During the congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (UICN) held in Marseille, president Emmanuel Macron announced an initiative that will be launched with the French Presidency of European Union in January 2022, in view of the expiry of the authorization to glyphosate. During the French Presidency of the European Union, which will begin on January 1st, “we will launch – said Macron – an initiative that will push an accelerated phase-out of chemicals in agriculture”.
The initiative requires “close collaboration with scientific research – underlined the French president – and must be supported by an accompanying program for farmers”.
Macron acknowledged that national targets were not met. Consequently, also to avoid distortions of competition within the single market, “the reduction of chemicals in agriculture must be regulated in Europe. Otherwise, the process slows down”. In 2007, France had set a 50% cut in the use of pesticides over ten years. Instead, according to the data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2020 it has increased of over 20%, although, in the last five years it showed a reduction. Even the unilateral ban on glyphosate by 2021 (in the EU the authorization will expire at the end of 2022) has been called into question, also due to the lack of valid alternatives. In May 2021, public aid was launched, in the form of a tax credit of 2,500 euros, in favour of farmers who, on a voluntary basis, will renounce the use of herbicide.
