EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL: THE MANY RISKS

25 September 2024

The Heinrich Böll Foundation, linked to the German Green Party, has put out their assessment of the risks the European Green Deal faces under the new European Commission.

Those risks include the regulation on pesticides and the Nature Restoration Law, both relevant to SAFE’s mission to protect European consumers from unsafe food. Swedish conservative Jessika Roswall is the Commissioner-designate chosen by President Von der Leyen to be in charge of both files.

The main risk regarding pesticides, the Heinrich Böll Foundation goes, is losing precious time to put pesticides under the scope of climate legislation and mandatory climate goals. Scientific evidence indicates that pesticides contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and make our agricultural systems more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Yet, the first Von der Leyen Commission decided to withdraw its proposal for a Regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides, arguing lack of consensus both among Member States and in the European Parliament, in the context of farmer protests.

That proposal set out an ambitious strategy for reducing pesticide use by 50% by 2030. Any potential proposal coming from the next European Commission may encounter similar resistance unless it is significantly scaled down. That is a big risk.

Secondly, the Nature Restoration Regulation created huge political divisions in the European Parliament and within the European Council earlier this year, although it was finally adopted by a small margin. As a consequence, it lacks crucial support from Member States, who need to submit their self-imposed commitments, their Nature Restoration Plans, to Brussels. Therefore, the Nature Restoration Regulation relies on Member States’ cooperation and ambition, which is a major concern.

To make things worse, Commissioner-designate Jessika Roswall opposed this initiative as a minister only months ago.

Pesticides and Nature Restoration, two key files from the European Green Deal related to food safety and sustainability, risk being significantly scaled down under the next European Commission. SAFE will remain vigilant and work resolutely to make sure they are not.