.Le rapporteur du Parlement pour le dossier, Mme Breyer (Verts) présentait la position du PE retenue en 1ere lecture.Madame Hennicot a attiré l’attention de l’auditoire sur le dernier texte, c.à.d.la position commune. Il s’en suivit une discussion animée à qualifier plutôt de dialogue de sourds que de débat.
Divers représentants de l’industrie des pesticides ont réagi énergiquement pour souligner le mauvais travail du Parlement, voire de la Commssion européenne. Le but non avoué semble un report du dossier jusqu’à la prochaine législature.
Ci dessous l’intervention de Mme Hennicot.
Dear audience,
It is a pleasure for me to be here today, at the Opening Plenary Session of the 2008 Agchem Forum in Berlin.
As the rapporteur for the EPP group in the European Parliament, I have a special interest in the legislation regulating Plant Protection Products in Europe.
The Parliament has officially received the Common position on the 22 of September. After an exchange of views beginning of October, the environment committee will vote on 5 November. The adoption in plenary session of the European parliament is foreseen in December, or in January 2009.
I look forward to the discussions and presentations of the expert panel of speakers. It is the right time to organize this event. We are about to change the agrochemical regulatory landscape, regulating the placing on the market of pesticides but also, for the first time, promoting a more sustainable use.
Looking at the broader picture the political impact of the regulation turns out to be obvious. An ever growing human population, climate change and energy supply, have been shown to increase the pressure on agricultural demand. Biofuels represent a rapidly growing demand on food crops, and the OECD, estimates that, in the last two years, biofuels accounted for about 60% of the increase in consumption of grains and oilseeds.
The US « ethanol from corn » programme has affected international markets, pushing the prices of other grains and edible oils higher as consumers switch to alternatives and farmers stop growing other crops in order to grow corn.
But driving up food prices is not the only problem we are facing. We are pushing agriculture into critical carbon sinks and into biodiversity rich habitats. Fertilizer and pesticide run-off, from agricultural or amenity use, enters surface and groundwater and puts pressure on the ecosystems. Consumers are facing increased drinking water prices due to increased cleaning costs. In addition, the potential public health risks arising from pesticide (mis)use, ranging from chronic low level exposure to acute poisonings, from higher incidence ration of cancers in agricultural populations to neurological effects and endocrine disruption, demonstrate that we need to find a solution.
We face the challenge of designing a policy that balances demand for food and safe use of pesticides in Europe. Politicians and decision makers rely on you, to help us choose the way forward. Producers rely on legislators to provide for clear regulatory guidelines.
Unfortunately, in this discussion, disinformation is more often used than information. Strong lobby campaigns, based on strategically planned demagogy, are being conducted. Via impassioned rhetoric, farmers are being brought to believe that the regulation will ban all substances, duped consumers fear that all food contains unacceptable residue levels.
Confusion is the word, flawed impact assessments and impressive media campaigns spread contradictory information and panic. Where can the decision makers get accurate information? We need to stop and go ahead!
Let’s not miss this opportunity to work together for safe and sufficient food production. Let’s not miss this opportunity to give our European industry a competitive advantage. I believe we can manage to achieve a sustainable agriculture in Europe.
On the one hand, we need to promote research and development in order to improve understanding of the biology of crop-pest interactions. As such I welcome ENDURE, the FP6 funded European network of expertise, aiming to establish itself as a world leader for the development and implementation of sustainable crop protection strategies. The creation of a European pest control competence centre will help it to become a central point of reference.
On the other hand, public funding alone is not enough. The producing industry should seize the opportunity and develop safer products. Innovation is the key word. I believe that the approval criteria in the political agreement will not have major impacts on crop yield and food quality. Instead, the new regulation will boost efficiency in the evaluation process and give industry and farmers more predictability, while pushing innovation towards safer products for farmers, the environment and EU consumers.