EU Policy for a sustainable use of pesticides

The Sixth Environment Action Programme (6th EAP) is a programme of Community action on the environment with key objectives covering a period of ten years. The priorities of the 6th EAP are climate change, nature and biodiversity, environment, health and quality of life, and natural resources and waste. Within these key priorities, the 6th EAP calls for the development of seven thematic strategies including a coherent and integrated strategy on the sustainable use of pesticides. The Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides is a coherent and integrated policy on the use-phase of pesticides. Its objectives are: (i) to minimise the hazards and risks to health and the environment stemming from the use of pesticides; (ii) to improve controls on the use and distribution of pesticides; (iii) to reduce the levels of harmful active substances used, in particular by substituting the most dangerous with safer alternatives; (iv) to encourage low-input or pesticide-free cultivation; (v) to establish a transparent system for reporting and monitoring the progress made in achieving the objectives of the Strategy.