logo
Pesticide cuts are off the table, says EU Agriculture Commissioner

Pesticide cuts are off the table, says EU Agriculture Commissioner

Euronews20-02-2025
The goal of halving pesticide use in the EU by 2030 was once a cornerstone of the European Green Deal. But now, that target has been shelved indefinitely.
In an interview with Euronews, Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen confirmed that reviving the plan is no longer on the EU executive's agenda.
"It didn't work out, and now we have no progress at all. Is that facility off the table? That is off the table," Hansen said.
The now-defunct sustainable use of pesticide regulation (SUR) aimed not only to cut pesticide use but also to ban these products in sensitive areas - such as urban green spaces and Natura 2000 sites - while promoting safer alternatives.
Initially proposed in June 2022, the reform was withdrawn a year later due to mounting opposition from right-wing parties and widespread farmer protests.
At the time, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen insisted that pesticide regulation would remain a priority and could be reintroduced with a "much more mature" proposal.
However, as the European Parliament elections were approaching, any fresh draft was pushed back to the current Commission that took office last December. "Of course, the topic stays, and to move forward, more dialogue and a different approach is needed," von der Leyen told MEPs in February 2024.
But Hansen made it clear that any future initiatives will focus on trade aspects such as reciprocity - for instance forcing food imports to meet EU's pesticide standards - and innovation rather than mandatory pesticide reduction targets.
He pointed to the upcoming Biotech Act, which aims to accelerate the development of safer alternatives to conventional pesticides.
"We have to ramp up our efforts to get those alternatives that are not toxic to the environment and human health," he said.
As part of its broader regulatory simplification package, the Commission will later this year propose measures to fast-track the approval of biopesticides.
This revision - one of the few elements of the withdrawn pesticide framework that saw broad political support - aims to fill legal gaps related to aerial pesticide application and biocontrol.
This shift reflects the Commission's newly unveiled Vision for Agriculture and Food, which prioritises making farming a more attractive profession - especially for younger generations - over tightening environmental regulations.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

On defence, France and Germany are inching closer but remain far apart
On defence, France and Germany are inching closer but remain far apart

