European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday the 6th February the withdrawal of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (SUR) regulation, a bill aimed at reducing the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture, reports Politico.
The bill, originally proposed in 2020 and officially introduced in 2022, aimed to reduce pesticide use and risks by 50% by 2030 as part of the Green Deal, an initiative for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen has announced the withdrawal of the SUR,
saying it had become a “symbol of polarisation”.
The decision to abandon the SUR regulation, despite evidence that synthetic pesticides harm the environment and human health, has marked a major shift in the EC’s approach to agricultural policy. However, in the face of opposition from the farmers’ lobby and centre-right politicians, as well as widespread protests from farmers, the EU executive had no choice but to withdraw the draft law.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and German centre-right legislator Peter Liese expressed their support for the decision to scrap the SUR.
The move is in line with a broader shift in the EU’s approach to the agriculture and food sector, as evidenced by the removal of agricultural references from the forthcoming 2040 climate target proposal and the enacted one-year pause on farmland fallowing for biodiversity.
Ursula von der Leyen has also acknowledged that the SUR has been rejected by Parliament
and that no progress has been made by national governments in the Council. She pointed out that a broader dialogue and a different approach are needed, suggesting the possibility of a new, more mature proposal involving stakeholders.
The SUR regulation has been opposed mainly by her own centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), which has tried to undermine the Farm to Fork programme and win farmers’ favour ahead of the forthcoming EU elections.
Negotiations between national governments in the Council have also reportedly stalled, despite attempts by the Spanish and Belgian EU Presidencies to remove controversial elements from the SUR, leaving only those that promote safer alternatives to chemical pesticides.
Von der Leyen has also said that the report on consultations with farmers and environmental groups would be ready “by the end of the summer” and would form the basis for the bloc’s future agricultural policy, which is currently based on the granting of subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy, writes Politico.
Also read: VIDEO | Farmers in Brussels throw eggs and stones as EU summit begins
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