Pesticide residues from land belonging to private individuals

14.7.2015

Question for written answer E-011312-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Jørn Dohrmann (ECR)

Drinking water in Denmark and Europe is a valuable resource that we must safeguard. In Denmark it is possible to drink water straight from the tap, and Danish people want this situation to continue.

In some areas of the country, however, boreholes are having to be shut down because the quantities of pesticides they contain are too high. For instance, it was recently reported that Aarhus Vand, which supplies drinking water to the country’s second largest city, is having to close one in five boreholes on account of pesticide residues. This is a familiar problem in many European countries.

Even though by far the largest quantity of pesticides comes from agriculture, 44 tonnes of pesticides are sold to garden owners in Denmark alone.

It is well-known that gardeners often do not read the preparations’ instructions for use properly and that they do not have a spraying certificate, whereas farmers are required to have a spraying certificate in order to ensure that the preparations are handled correctly. Farmers also have a financial interest in not applying more than is absolutely necessary.

Does the Commission agree that only ready-mixed pesticides should be sold to private individuals?

Does it agree that more should be done to prevent private individuals from using pesticides altogether?

Will it consider a ban on the use of pesticides on private, non-commercial land?