On 5 July, the European Commission is due to adopt the additional study requested by the Council of the EU on the effects of the proposal on the sustainable use of pesticides on food safety.
EUROPE has been able to consult a provisional version of this impact study, which attempts to minimise the consequences, particularly economic, of the proposed 50% reduction in the use of pesticides. In 218 pages, this work answers the main questions posed by the Member States.
“The most significant impacts on yield were identified for crops of limited importance for food and animal safety, such as grapes, hops and tomatoes”, the document points out. According to the Commission, if the proposed reductions have too great an impact on the main food crops, Member States will be able to direct their efforts towards less strategic crops or those for which more effective alternatives exist.
“The existing heterogeneity in the current use of pesticides between similar farmers also implies a potential for reduction without major repercussions on crop yields”, the Commission also points out. It also points out that most existing studies do not take account of mitigation measures (precision farming, new plant protection products, integrated pest management).
Negotiations at the Council. Negotiations between Member States will continue under the Spanish Presidency of the Council, even though the Spanish minister, Luis Planas, has acknowledged that “realistically, it will be very difficult to reach a conclusion before the European elections in 2024” (see EUROPE 13199/6).
The Swedish Presidency of the Council has prepared several compromise texts (https://aeur.eu/f/7hf ), notably on integrated pest management, but nothing on the elements of the text covered by the additional impact assessment requested by the Council. “If we introduce regulations without giving any idea of the consequences, we create tension and suspicion”, said French Minister Marc Fesneau on Monday 12 June, on the sidelines of the informal meeting of EU agriculture ministers. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)