The European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture may suggest a reduction of up to 50% in the use of pesticides by 2035, in its opinion due to be adopted on 9 October.
A number of compromise amendments have reportedly been tabled ahead of the vote on the opinion by Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spanish) on the proposal for a Regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides (see EUROPE 13210/10).
The European Commission is forecasting a 50% reduction in the use of these products by 2030.
According to one of the compromise amendments seen by EUROPE, each Member State will have to contribute, through the adoption and implementation of measures to ensure that national targets are met, to achieving by 2035 an EU-wide reduction of up to 50% in both the use and risk of chemical plant protection products and the use of more hazardous plant protection products, compared with the average for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 (collectively referred to as the ‘Union 2035 reduction targets’). At national level, EU countries will have to reduce use by a minimum of 35% and a maximum of 50%.
The initial reference period has therefore been changed: the rapporteurs of this committee prefer to use the average from 2011 to 2013, rather than from 2015 to 2017, to take better account of the efforts made by the countries.
On the basis of the results of its assessment, the Commission could present appropriate legislative proposals with a view to re-examining the Union’s reduction targets for 2035 and the Member States’ corresponding contributions.
Other compromise amendments concern definitions and the conditions of use of pesticides in sensitive areas.
An amendment to the 2009 Regulation on placing plant protection products on the market would speed up procedures for biocontrol products.
Parliament’s Committee on Environment, which is responsible for the substance of this dossier (see EUROPE 13187/5), is due to vote on the draft report by Sarah Wiener (Greens/EFA, Austrian) on 24 October. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)