The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced, on Tuesday 6 February at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, that the proposal to halve the use of pesticides in the EU should be withdrawn, during a debate on the results of the European Council of 1 February (see EUROPE B13341A4).
The proposal “has become a symbol of polarisation”, noted Ursula von der Leyen, at a time when angry farmers have for weeks been denouncing European green standards as excessive.