44 Amendments of Martin HÄUSLING related to 2017/2284(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
- having regard to COM(2006)372 final communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
- having regard to Directive 98/24 on the protection of workers from chemical risks and Directive 2004/37 on the protection of workers from carcinogens and mutagens;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 concerning statistics on pesticides (COM/2017/0109 final)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 a (new)
Citation 23 a (new)
- having regard to the 2014 Auditor Special Report "Integration of EU water policy objectives with the CAP: a partial success"
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)
Citation 9 b (new)
- having regards to the Habitats Directive 92/43 and Birds Directive 2009/147/EC;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 b (new)
Citation 23 b (new)
- having regard to the joint working paper of AGRI and ENVI SWD(2017)153 final on agriculture and sustainable water management;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 a (new)
Citation 25 a (new)
- having regard to Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 b (new)
Citation 25 b (new)
- Having regard to Council Directives 85/337/EC and 96/61/EC;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 c (new)
Citation 25 c (new)
- having regard to the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention);
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 d (new)
Citation 25 d (new)
- having regard to the European Citizens Initiative "Ban glyphosate and protect people and the environment from toxic pesticides"
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 e (new)
Citation 25 e (new)
- having regard to the vast numbers of people adversely impacted by pesticide use across the EU, as highlighted, for example, by the work of the organisation https://victimes-pesticides.fr/
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sustainable use of pesticides (hereinafter ‘the directive’) provides for a range of actions to achieve a sustainable use of pesticides in the EU, by reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and promoting the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and alternative approaches or techniques, such as non- chemical alternatives to pesticides aimed at reducing pesticide dependency;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Recalls the specific objectives of the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides as, inter alia, the minimisation of hazards and risks to health and the environment from the use of pesticides; improved controls on the use and distribution of pesticides; reduction in the levels of harmful active substances including through substituting the most dangerous with safer, including non-chemical alternatives; encouraging low-input or pesticide free cultivation; and the establishment of a transparent system for reporting and monitoring progress towards the fulfilment of the objectives of the strategy including through the development of suitable indicators;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. RDeeply regrets the fact that the overall degree of progress in implementation by the Member States is wholly insufficient to meet the directive’s main objectives and to unlock its full potential to reduce the overall risks deriving from pesticide use whilst reducing pesticide dependency and to achieve the urgently needed environmental and health improvements the directive was specifically designed for;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that the implementation of the directive must be comprehensive and cover all the required aspects, and that the partial implementation of certain elements but not others is insufficient to realise the directive’s overarching purpose of achieving the sustainable use of pesticides; underlines the fact that the implementation of IPM practices, with the prioritisation of non-chemical alternatives to pesticides, plays a particularly important role in efforts to achieve this objective;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Notes that the Commission's 2017 progress report identifies significant gaps in the National Action Plans of Member States, suggesting a lower commitment to protecting the environment and health in some countries possibly resulting in unfair market competition and an undermining of the single market; reserves the right to refer non compliant Member States to the Competition Commissioner;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Notes that the Commission's October 2017 implementation report on the Directive was due in in November 2014 and that it will take significant time to make up for this lost time, especially in regards to the shortcomings in the NAPs; deeply regrets the low priority accorded to the control of pesticides that this 3 year delay implies;
Amendment 70 #
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 two Member States have produced a revised NAP to date and that only five NAPs set high-level measurable targets, of which four relate to risk reduction and only one to use reduction;
Amendment 85 #
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 by Member States, which are the cornerstone of the directive; underlines the fact that rigorous implementation of IPM, based on its eight principles and with the prioritisation of non-chemical alternatives to pesticides, 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 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Notes that increased use of, and dependency on, pesticides comes at a high cost to farmers, both through the high input cost and also due to the loss in yields due to depleting soil and soil quality;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Notes that organic farmers suffer economic losses when their soil and organic produce are contaminated by pesticide use on neighbouring farms via, for example, drift from pesticide spraying and movement of persistent active substances in the environment; notes that, consequently, due to actions beyond their control, organic farmers may be forced to sell their produce as conventional, losing out on their price premium, or may even be de-certified;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Regrets that the Commission has not taken action to make the Sustainable Use Directive mandatory as part of cross compliance as required under the Directive;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses concern at the fact that approximately 80 % of Member States’ NAPs contain no specific information on how to quantify the achievement of many of the objectives and targets, particularly as regards targets for IPM and aquatic protection measures and that measures to protect soil and biodiversity from pesticides are lacking; stresses that this greatly complicates the process of measuring the progress made by Member States towards the main objectives and purpose of the directive;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is concerned that very little progress has been made in promoting the uptake of low-risk and non-chemical alternatives to conventional pesticides; notes that a mere handful of NAPs contain incentives for the registration of such alternative productmethods;
Amendment 118 #
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; Calls on the Commission and the Member States to integrate IPM, as laid down in Article 14 of the Directive, into the cross compliance rules without delay; considers that additional specific policy instruments in the post- 2020 CAP are also 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.as foreseen in the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable use of Pesticides;
Amendment 126 #
