On 24 October, members of the European Parliament’s committee on environment, public health and food safety (ENVI) gave the green light to the draft proposal for a Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR), ensuring negotiations on a future EU-wide pesticides reduction law continue.
A majority of committee members voted in favour of the proposal for a legally-binding pesticides reduction law: 47 voted in favour, 37 against and two abstained. The proposal, put forward by the European Commission in June 2022, aims to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides in the EU by 50 percent by 2030.
While the adopted proposal includes some improvements to the original text, EDC-Free Europe members have pointed out it still falls short on key provisions to protect people’s health and the environment. One of these important shortcomings concerns the protection of sensitive areas against the use and exposure to harmful pesticides.
EDC Free Europe