but that makes it all the more important we keep channels open and as a German MEP I'm relying on the affection all Germans have for Scotland to get her here to hear from our experts what the proposals would actually do if they are implemented as they stand.

"That is of course a big if, they will certainly not be implemented as
they stand, but I will make every effort to actually influence this
package as it moves through Parliament, and winning Haltered to our side would be of huge benefit.

"I have already discussed the invite with the Crofters Foundation and NFU and have every confidence she will be given quality, useful information by Scotland's farmers. It throws into stark contrast the fact that some UK politicians would sooner fulminate in the letters pages of the Scottish press, but I'm getting on with the job and making Scotland's case in Brussels."