Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-26-Speech-3-133"
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"en.20030326.8.3-133"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to argue realistically – not emotionally, and certainly not ideologically. Plant protection agents contain substances that protect cultivated plants and keep them free of pests and diseases, and they can be applied and used in many ways. They are often indispensable in vegetable and fruit growing and in viticulture, for a producer's economic yield is essentially dependent on a good harvest, on which a business relies for its income and its survival. We cannot therefore take away from users the option of using plant protection agents where necessary.
It is clear to all of us that the effects of plant protection agents are not only beneficial. They can also involve hazards to human health and to the environment. Ten years ago, we enacted at EU level our own directive on plant protection agents, which stipulates in the most precise terms which active agent may be used on which plant and for what purpose. The Commission communication is supplementary to it, aims to manage risks better, and is therefore a step in absolutely the right direction.
The Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats endorses measures to further train farmers in state-of-the-art and targeted applications of plant protection agents, promotion of alternative concepts such as what is termed integrated crop management, harmonisation of VAT rates on plant protection agents in order to remove existing distortions of competition in the internal market, careful disposal of packaging and expert testing of agricultural machinery, for we see it as particularly important to maintain the purity of our drinking water. The Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats is, in principle, in favour of the proper and up-to-date use of plant protection agents. Risks can be reduced only if cooperation between producers, users and the authorities is maximised.
Mrs Van Brempt's report goes beyond the Commission communication. Above all else, a legally-binding 50% reduction in the use of plant protection agents would involve additional risks. Experts have warned that such a reduction encourages the development of resistance. The resultant higher incidence of weeds then makes it necessary to use plant protection agents in larger quantities. As Mrs Redondo Jiménez pointed out earlier, the use of an active agent is, however, far more a matter of location, local weather conditions and a plant's general condition in terms of development and health. An obligatory levy on plant protection agents certainly does not minimise risks in real terms, any more than would the introduction of a pesticides passport and a total ban on spraying from the air. Any such ban would impose severe limitations, especially in viticulture.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats cannot support the points I have just mentioned in Mrs Van Brempt's report. I therefore ask the Members of this House to support a realisable and practicable approach, one that will reduce risk without hindering users in their work, for Europe's fruit, vegetable and cereal farmers produce food for us all."@en1
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