EU lawmakers have rejected a proposal to drastically reduce pesticide use

The decision dealt a blow to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy’s push for greener farming.

The European Parliament rejected the recommendation by 299 votes to 207, which was supported by its Environment Committee, based on a 2022 text from the European Commission.

The recommendation called for 50 percent by 2030. reduce the amount of chemical pesticides and completely ban their use in “sensitive areas”, such as all urban green spaces, including parks.

Marie Toussaint, a French MEP from the left-wing Green group, said on social media that “the right and far-right torpedoed the adoption of the pesticide regulation.”

However, Peter Liese, a center-right German MEP from the European People’s Party (EPP), said that “today is a good day for farmers”.

Parliament also narrowly rejected a motion to refer the proposal back to the Environment Committee for amendment. This means that the EP of the current composition will no longer work with the text.

The EU elections will be held next June.

The EPP and other right-leaning factions would like to have farmers on their side ahead of the election, raising tensions over the Commission’s bid to steer the bloc towards a greener, carbon-free future.

A key biodiversity bill aimed at restoring the EU’s terrestrial and aquatic habitats, which was initially agreed this month, has been watered down compared to the original text presented by the Commission.

“Finally, the European Parliament recognizes that the pesticide regulation was poorly coordinated, unrealistic and unfunded,” Christiane Lambert, head of the French farmers’ union FNSEA, said of the rejected pesticide bill.