The Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament rejects the European Commission's proposals to halve the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture. According to many MEPs, the plan is flawed in every respect.
However, according to Agriculture Committee chairman Norbert Lins, it is not yet certain whether the EU Commissioners will pay attention to this, since it is the ENVI environment committee that must advise on the controversial proposal. That parliamentary committee, on the other hand, does want ‘less chemistry in green areas’.
In the first session after the summer recess and after the presentation (end of June) of the nature restoration plans, the agriculture committee reiterated the objections that have been raised since last year against the fertilizer plans in Farm to Fork. Those concerns mainly come from the center-right groups, while the Greens and the Left believe the agricultural lobby ignores the risks to health, biodiversity, and soil quality.
Dutch MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen (SGP) said that the EU Commissioners must go ‘back to the drawing board’ with their Farm to Fork plans. According to him, many things have changed in the world since the presentation of the F2F plans last year.
Other MEPs also point to the profound consequences of the Russian war in Ukraine, the Western sanctions against Russia, the new energy policy, and the looming economic recession in the EU.
Agriculture senior official Michael Scannell emphasized that there is no food shortage in the EU, food security is not at stake, and there is no global export problem, only a transport problem at most. Moreover, the halving of the heaviest category of chemicals does not have to happen immediately or all at once but can be spread over a period of about seven or eight years.
MEP Annie Schreijer-Pierik (CDA) believes that EC President Ursula von der Leyen should take the reins and make the new threatening situation a ‘chefsache’ (top priority). Agriculture chairman Norbert Lins said that the informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers (September 14–16) in Prague will be entirely focused on the new agricultural and energy situation.