EU's 'Mandatory Pesticide Reduction Law' Effectively on Track for Abolition

50% Reduction Target in Chemical Pesticide Use by 2030
Current Administration's 'Green Deal' Policy Unavoidably Impacted

The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU), has declared that it will effectively scrap the mandatory reduction legislation for agricultural pesticides.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 6th (local time), Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said in a speech at the European Parliament plenary session held in Strasbourg, France, that she "will propose withdrawing the draft proposal for the 'Sustainable Use of pesticide regulation' (SUR)" and added, "more dialogue and different approaches are needed." Considering the limited time until the European Parliament elections in June, it is expected that the newly formed next Commission after the elections will review the matter from scratch.

SUR is a regulation proposed by the Commission in June 2022, aiming for each member state to reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030. After the Commission's draft was released, there were opposing voices due to concerns over food security following the outbreak of the Ukraine war, but the Commission had insisted on pushing forward citing the "urgency of safety." However, as farmers' "tractor protests" intensified, the Commission surrendered after 1 year and 8 months since the draft proposal.

Farmers from various countries including France, Germany, and Poland have been protesting by driving tractors and blocking streets in opposition to the EU's strict environmental regulations and the surge in low-priced imports. On the 1st, they even occupied Brussels, the capital of Belgium where the EU summit was held, paralyzing road traffic.

With the policy withdrawn, the current Commission's climate policy, the "Green Deal," is also expected to be impacted. The Green Deal is a comprehensive legislative package launched by the Commission in 2019, aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and establish a sustainable industrial environment. SUR was included in this package.

Some analysts interpret this decision as being influenced by the "far-right surge" atmosphere, which has gained farmers' support ahead of the European Parliament elections. Ahead of the elections, the European People's Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament to which President von der Leyen belongs, has recently been blocking some of the Commission's Green Deal legislation one after another.