The European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, which hopes to adopt its opinion on the proposal on the sustainable use of pesticides at the end of July, is considering softening the arrangements for achieving the 50% reduction in the use of plant protection products.
According to the compromise amendments negotiated between the European Parliament’s political groups, as seen by EUROPE, the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, which is due to draft an opinion submitted by Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spanish) to the committee responsible (the European Parliament’s Environment Committee), plans to postpone until 2035 (as opposed to 2030 in the initial proposal) the achievement of national and European targets for reducing the use of pesticides. In addition, the desired reference period would be 2011-2013, as opposed to 2015-2017 in the Commission’s initial proposal, which would make it possible to take account of the efforts already made by the Member States.
Above all, EU countries would be asked to make different levels of effort (35, 50 or 65%) depending on their starting point.
Finally, MEPs are considering relaxing the proposed ban on pesticides in sensitive areas (parks, Natura 2000 areas). The European Parliament Environment Committee plans to vote in September on the report by Sarah Wiener (Greens/EFA, Austrian) on the sustainable use of pesticides.
Negotiations on this sensitive issue will continue under the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council from 1 July (see EUROPE 13209/9). On 5 July, the Commission will present its additional impact study on the effects of the pesticides proposal on food safety (see EUROPE 13203/14) and its proposal on new genomic techniques (see EUROPE 13201/22). Marc Fesneau, the French Minister for Agriculture, said in Luxembourg on Tuesday 27 June that the desire to reduce the use of pesticides and the need to find alternative solutions for farmers using NGTs were two sides of the same coin. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)