On Monday 23 September, more than 15 EU agriculture ministers asked the European Commission to postpone by two years the entry into force of the new regulation on the input data collection system.
This text (https://aeur.eu/f/dmp ), to be adopted in 2023, includes the introduction of an electronic register of pesticide use to be filled in by all farmers from 2026, with the first report due in 2028.
At the Agriculture Council, the Polish Minister, Czesław Siekierski, detailed the difficulties encountered in implementing this text.
Such concerns had already been expressed during negotiations with the European Parliament on this text: the EU Member States had in fact lobbied for data collection to start in 2035 and take place every five years, while the European Parliament wanted earlier and more regular data collection.
At the Agriculture Council, only Denmark opposed postponing the entry into force of the text until 2028. The Polish position, on the other hand, was supported by 15 countries, including Slovenia, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Romania and the Netherlands.
Postponing electronic data recording “would jeopardise the ability of Member States to fulfil their obligations”, according to the European Commission.
The Hungarian Presidency of the Council intends to return to the subject in the near future. It mentioned the possible options of a postponement or flexibilities offered to EU countries.
Link to the Polish note on the subject: https://aeur.eu/f/dmq (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)