Euronews

time7 minutes ago

  • Euronews

On defence, France and Germany are inching closer but remain far apart

Germany is becoming more French - and vice versa - when it comes to defence but big differences in the state of their public finances and strategic thinking mean the so-called Franco-German engine is unlikely to be able to power a big shift in the way the EU as a whole does defence. "From a longer historical point of view, the degree of convergence (between the two countries) is arguably higher than it has been for, I would say, decades," Jacob F. Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank, told Euronews. Both capitals see Russia as their biggest long-term threat, and both have pledged to pour hundreds of billions of euros into their military and defence industrial base. In Berlin, this has been dubbed a "Zeitenwende" (or historical turning point) while Paris said its latest military programmation law is "the ultimate strategic move". This convergence was driven by Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which brought back conventional war to European soil, Donald Trump's return to the White House, which has put in doubt continued long-term US commitment to Europe's security, and a change of leadership in Germany. The new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, "basically took what I can only describe as a Gaullist stance", Kirkegaard said, by saying that "Europe needs to prepare for a future without a US security guarantee". 'France is converging with Germany' Yet one example of how this rapprochement in defence remains a laborious process came last week when France's Emmanuel Macron and Merz sought to diffuse tensions over a joint €100 billion project to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet. At the core of the dispute is the demand by France to secure 80% of the workshare for the new Future Combat Air System (FCAS), negating previous agreements that it would be split equally between the two countries and Spain, which is also part of the project. The French demand, however, "should not be as surprising as it seems", Rafael Loss, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told Euronews, given that one of the major differences between France and Germany is how differently they view their military and the purpose they serve. The armed forces in France are part of the national foreign policy - as recent deployments in the Sahel attest - with the country's overseas territories and its possession of the nuclear weapon adding to its global perspective. "That's why the French military is much more comfortable with acting unilaterally or outside of EU, NATO contexts (than Germany's), and this then extends to the kinds of capabilities that the French armed forces prefer acquiring," Loss said. "Everything that relates to the French nuclear deterrent has to work when France is alone. And that means that FCAS, which is supposed to replace the Rafale fighter bombers going forward in carrying French nuclear weapons, French military and political leadership will not accept a situation where they're dependent to produce this capability because the nuclear deterrent depends on that capability." "French industry will need to be able to produce this aircraft by themselves if push comes to shove. They're willing to cooperate when strategic orientations align, but ultimately they have to produce everything independently of others. And again, that's something that many in Germany and across Europe haven't quite realised," he added. Still, Loss continued, "France is converging with Germany" with the "realisation that for the sake of European security, it needs to show that it invests in its partnerships and relationships with Europeans, especially those on the eastern flank". 'A big wasted opportunity' But the other major hurdle for the two to advance a common defence agenda at the EU level is the stark difference in their respective fiscal space. Germany's debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio stood at 62.3% in the first quarter of the year. France's was at 114.1%, well above what the bloc's rules mandate (60%). This structural divergence means that as European countries aim to significantly ramp up their defence spending and military capabilities to deter a possible Russian attack towards the turn of the decade, Germany can afford to invest heavily in defence, while France cannot. For instance, Germany has asked to make use of a proposal by Brussels to loosen fiscal rules for defence spending, something France, which is targeted by an excessive deficit procedure, cannot do. France, which has consistently invested in defence over the last few decades, has less ground to cover, so to speak, but the sums advanced by the German government (including a €500 billion fund to boost the military and the country's infrastructure) should mean it catches up quickly. But their public finances also "fundamentally place them on different sides of negotiating tables" at the EU level, Kirkegaard said. The European Commission has put forward a plan to rearm Europe that it hopes will prompt member states to invest up to €800 billion before 2030. But most of that money is expected to come from member states' coffers, which in the case of France, are quite depleted. Given the scale of the task ahead, the Commission has been asked to come up with "innovative" financing options for defence. Macron has called for one of those options to be joint EU borrowing, something Germany has flat-out rejected. For Kirkegaard, this means that the crisis ushered in by Russia's war on Ukraine, is "a big wasted opportunity" for the bloc. "This crisis, the war in Ukraine, will not lead to materially more EU institutional or fiscal integration. It will lead to an expansion of the EU with Ukraine and maybe other countries but that's a different type of change to the EU and that's also very different than the last many big crises we've had," he said.

US tariff tussles stuff of nightmares for Bordeaux winemakers
US tariff tussles stuff of nightmares for Bordeaux winemakers

France 24

timean hour ago

  • France 24

US tariff tussles stuff of nightmares for Bordeaux winemakers

In southwestern France, around the Bordeaux region's famed vineyards, months of talk on what US President Donald Trump will decide on tariffs have been the stuff of nightmares for producers as they look on helplessly. The United States is by far the top export market for Bordeaux's wine, accounting for 400 million euros ($470 million) worth of annual sales -- or about 20 percent of the total. China lags behind with 300 million euros ahead of the United Kingdom with 200 million. Sunday's announcement of a trade deal between the United States and the European Union did not clear up what tariffs European wine and spirits producers will face in the United States. While Trump said European exports face 15 percent tariffs across the board, both sides said there would be carve-outs for certain sectors. EU head Ursula Von der Leyen said the bloc still hoped to secure further so-called "zero-for-zero" agreements, notably for alcohol, which she hoped to be "sorted out" in the coming days. Philippe Tapie, chairman of regional traders' union Bordeaux Negoce, which represents more than 90 percent of the wine trade in the Bordeaux area, is worried by the uncertainty. "One day, it is white, the next it is black -- the US administration can change its mind from one day to the next and we have no visibility," he told AFP. In mid-March, Trump had threatened Brussels with 200 percent tariffs on alcohol in response to a proposed EU tax on US bourbon. Then in April he brandished a new threat of 20 percent across the board on EU products, a threat ultimately suspended. Since then, the level first held at ten percent but, in late May, the US leader threatened to revert to 50 percent before pivoting to 30 percent starting August 1st, the deadline for the negotiations with the EU that led to a preliminary accord after Trump and Von der Leyen met in Scotland on Sunday. In vino, veritas is unpredictability "At 10 percent or 15 percent, we'll find solutions. At 30 percent, no. End of story," Tapie warned just ahead of the announcement as he criticised a "totally unpredictable American administration". To export wine, "there's a minimum of 30 days by boat. If you go to California, it's 60 days. We can't think in terms of weeks," says Tapie, who says he has "never been confronted with such a situation" in 30 years of business. Twins Bordeaux, one of Bordeaux's leading wine merchants, also laments the tariffs' impact. "The American market represents about a third of our turnover, or around 30 million euros," explains Sebastien Moses, co-director and co-owner of Twins, which usually ships upwards of a million bottles a year to the United States. Since January, "our turnover must have fallen by 50 percent compared to last year," he says. "So far, we've managed to save the situation, because as soon as Donald Trump was elected we anticipated this and sent as much stock as possible to the US," explains Moses, though longer term he says this is not a "stable" strategy. Fly it out? As an attempted work around Twins Bordeaux even shipped cases of around 10,000 bottles by air in March. "But only very expensive wines, at no less than 150-200 euros per bottle, because by air it's at least two and a half times the price of shipping by sea," he said. For Bordeaux wine merchant Bouey, the US market represents less than 10 percent of its exports. "We have long since undertaken a geographical expansion. Faced with the global chaos, commercial strategies can no longer be based on a single- or dual-country strategy," Jacques Bouey, its CEO, told AFP in April. The tariffs come with the industry already struggling with declining consumption that has led to overproduction and a collapse in bulk prices. By early 2023, a third of Bordeaux's approximately 5,000 wine growers admitted to being in difficulty. © 2025 AFP

