the president of the European Commission proposes to withdraw a text reducing the use of pesticides

“The subject remains topical” but “to move forward, more dialogue and a different approach are necessary,” declared Ursula von der Leyen, without giving a date.

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The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, February 6, 2024. (FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP)

It was a central element of the European “Green Deal”. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed, on Tuesday February 6, the withdrawal of a legislative project aimed at halving the use of pesticides in the European Union by 2030. The proposal, issued in June 2022 by Brussels, “has become a symbol of polarization”lamented Ursula von der Leyen in Strasbourg, while angry farmers have been denouncing for weeks European ecological standards deemed excessive.

“It was rejected by Parliament, there is no more progress in the Council (the member states) either. This is why I will propose to the college (of commissioners) to withdraw this proposal”she declared to MEPs. “The subject remains current” but “to move forward, more dialogue and a different approach are needed. The Commission could make a new, much more mature proposal, with the participation of stakeholders”added the President of the European Union, without giving a date.

The European Parliament rejected the proposal at the end of November, after amendments from PPE (right) elected officials largely emptying it of its substance to avoid constraints “unrealistic” in the agricultural world. An extremely rare rejection which contributed to burying it de facto a few months before the European elections of June 2024.


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