At the end of June, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee voted on its opinion of the implementation of the EU’s pesticides regulation (1107/2009).
The finalised text supports the NFU view that the current regulatory regime does not effectively support the development of a sufficient range of tools for farmers to tackle plant pests and diseases, as delays and complexities slow approvals and reauthorisations.
The opinion therefore calls on the European Commission to take steps to speed up and simplify the process, while maintaining a high level of scrutiny. Importantly, MEPs recognise that scientific evidence must be at the heart of decision making on plant protection products which has been “increasingly called into question.”
The committee also expresses its concern over the differences in the availability of plant protection products between member states and calls for measures to be taken so that farmers in one country are not at a disadvantage to others.
The opinion will feed directly into the report by the Environment Committee, which expects to vote on its position in July.