154th CoR Plenary Session (15 - 16 March)

Pesticides and their use are regulated at EU level. Directive 2009/128/EC ('SUD') of the European Parliament and the Council establishes a framework to achieve sustainable use of pesticides that are plant protection products, by reducing the risks and impact of pesticide use on human health and the environment, and promoting the use of integrated pest management and of alternative approaches or techniques such as non-chemical alternatives to pesticides. A recent ex-post evaluation by the European Commission shows that the directive's implementation has only been 'moderately effective' overall in achieving this objective. Based on publicly available sources, this implementation appraisal provides information on the implementation of the directive and thus aims to support its ongoing revision, where the Parliament is a co-legislator.

Under the farm to fork strategy, part of the European Green Deal, the EU has set itself a double target: a 50% reduction in the overall use of and risk from chemical plant protection products, and a 50 % reduction in the use of more hazardous ones by 2030. The proposal for a regulation tabled by the European Commission on 22 June 2022, which would replace the 2009 sustainable use directive, would require Member States to contribute collectively to achieving these EU-wide targets through the adoption and attainment of binding national targets. To protect biodiversity and citizens' health, the use of all plant protection products would be banned in specific, sensitive areas. Monitoring and reporting obligations would be strengthened. Stakeholders are strongly divided on the proposal. While environmental organisations are pushing for more ambition, the farming community is concerned about the lack of alternatives for farmers, the broad coverage of sensitive areas, and consequences for business continuity.

The European Parliament has a range of supervisory and control powers, allowing it to exercise oversight over other European Union institutions. To strengthen this oversight, Parliament has revived the practice of holding 'question time' with the European Commission and the High Representative during plenary sessions. For the June I session, questions to the Commission will concern pesticide use and consumer protection.

Pesticides are indispensable in modern agriculture, but the EU wants crop protection to be responsible and eco-friendly. What options are there to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides?

The overall objective of the future of crop protection project is to present an overview of crop protection options for European farmers to enable them to work sustainably while securing food production, preserving biodiversity and supporting farmers' incomes. The policy options proposed are based on an assessment of current and emerging crop protection practices and their impact on the common agricultural policy (CAP) objectives. This overview shows that several crop protection practices are under continuous development and have potential to improve future crop protection in Europe. The likelihood that policy options can be implemented successfully depends upon the extent to which they are consistent with the interests of stakeholder groups. These include farmers, suppliers, supply chain partners, consumers and NGOs defending societal interests. Furthermore, it is important that crop protection policy options are embedded in a systems perspective. This should include related areas, such as phytosanitary policy, the entire crop production system, the supply chain, and international trade relationships – which need to be in harmony with the crop protection policy. For each of these crop protection practices, different policy options are proposed, together with an impact assessment.

The European Commission has adopted proposals for a new Regulation on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products, including EU wide targets to reduce by 50% the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 2030, in line with the EU’s Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies. These new proposals, adopted on 22 June 2022, are part of a package of measures to reduce the environmental footprint of the EU’s food system and help mitigate the economic losses that we are already suffering due to climate change and biodiversity loss.