I belong to the parliamentary group of the European People’s Party (EPP) which, with 256 out of 736 members, is for the third consecutive time since 1999 the largest group in the European Parliament. As the South Tyrolean representative of the South Tyrolean People’s Party (SVP) I am part of the Italian parliamentary group within the EPP, to which the MEPs of the PDL and UDC parties also belong. This link provides more information about the Italian delegation in the EPP.

Member of committees and delegations

Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development:
this is one the most important and best known committees of the European Parliament. The committee handles matters representing about 34% of total Community spending. The decisions made by this committee directly affect the lives of European Union citizens. Its original aim was to ensure that the population was provided with food following the Second World War. As a member of this committee, I am jointly responsible for the drafting of legislation. At the moment we are working on the general agrarian reforms. The idea is to prepare a range of measures to assist agriculture within the European Union, ensuring indigenous agricultural productivity and protecting employment after 2013.
Encouraging small agricultural enterprises is not only important from an economic viewpoint, but is also a decisive factor in maintaining the quality of life in peripheral areas and protecting biodiversity, particularly in mountainous areas. It should be mentioned in this context that 12-13% of the earth’s land area is used for agricultural purposes, thus providing humanity’s staple foodstuffs. In addition to this basic issue, the committee is also concerned with food quality and consumer protection. In this regard, the intensification of controls and introduction of standards in recent years have already led to an improvement in product quality. Another aim is to protect the agricultural sector from the consequences of the economic and financial crisis in order to secure the jobs of those concerned while ensuring fair product prices for consumers.

Delegation for parliamentary cooperation EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan und EU-Uzbekistan and relations with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia

Deputy member
Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee for Petitions
Special policy challenges committee for a sustainable European Union after 2013
Delegation for relations with Belarus
Delegation for relations with the Pan-African Parliament