The European Parliament adopted two major pieces of legislation on plant protection today: one on the authorisation and marketing of plant protection products, the other on their sustainable use. The farmers and agri-cooperatives represented by Copa-Cogeca have mixed views of the outcome of this three-year process.
Pekka Pesonen, Secretary General of Copa-Cogeca, said, “We are relieved that the EU will continue to base its legislation on sound science and has not given in to the most extreme voices.

Balancing product safety, agricultural and environmental sustainability and the availability of healthy, affordable products is our primary objective. I believe that after today’s vote, effective plant protection of this kind should generally remain possible.”
“We note with great concern, however, that the Parliament’s decision concerning some cut-off criteria has not been made on the basis of a sound, risk-based assessment. Today’s decision will also mean the elimination of a number of active substances, which farmers rely on to prevent the build-up of resistance and to ensure a healthy crop”, he continued,
The Secretary General concluded by saying, “We now urgently need a detailed impact assessment to examine the full implications of today’s decision. In particular, it must also evaluate the implications for imports from non-EU countries. We call on the European institutions to start working on this as soon as possible. The full consequences of today’s agreement on the EU farming sector depend strongly on how it is implemented. Farmers, policy-makers and industry must continue working together to ensure that we can achieve the balance that consumers expect.”

For further information, please contact:
Roxane Feller
Senior Policy Advisor
Tel.: +32 2 287 27 45
roxane.feller@copa-cogeca.eu
Simon Michel-Berger
Press Officer
Mobile: + 32 474 840 836
simon.michel-berger@copa-cogeca.eu