The proposal on the revision of the rules on the sustainable use of pesticides should be adopted in June by the European Commission, the Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides told MEPs of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture on Thursday 31 March.
“We’ve deferred adoption to June, in order to allow proper political space for what is an important action under ‘Farm to Fork’”, the Commissioner said. She insisted that “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine does not make it any less necessary (and) that significant reductions in chemical pesticide use need not jeopardise profitable production”.
The Commissioner sought to reassure some MEPs that the aim is to “reduce the use of pesticides where possible, not to ban them where there is no viable alternative”.
Ms Kyriakides also indicated that work on the revision of the seed legislation is ongoing (legislative proposals expected by the end of 2022).
In the meantime, the Commission is continuing work on proposals for new genomic techniques. Ms Kyriakides stressed that “we are conducting an impact assessment and public consultation to examine the policy options and their expected impact. Legislative proposals, if deemed necessary, could be submitted before the summer of next year”. There are no plans to revise the legislation on genetically modified organisms, she said.
Regarding the proposal for mandatory harmonised nutrition labelling on the front of food packaging, “work is underway and is based on systems already in use at European level. For the time being, no choice has been made as to the future labelling system. The choice will be made on the basis of scientific advice and consultation. We expect to adopt a proposal by the end of 2022”, according to the Commissioner. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)