The European Parliament has voted in a plenary (full) session to reject a European Commission proposal for tighter regulation of pesticides.
The commission had proposed the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR) for plant protection products in June 2022.
Last month, the parliament’s environment committee voted to add more stringent measures to the proposed regulation.
The amended regulation would see a reduction in pesticide use of 50% by 2030, and a reduction of 65% for “more hazardous products” (for example, pesticides containing non-approved substances used via time-limited, nationally approved emergency authorisations).
Importantly, the proposal would result in an outright ban on the use of pesticides (expect those approved for organic farming and biological control) on “sensitive areas”, which includes Natura 2000 sites.
However, the parliament has rejected the commission’s proposal, as amended, after MEPs voted 299 against and 207 in favour, with 121 abstentions.
It is understood that the EU’s legislative procedure will continue with the Council of the EU (also known as the council of ministers) set to examine the commission’s proposal.
The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said that the vote in the parliament today “is a major relief for farmers”.
Kieran McEvoy, the association’s national grain chairperson, said that the SUR “would have been very damaging to agricultural production and food security across the EU”.
“There wasn’t sufficient time given to discuss the full implications of what was proposed. If there is one learning from this outcome, it’s that policy makers have to engage fully before bringing new regulation forward,” McEvoy commented.
He added: “Tillage farming in Ireland would have been especially impacted by the sensitive areas proposal and the proposed pesticide cuts… It would be impossible to grow the tillage sector in Ireland to the government target of 400,000ha.”
While farm organisations will welcome the vote, an umbrella group of NGOs which seeks to cut pesticide use has claimed that the vote result “represents a severe attack on the [European] Green Deal and the public interest”.
Martin Dermine, the executive director of PAN (Pesticide Action Network) Europe, said: “Thousands of scientists and millions of citizens have demanded reduction of pesticides to protect health and the environment.
“By not addressing these demands, the European Parliament is sending a negative signal to voters on its ability to deal with major societal issues,” he said.