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; recallgrets that in spite of the explicit obligation laid down in Article 15 of the directive, EU-wide harmonised risk indicators, as recently proposed by the Commission, hasve not yet established EU-wide harmonised risk indicatorbeen agreed upon by the Member States, which makes it all but impossible to compare the progress made in different Member States and across the Union as a whole;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Is deeply concerned at the gradualongoing, rapid and potentially irreversible depletion of biodiversity in Europe and at the particularly disconcertalarming demise of winged insects, as evidenced by the findings of a recent scientific study26 that 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 pesticides 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 possibly due to the unintentional effects of pesticides on soil and non-target species; Notes further that studies also show common bird species are declining across Europe which could be attributed to the decline in insect population; further underlines the need for Europe to switch to a more sustainable food and farming production system by increasing and utilising the number of non-chemical alternatives for farmers; recognises the importance of NAPs and IPM in significantly reducing pesticide usage to avoid ecological collapse while favouring agro-ecological measures and organic farming wherever possible; _________________ 26 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id= 10.1371/journal.pone.0185809
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Notes that, while Member States generally have systems to gather information on acute poisoning from pesticides, the accuracy of this data is questionable and that systems for gathering information on chronic poisoning are not widely implemented;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Notes that of 4000 European monitoring sites studied in a 2014 report, 42% suffered from chronic toxicity due to failures in risk assessment of pesticides and their management, clearly showing that agrochemicals are a large-scale environmental problem across the EU with significant eco toxicological impacts on freshwater ecosystems1a;highlights the cost-effectiveness of preventing pesticides entering freshwater systems as opposed to costly removal technologies; _________________ 1a Malaj et al, 2014. Organic chemicals jeopardise the health of freshwater ecosystems on the continental scale. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/249 79762
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Calls for strict implementation of the collection of data on pesticide use as foreseen by Regulation 1185/2009 on pesticide use statistics and calls for increased transparency on these statistics;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Calls on Member States to incorporate into their NAPs clearly defined targets, objectives and timetables for the protection of human health and the environment (including water, soil and biodiversity and to make sure that these targets, objectives and timetables are met;
Amendment 186 #
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 non-chemical techniques in the agricultural sector;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Notes that many Member States have taken action to ban pesticide use in public areas; calls on the Commission to propose a ban on pesticides for non- professional use in its second evaluation report; calls on the Commission to speed up work on this report, given that the report is due in 26 November 2018;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure better coherence of the directive and its implementation with related EU legislation and policies, most notably the provisions under the CAP and the rRegulation 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market including by strictly limiting the number of essential use derogations and by updating the relevant guidance documents to ensure that the risk assessment of pesticides reflect real life exposure and conditions and takes into account all possible impacts on health and the environment as well as cumulative and synergistic effects;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Urges the Commission to make the 8 general principles of IPM legal requirements; calls for the integration of IPM into the revision of the CAP with proven reductions in pesticide dependency being an indicator of success;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16 b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to pay particular attention to the protection of vulnerable groups, as defined in Article 3(14) of Regulation 1107/2009, especially considering the existing lack of protection of millions of EU rural residents living in the locality of crops; calls on the Commission to immediately prohibit the use of pesticides within substantial distances in the locality of residents homes, schools, playgrounds, nurseries and hospitals;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16 c. Expresses concern that many Member States have not interpreted the requirement of Article 12(a) correctly by interpreting it as only referring to non- agricultural use, while in fact vulnerable groups as those defined in Regulation 1107/2009 include residents subject to high pesticide exposure over the long term; notes in addition that the Commission has confirmed that there is no legal reason as to why agricultural application should be excluded from the provisions of Article 12;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls onWelcomes the proposed harmonised risk indicators from the Commission and theurges Member States to rapidly move forward with the development of harmonised risk indicators in order to properly monitor the reduction impacts of pesticidesir adoption and implementation;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Notes that, in addition to the establishment of harmonised risk indicators, there is a need for a coherent residues monitoring system; calls on the Commission to establish a fully operational operating system for the regular collection of data on pesticide residues in the environment, including in soil and water, possibly based on the successful experience with the Land Use and Coverage area frame statistical survey (LUCAS) soil monitoring system;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take all the requisite measures to promote low-risk pesticides, and to prioritise, non- chemical options and methods which caushave the least risk of harm to health and nature;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to place greater emphasis on the promotion of the development, research and marketing of low-risk biological alternatives and to make pesticide free agriculture a top priority in the Horizon Europe programme;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Notes that resistance to pesticide active substances is a biological inevitability in fast reproducing pests and is a growing problem; stresses therefore that chemical pesticides should be used according to the IPM approach which is selectively and in a targeted manner, as a last rather than a first resort, after exhausting all possible physical and biological alternatives; Calls therefore on the Commission and Member States to ban prophylactic use of synthetic pesticides, such as the use of coated seeds;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Notes that within the IPM toolkit, biological control involves boosting or introducing beneficial species that predate upon and therefore regulate pest populations, keeping them in check; emphasises therefore the importance of using chemical pesticides as a last resort in IPM following other physical and biological methods and also applying them in a selective and targeted manner, otherwise these beneficial pest control agents risk being wiped out, leaving the crops more susceptible to future attacks;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21 b. Notes further that the greatest reductions in pesticide use are most likely to arise from systemic changes that reduce susceptibility to pest attack, favour structural and biological diversity over monocultures and continuous cropping and which reduce pest resistance to active substances; highlights therefore the need to focus on, and mainstream, agroecological methods which make the whole farming system more resilient to pests;