The draft of the EU plant protection regulation contains two specific reduction targets: The first target is to reduce the use and risk of chemical plant protection products, which are listed in detail in the appendix to the regulation, by 2030 by 50 percent. The second goal is to halve the use of more hazardous pesticides, which are also named, by 2030.

The starting point for the subsequent determination of the reduction should be the respective use of pesticides in the period from 2015 to 2017. Each member state should contribute to reducing the use of pesticides throughout the Union. This means that not every EU country has to set a savings target of exactly 50 percent — the range extends from 35 to 65 percent.

The [German Farming Bank] Raiffeisen Association refers to a study by the Thünen Institute, which showed that a ban on the use of pesticides in all sensitive areas would leave 3.5 million hectares of arable land fallow or overgrown. From the point of view of the DRV, the planned ban is tantamount to expropriation. Not only agriculture is damaged, but also companies from upstream and downstream sectors, including tourism.

Member States should decide for themselves in which areas plant protection products should be avoided. The EU should only intervene if the measures taken by the member states are not sufficient.

[Editor’s note: This article was originally published in German and has been translated and edited for clarity.]

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