Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, announced this Tuesday that she will withdraw the proposal to implement a new law on the sustainable use of pesticides, whose processing in its current form has failed in the European Parliament and Council. Additionally, Ella Von der Leyen has promised that she will involve the agricultural sector more in drafting the next draft.
The announcement comes after several days of tractor mobilizations at European level and also in Spain, where today, Tuesday, there were various ‘tractor raids’ that have cut off main and secondary roads in different provinces of Spain.
Use of chemical pesticides
The standard, which set binding objectives at national and European Union level to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50%, as well as the use of the most dangerous pesticides by 2030, had faced rejection of the European agri-food lobby due to fears about its impact on food security.
“The Commission proposed sustainable pesticide use legislation with the valuable aim of reducing the risks of chemicals to protect plants. But the proposal has become a symbol of polarization. It has been rejected by Parliament and there is no longer any progress nor in the Council. Therefore, I will propose to withdraw the proposal,” said Von der Leyen.
“The Commission proposed sustainable pesticide use legislation with the valuable objective of reducing the risks of plant protection chemicals”
Before the European Parliament, where she went to report on the last leaders’ summit last week, Von der Leyen assured that the problem “is still on the table” even without this proposal and opted for “more dialogue and a different approach.” to move forward. “On this basis, the Commission could make a new, much more mature proposal, with the involvement of interested parties,” said the president of the community Executive, who asked to avoid the “game of accusations” and work together. “Our farmers will only invest in the future if they can live off their land. And they will only be able to continue living off their land if we achieve our climate and environmental goals together,” she warned Von der Leyen.
Brussels aims to take advantage of the framework of the strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture in the EU that began on January 25 to listen to all interested parties before presenting a new proposal, so it is unlikely to present the renewed draft . in the short term. The current legislature will conclude with elections to the European Parliament between June 6 and 9.
“Our farmers deserve to be heard”
Before the European Parliament, the German stressed that “our farmers deserve to be heard”, but also that agriculture will need a “more sustainable production model” to remain profitable, a transition in which the sector must “lead the baton” . “We need to analyze the situation together, share ideas and develop scenarios for the future. We need to move beyond polarized debates and build trust,” said Von der Leyen, who suggested “generous incentives” to farmers to strengthen protection in the media. . natural in the form of public subsidies or ‘premium’ labelling.
Also the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, demonstrated that it is the duty of the European institutions to “listen” to farmers who have expressed “anger, anxiety and concern” to see what can be done to respond to their demands. “Farmers are key contributors to our food security and also to the climate transition. They deserve respect for the enormous work they do in our interests, and it is important that there is fairness, reducing bureaucracy and applying the same standards to the entire sector,” Michel asked.
