Brussels bows to farmers’ protests by slashing environmental targets

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Brussels will scrap a plan to halve pesticide use, marking a further concession to protesting farmers who have spooked EU governments and another blow to its environmental agenda.

The retreat by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is part of a wider scaling back of her green ambitions in a bid to placate farmers, a key constituency for her centre-right party that is seeking to remain the EU’s most powerful parliamentary group in elections this summer.

Von der Leyen’s green agenda was a critical part of her manifesto to secure support for her election as commission president in 2019. But the backlash to its implementation, exacerbated by high energy prices and inflation sparked by Russia’s war against Ukraine, has complicated her expected bid for a second five-year term as the head of the EU’s executive.

The commission had presented the proposal to cut pesticide use “with the worthy aim to reduce the risks of chemical plant protection products”, Von der Leyen said in a speech to the European parliament on Tuesday.

But she acknowledged that issues for farmers had “escalated in recent years”, saying the initiative had become “a symbol of polarisation” and that she would propose to her fellow commissioners that it be withdrawn. It had already been blocked by member states and MEPs, she admitted.

Shares in Bayer, the EU’s biggest pesticide producer, rose 2 per cent on the news.

The decision is the latest rollback in the EU’s green agenda prompted by widespread protests from farmers. Brussels has also scrapped specific guidance for agricultural emissions in its recommendation for a landmark 2040 climate target to be announced on Tuesday.

Demonstrations by agricultural groups have become increasingly disruptive in recent weeks, spreading across several EU member states including Germany, France, Belgium, Poland and Romania.

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