Image: FREDERICK FLORIN (AFP)
After the approval extension of the weed killer glyphosate for another ten years, opponents of pesticides have now suffered a second defeat within just a few days. The EU Parliament rejected the Environment Committee’s report on the regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides on Wednesday. Based on a proposal from the EU Commission, he planned to halve the use of pesticides by 2030. “Dangerous pesticides” should even be reduced by two thirds. The report also proposed banning the use of chemical pesticides (except those permitted in organic farming) in sensitive areas and within a buffer zone of five meters, for example in all urban green spaces, including parks and playgrounds.
There has been a heated debate over the direction of Parliament in recent months. The advocates of (conventional) agriculture, in Austria the ÖVP and the FPÖ, warned of a danger to security of supply due to expected lower yields. The supporters of a significant reduction in pesticides, including the Greens and the SPÖ, found disinformation in it.
The mood in the plenary hall after the vote was correspondingly poisonous – the visibly disappointed rapporteur, Green MP Sarah Wiener, received boos during her remarks following the vote. “A black day for the environment, health and society. And for the liberation of farmers from the agroindustry,” said Wiener. The SPÖ MP Günther Sidl accused the European People’s Party (EPP) of “bowing to the interests of the large agricultural and chemical companies”.
EPP environmental spokesman Peter Liese (CDU) spoke of a “good day for farmers”. The proposal was “absolutely useless”. A “sensible concept” can now be drawn up after the EU elections. Tightening the use of pesticides is not necessarily off the table. After Wiener’s request to be referred back to the committee was rejected, it is the Council’s turn, the body of the 27 member states, to find a common position on the matter. If this is the case, Parliament can negotiate in a second round.
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