Many members of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee called on Wednesday 31 August for the effects on food safety of the pesticide reduction targets set out in the proposed regulation to be taken into account.
The European Commission has presented the impact assessment on the sustainable use of plant protection products to MEPs. It is of the opinion that the current directive has not achieved the objectives and is insisting on a ban on pesticides in sensitive areas. The proposal aims to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides and the use of the most hazardous pesticides by 50% by 2030 (see EUROPE 12977/16).
“We want to agree on the division of powers between the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee and Environment Committee” on this text, said the chair of the Agriculture Committee, Norbert Lins (EPP, German). He and others, including Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italian) and Franc Bogovič (EPP, Slovenian), are regretful that food safety was not taken into account as part of the impact assessment, nor the effects that the text would have on farms.
Ulrike Müller (Renew Europe, German) has criticised the effort requested for a reduction of 50%.
Several MEPs have drawn attention to the expected drop in production should the proposed text be implemented. “The CAP will not be able to finance everything”, warned Anne Sander (EPP, French).
Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA, German) emphasised the loss of biodiversity and the fact that “many pesticides are used for nothing”. He called for a definition of the “level of dangerousness” of pesticides.
Debates in the EU Council. The next meeting of the EU Council Working Group on the text (pesticides) will take place on 12-13 September. The European Commission will present the calculated national reduction targets for each country. EU agriculture ministers will then return to the subject at their December meeting (see EUROPE 12995/11).
Link to the impact assessment: https://aeur.eu/f/2vj (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)