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European Union
The Commission's proposal to curb the use of pesticides in the European Union was debated this week in the European Parliament. In the vote, 207 MEPs supported the text, 121 abstained and 299 voted against , so the legislative proposal will return to the Commission who will have to decide whether to reject it definitively or return it to Parliament for a second reading.
This regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products was proposed by the Commission on June 22, 2022 as part of the Farm to Fork Strategy, a package of measures aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of the European Union food system.
As stated by the Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers and Live Plants (FEPEX) in a press release, this news "shows that realism has prevailed and that community production and food security are beginning to be taken into account and prioritized. According to the Federation, the proposed regulation now rejected "constituted a very serious threat to production in the EU, for FEPEX, because it represented a strong reduction in the basic tools that producers have to deal with pests and plant diseases, without there being any effective alternatives, which would also have an impact on food security, understood as all people having access to a sufficient supply of healthy food at affordable prices.
For his part, Miguel Padilla, Secretary General of the Coordinator of Farmers and Livestock Organizations (COAG) , declared: "We are glad that common sense and responsibility have prevailed among MEPs. Without effective alternatives and realistic deadlines, the The European Commission's proposal would leave farmers defenseless to combat pests and would cause a sharp rise in the price of food for consumers. The impact report carried out by Wageningen University points out that the approval of this regulation would cause a loss of 20% of European plant production and, consequently, a greater increase in food prices.”
