On Wednesday 22 March, Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spanish), rapporteur for the European Parliament Agriculture Committee, said that she did not want to block but “improve” the proposal on reducing the use of pesticides.
Ms Aguilera presented her working document on this issue (see EUROPE 13144/6) to the European Parliament Agriculture Committee. In the document, she identifies four main problem areas: the ban on pesticides in sensitive areas (definitions and plant protection treatments), national targets for reducing pesticide use (for some countries, the 50% target will be difficult to achieve), the administrative burden and the lack of EU funding.
She also said that she was looking forward to the proposal, due in June, on new plant breeding techniques.
Eric Andrieu (S&D, French) stressed that we should not defend the profits of agrochemicals. He called for a “reform” of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to find new funds to support farmers.
Juan Ignacio Zoido (EPP, Spanish) insisted on the decrease in agricultural production (in Spain: -20% for tomatoes and -18% for grapes) and the increase (+21%) in food prices resulting from the Commission’s proposal.
Asger Christensen (Renew Europe, Danish) focused on the need to shorten approval procedures for alternative products, such as biopesticides.
“Pesticide-free agriculture is possible, and without loss of yield”, said Claude Gruffat (Greens/EFA, French), who welcomed the draft report by Sarah Wiener (Greens/EFA, Austrian). Alternatives exist, said Gruffat.
Zbigniew Kuźmiuk (ECR, Polish) said he had “great reservations” about the Commission’s initial proposal and regretted the lack of alternative methods.
The Agriculture Committee is expected to adopt its opinion in July. The Environment Committee plans to adopt Ms Wiener’s draft report in September (see EUROPE 13119/1), with a view to a plenary vote in October (see EUROPE 13143/10). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)