EU Green Party aims to halve synthetic pesticide use by 2025, phase it out completely in 15 years

The EU’s European Green Deal drafters may have succeeded in dodging some of the most immediately contentious issues in the agri-food world, but it looks as though MEPs are gearing up to tackle them head-on at [January 22’s] plenary vote on the subject.

Resolutions by the Greens and Renew Europe submitted to the plenary tabling office on [Jan. 10] show that tough targets on pesticide use, food waste and animal welfare are likely to be on the agenda for the final vote. The ballot is non-binding but will offer a snapshot of parliamentary opinion, ahead of more consequential votes later in this mandate.

Bonfire of the bug-killers? The Greens’ motion calls for the Commission to “propose legislation with a binding commitment at EU level to drastically reduce the use of synthetic pesticides by 50% by 2025 with binding national contributions, with a view of phasing them out in 15 years.”

It also proposes a ban on European companies exporting pesticides banned in the EU and calls for the strict limiting of emergency pesticide authorizations to “real emergency situations.”

By Arthur Neslen, Eddy Wax, Zoia Wanat