EU use reduction

The European Commission, together with co-sponsors the Netherlands government, organised a workshop which met in Brussels from 12-14 May to look at pesticide policies in Europe. The outcome was a recognition that an additional policy was needed to deal with reducing the risks from pesticides.
    There have been diverging views in the Commission about how to treat pesticides. On the one hand, the Agriculture Directorate (DGVI) promotes intensive pesticides use as part of the Common Agricultural Policy, which takes nearly half of the EU annual budget. Less intensive chemical use, including organic farming, is encouraged in the Agri-environment Programme of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), but this accounts only for some 2-3% of the CAP budget.  On the other hand, the Environment Directorate (DGXI) has been trying to implement the Fifth Environmental Action Programme, which attempts to reduce the amount of pesticides used and emissions of dangerous chemicals to the environment.
    The Commission's Agenda 2000 document recognises the CAP budget cannot go on increasing, especially given the likely enlargement of the EU. The current workshop was the fruition of a process that started in 1994 to address increasing pesticide use within the EU and the growing costs.
    The workshop was attended by 150 delegates, representing mainly member states but also some NGOs including the Pesticides Action Network (PAN) groups Pesticides Trust [now PAN UK], PAN-Germany and PAN-Belgium, WWF and Greenpeace. The agrochemical industry attended in force. The meeting was informed by six studies of pesticide use totalling 3,000 pages, together with the results of a questionnaire compiled by consultants.
    The meeting recognised that the current Authorisations Directive, which looks at the registration of pesticides on a European basis, is not on its own enough to deal with the problems caused by pesticides in use - problems that arise for the most part after marketing clearance has been given. The Commission will now consider new approaches from promoting safer use to encouraging sustainable agriculture:

• Promoting access to information about pesticides

• Prescribing minimum training requirements at EU level

• Mandatory inspection of spray equipment

• Promoting a Code of Good Practice

• Improving risk assessment methods, especially for users

• Developing indicators of health and environmental impacts

• Developing strategic guidance at EU level on monitoring and surveillance of the impacts of pesticides

• Encouraging research on the non-target impacts of pesticides and their mixtures

• Supporting lower input approaches to agriculture

• Strengthening agri-environment programmes. (PB)

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 40, June 1998, page 17]