Report on Member State National Action Plans and on progress in the implementation of Directive 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides

Background and further information:

The report concludes that, while the Directive offers the potential to greatly reduce the risks derived from pesticide use, these improvements are limited and insufficient to achieve the environmental and health improvements the Directive was designed to achieve. According to the document, this is largely due to the implementation of the Directive that remains patchy.

The 2006 Thematic Strategy on the sustainable use of pesticides led to a new legislative framework for the approval and use of pesticides. This includes a strict framework for the approval of active substances by the European Commission and the authorisation of plant protection products by Member States, which, if used according to the authorised conditions of use, have no identified harmful effects on human and animal health, and no unacceptable effects on the environment.

Directive 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides - adopted as part of this strategy - provides for a range of actions to achieve a sustainable use of pesticides in the EU by reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and promoting the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and of alternative approaches or techniques, such as non-chemical alternatives to pesticides. Member States were required to adopt National Action Plans (NAPs) to implement the Directive for the first time by November 2012.

The European Commission published on 10 October 2017 a report on the progress and implementation of the Directive 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides.

European Commission: DG Communication: IP/17/3750, 10.10.17: EU countries should use pesticides more sustainably http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-3750_en.htm

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