EU’s Push to Halve Pesticide Use Collapses After Parliament Balks
- Lawmakers vote against proposal to slash pesticide use by 2030
- Vote deals another blow to European Union’s green agenda
A farmer sprays herbicide on a field in Piace, France.
Photographer: Jean-Francois Monier/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The European Union’s plan to halve the use of pesticides collapsed as lawmakers concerned about ambitious targets dealt another blow to the bloc’s green agenda.
On the proposal’s first reading in the European Parliament, 299 lawmakers voted against a 50% reduction of pesticide use in the EU by 2030, with just 207 in favor of rules that were central to making farming more sustainable. The result drew applause from lawmakers of the center-right European People’s Party, which has repeatedly warned against laws that jeopardize food security.