Most markets rise, euro boosted after EU strikes US trade deal
Most markets rise, euro boosted after EU strikes US trade deal

France 24

timean hour ago

  • France 24

Most markets rise, euro boosted after EU strikes US trade deal

News of the deal, announced by Donald Trump and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, followed US agreements last week, including with Japan, and comes ahead of a new round of China-US talks. Investors were also gearing up for a busy week of data, central bank decisions and earnings from some of the world's biggest companies. Trump and von der Leyen announced at his golf resort in Scotland that a baseline tariff of 15 percent would be levied on EU exports to the United States. "We've reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody. This is probably the biggest deal ever reached in any capacity," Trump said, adding that the levies would apply across the board, including for Europe's crucial automobile sector, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. Brussels also agreed to purchase "$750 billion worth of energy" from the United States, as well as make $600 billion in additional investments. "It's a good deal," von der Leyen said. "It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic." The news boosted the euro, which jumped to $1.1779 from Friday's close of $1.1749. And equities built on their recent rally, fanned by relief that countries were reaching deals with Washington. Hong Kong led winners, jumping around one percent, with Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta also up, along with European and US futures. Tokyo fell for a second day, having soared about five percent on Wednesday and Thursday in reaction to Japan's US deal. Singapore and Seoul were also lower. The broad gains came after another record day for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wall Street. "The news flow from both the extension with China and the agreement with the EU is clearly market-friendly, and should put further upside potential into the euro... and should also put renewed upside into EU equities," said Chris Weston at Pepperstone. Traders are gearing up for a packed week, with a delegation including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent holding fresh trade talks with a Chinese team headed by Vice Premier He Lifeng in Stockholm. While both countries in April imposed tariffs on each other's products that reached triple-digit levels, US duties this year have temporarily been lowered to 30 percent and China's countermeasures slashed to 10 percent. The 90-day truce, instituted after talks in Geneva in May, is set to expire on August 12. Also on the agenda are earnings from tech titans Amazon, Apple, Meta Microsoft, as well as data on US economic growth and jobs. The Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting is expected to conclude with officials standing pat on interest rates, though investors are keen to see what their views are on the outlook for the rest of the year in light of Trump's tariffs and recent trade deals. The Bank of Japan is also forecast to hold off on any big moves on borrowing costs. Key figures at around 0230 GMT Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 41,148.07 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0 percent at 25,631.28 Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,602.97 Dollar/yen: UP at 147.74 yen from 147.68 yen on Friday Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1755 from $1.1738 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3436 from $1.3431 Euro/pound: UP at 87.48 pence from 87.40 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $65.48 per barrel © 2025 AFP

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store