YOUR OPINION MATTERS!
We invite you to participate in the legislative debate on the proposed Sustainable Use Regulation.
On 22.06.2022, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products, to replace the current Directive 2009/128/EC concerning the sustainable use of plant protection products.
The proposal sets legally binding targets at EU and national level to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% and the use of the most hazardous pesticides (candidates for substitution) by 2030. Member States will set their national reduction targets within defined parameters, ensuring that the EU objectives will be achieved. Due to the proposed methodology for calculating reduction targets in each country, Member States with the highest sales volumes of plant protection products - such as France, Spain, and Italy - will be required to set targets higher than 50%.
New measures will ensure that all farmers and other professional users of pesticides use Integrated Pest Management (IPM), in which alternative methods of environmental pest prevention and control are prioritised ahead of the use of chemical pesticides, which are now seen as a measure of use only as a last resource. The measures also include compulsory record-keeping for farmers and other professional users.
It is also proposed to ban all pesticides in sensitive areas (urban areas and environmentally protected areas). According to the proposed definition for sensitive areas, it is estimated that the ban would affect 20% or 30% of the total area currently cultivated.
This legislative act is open for feedback until 19 September 2022 (midnight Brussels time).
All feedback received will be published on the website - https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12413-Pesticides-sustainable-use-updated-EU-rules-_en - summarised by the European Commission and submitted to the European Parliament and the Council to feed the legislative debate.
Everyone's input in this legislative debate is important. We are in the period of Public Consultation of all citizens, and our participation is essential so that we can change the wording of the said Regulation.
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