Poland criticised the “poor quality” of the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides in a document dated 11 October.
Poland believes that it will not be possible to implement the legislation properly as proposed. It denounces the lack of precision in the definitions of “application equipment for professional use” and “sensitive areas”. It regrets a lack of clarity regarding the justifications for the use of chemical pesticides. It requests the Legal Service of the Council of the EU to provide an opinion on the “ambiguities” identified (https://aeur.eu/f/3nf ).
Slovenia proposed changing the method of calculating national reduction targets to take into account differences in use between states. It takes the Commission’s formula (intensity of pesticide use and progress made) and adds a coefficient (amount of plant protection products sold in a state compared to the EU average). Slovenia proposes to exclude substances used in organic farming from the calculation. The Slovenian reduction target would be reduced from 52% to 42%. Hungary had also proposed an alternative methodology for calculating reduction targets.
The Czech Presidency of the EU Council will present a progress report on the pesticides debate in December (see EUROPE 13029/1). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)