|
|
The German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, has called for a revision of the EU Commission's proposal on the reduction of plant protection products at the meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council. He also made his position clear in a direct discussion with the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides.
Federal Minister Özdemir: "It is good and right to harmonise European plant protection law and to set a clear, ambitious reduction target for the use of pesticides. However, I still see a need for improvement - German farmers should not be disadvantaged for their previous reduction efforts. In the regulations on so-called sensitive areas, protected areas under EU law should be In Focus and special national protected area categories such as landscape conservation areas should be excluded."
Both the German Winegrowers' Association (DWV) and the Federal Association of Organic Winegrowing (Ecovin) had already spoken out against the EU Commission's planned directive on the sustainable use of pesticides. The associations demanded that the directive would mean the end of organic viticulture in many wine-growing regions and would have to be fundamentally revised.
(ru / Source: BMEL; Photo: 123rf.com)
Ecovin against planned EU directive on plant protection
German Winegrowers' Association against blanket reduction of plant protection