To salvage the EU’s ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy, which includes halving the use of chemical pesticides and the risks they pose by 2030, the NGO PAN Europe (Pesticide Action Network) called on the European Commission on Tuesday 17 November to take legal action against Member States that do not comply with the ‘Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive’ (2009/128/EC).
This call was launched during a virtual workshop of Member States’ experts on the incomplete implementation of this Directive (17-29 November) with an eye to its potential revision in 2022 (see EUROPE 12498/18).
PAN Europe is alarmed by draft EU Council conclusions which seem to indicate that the German Presidency could accept that national pesticide reduction plans, recognised as insufficient, should replace implementation of the directive, which aims to protect human health and the environment.
These draft conclusions relate to the Commission’s report which, last May, highlighted shortcomings in the Directive’s implementation, particularly the lack of ambition of the national plans (see EUROPE 12493/17). The conclusions highlight the Member States’ difficulties and different starting points and calls for more flexible measures, such as training and research.
“The poor quality and lack of ambition of Member States to reduce the risks posed by pesticides should not only be addressed in a workshop but in front of the European Court of Justice. It simply can’t be that Member States fall short on the requirements of their own legally binding legislation and turn a blind eye to the biodiversity crisis that Europe is facing”, according to the President of PAN Europe, François Veillerette. He also added: “The Commission should launch infringement proceedings”.
To view the draft conclusions: https://bit.ly/2IMeOSY (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)