European Parliament rejects Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR)

On 22 November, the plenary of the European Parliament voted to reject the proposal of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR), and voted against sending the proposal back to the parliamentary committee. As a consequence, many deem the SUR to be dead, even if it will still be a topic on the agenda in the Council of the European Union in December. As IFOAM Organics Europe, we regret the European Parliament’s inability to agree on a pesticides reduction regulation.  

Ahead of the parliamentary vote, the sceptics of pesticide reduction amongst Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) had tabled a long list of amendments that would severely weaken the SUR’s ambition. In the plenary sitting, many MEPs then voted in favour of these amendments, so by the end of the session, not much of the original SUR proposal was left – whether it was pesticide reduction, biodiversity protection, or rules for integrated pest management.  

The resulting text was not ambitious enough to gain the approval of MEPs who had been striving for a real change in the EU’s pesticide use. The fate of the SUR only further highlights organic farming’s importance as a strong pilar for more sustainable agriculture that does not rely on synthetic pesticides. 

For more information on organic’s systemic approach to plant health and IFOAM Organics Europe’s work on this issue: 

• Watch the 3-minute video Organic approach to plant health care and pesticides regulation 
• Read our publication Plant health care in organic farming – The role of natural substances in a biodiversity-based system approach 
• Read GLOBAL 2000’s fact check Pesticides in conventional and organic farming 
• Need more information, visit our website or contact [email protected]. Do note that we prioritise our members’ requests. 

IFOAM Organics Europe members can find more information on the member extranet and background materials in the arguments database on the member extranet (main messages, arguments/FAQs, visuals & videos). Contact [email protected] for access rights (issues). 

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