EU Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, in a meeting last month, reaffirmed the Commission’s plans to revise EU pesticide legislation, despite ten member states having expressed “serious doubts” in a letter, and despite the growing revolt of European farmers and other productive layers.
“We are determined to come forward with a proposal to change course on pesticides,” Kyriakides said June 13 at the EU agriculture ministerial meeting in Luxembourg. Kyriakides insisted that reducing the use of pesticides is about “protecting human health, the environment and biodiversity.”
The Commission is expected to publish a proposal to revise the current pesticide legislation before the Summer break. The revision of EU legislation on pesticides is part of the Farm-to-Fork strategy. According to leaked drafts of the Commission’s proposal, the revised regulation would make these targets legally binding at the EU level.
