The agriculture ministers of several EU countries criticised, on Tuesday 25 April in Luxembourg, the proposal to reduce the use of chemical and more dangerous plant protection products by 50% by 2030.
According to these countries, these restrictions risk undermining the ability of Member States to ensure a sound phytosanitary system and to comply with EU legislation and international obligations.
A document (https://aeur.eu/f/6j3 ) outlining these concerns was submitted by Latvia and supported by Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Other countries that supported this request were Austria, Italy, Estonia and Cyprus.
France considered that the European framework should apply to imported products (reciprocity of standards). According to France and Spain, alternatives to plant protection products must be developed. The French minister, Marc Fesneau, cited the example of new genomic techniques (NGTs) in this context.
The Commission has not yet finalised the additional impact assessment of the regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides, requested by the EU Council.
Other topics. In addition, the Commission presented the results of its recent study on the potential development of invertebrate biological control agents in the EU, supported by several ministers.
Finally, Denmark raised the issue of setting new lower maximum levels for PFAS (poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances) in foodstuffs, with the support of the Czech Republic, Germany and the Netherlands, among others (https://aeur.eu/f/6j5 ). The European Commission has promised to act in this area of PFAS. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)