Activities of Karl-Heinz FLORENZ related to 2017/2284(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Sustainable use of pesticides (debate) DE
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of Directive 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides PDF (229 KB) DOC (89 KB)
Amendments (14)
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)
Citation 17 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission Staff Working Document on Agriculture and Sustainable Water Management in the EU (SWD(2017) 153 final);
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas it is important to promote the development of alternative procedures or techniques to reduce dependence on conventional pesticides and to deal with the rising threads of resistances to conventional plant protection products;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned by the fact that the National Action Plans (NAPs) are notoriously inconsistent as regards the establishment of quantitative objectives, targets, measurements and timetables for the various action areas, making it impossible to assess the progress made; regrets the fact that just twoonly eleven Member States have produced a revised NAP to date, although the deadline for revision was at the end of 2017;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Regrets the fact that in many Member States there is no real commitment to IPM practices, which are the cornerstone of the directive; underlines the fact that rigorousStresses the importance of commitment from Member States to apply integrated pest management; regrets that one of the main challenges regarding the implementation of the principles of IPM, which are the cornerstone of the directive, seems to be the current lack of appropriate control instruments and methods to assess compliance in the Member States as well as clear rules and guidance; recalls that while IPM techniques are sustainable from a long- term perspective, IPM can mean a higher economic risk in the short-term; underlines the fact that implementation of IPM is one of the key measures to reduce dependency on pesticide use in sustainable agriculture, which is environmentally friendly, economically viable and socially responsible and contributes to Europe’s food security while strengthening biodiversity and human and animal health, boosting the rural economy and reducing costs for farmers by facilitating the market uptake of low-risk and non-chemical alternatives; stresses that additional financial incentives are needed to strengthen the uptake of IPM practices by individual farms;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Considers that IPM represents a valuable tool for farmers to combat pests and disease and to ensure production yields; notes that a more intensive effort is needed to encourage the uptake of IPM through research and Member States' advisory bodies; recalls that IPM is not a silver-bullet solution to combat all threats to plant health but can play an important role in reducing the quantities and varieties of pesticides used;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that the common agriculture policy (CAP), in its current form, is not capable of reducing farms’ dependency on pesticides; cConsiders that specific policy instruments in the post- 2020 CAP are required in order to help change farmers’ behaviour as regards pesticide use, such as fiscal measures at national level, cross-compliance between IPM and CAP direct payments etc.;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that most Member States use national risk indicators to assess, either entirely or in part, the adverse impact of pesticide use; recalls that in spite of the explicit obligation laid down in Article 15 of the directive, the Commission has not yet established EU-wide harmonised risk indicators, which makes it all but impossible to compare the progress made in different Member States and across the Union as a whole; hopes, however, that the harmonised risk indicators, whose establishment is now on the way, will be ready at the beginning of 2019;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Is deeply concerned about the gradual depletion ofcontinuing loss of biodiversity, in particular farmland biodiversity, in Europe and about the particularly disconcertalarming demiscline of winged insects, including pollinators, as evidenced by the findings of a recent scientific study26 thataccording to which the population of flying insects in Germany has plummeted by more than 75 % in 27 years; considers that this collapse must be linked to the use of pestinotes also the unintentional effects of pesticides on soil and soil organisms26a and other non-target species; considers that pesticides are one of the relevant factors that are responsible for the decline of insects, farmland bird specides as well as other non-target organisms and further underlines the need for Europe to switch to a more sustainable pesticide use and increase the number of non-chemical alternatives for farmers; _________________ 26 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id= 10.1371/journal.pone.0185809 26a https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/public_path /shared_folder/doc_pub/EUR27607.pdf
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Regrets the fact that the improvement of water quality has been insufficiently targeted, with most Member States failing to establishWelcomes that Member States have taken a range of measures to protect the aquatic environment from pesticide use; regrets, however, that most Member States have not established quantitative targets and timetables for measures to protect the aquatic environment from pesticides, and those that did so have not specifyingied how the achievement of targets or objectives would be measured; also believes that the monitoring in the aquatic environment of currently used pesticides should be improved;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Highlights the need to focus on precision farming and digital agriculture, so as to prevent the dispersion of plant protection products in areas where they are not needed, for example by means of drone and GPS precision technology; considers that further investment and research into equipment and technology could play an important role in rendering plant protection products more efficient and reduce the potential exposure of professional users and the general public;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Member States to adhere to the established timelines for delivering revised NAPs; urges those Member States that have not yet delivered revised NAPs to do so without further delay, this time with the clear overall objective of an immediate and long-term reduction in pesticide use, expressed either through a quantity- or risk-based approach, including clearly defined annual reduction targets and with special attention for the possible effects on pollinators and the uptake of alternative techniques in the agricultural sector;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Calls on the Commission to further develop guidance on the IPM principles and their implementation; asks the Commission in this regard to establish guidelines on the establishment of criteria for measuring and assessing the implementation of IPM in the Member States;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19 b. Calls on the Member States to ensure that professionally qualified and independent advisory services are available to provide advice on IPM to end- users;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21