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Ursula von der Leyen told MEPs in Strasbourg that farmers work 'hard' every day to produce the high-quality food consumed by many. "'For this, we owe them appreciation and thanks and respect' (Photo: conceptphoto.info)

Analysis

Von der Leyen kills EU pesticides ban in election sop to farmers

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday (6 February) abruptly withdrew the EU's flagship plan to halve the use of pesticides, calling it a "symbol of polarisation" — in the wake of farmers' protests which have rippled across Brussels and the EU.

Her decision to scrap the pesticide proposal is in one sense symbolic, since the initiative was rejected last November by the European Parliament and has been stuck in the EU Council for months.

But it offers a concre...

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Author Bio

Elena is EUobserver's Managing Editor. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.

Ursula von der Leyen told MEPs in Strasbourg that farmers work 'hard' every day to produce the high-quality food consumed by many. "'For this, we owe them appreciation and thanks and respect' (Photo: conceptphoto.info)

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Author Bio

Elena is EUobserver's Managing Editor. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.

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