Towards an increased use of biopesticides in the EU

In the Communication “A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy, and environmentally-friendly food system” of May 2020, the European Commission identifies as a key target for the EU to reduce by 50% the use and risk of chemical pesticides and by 50% the use of more hazardous pesticides by 2030. In order to reach this target, the European Commission intends, inter alia, to facilitate the placing on the market of pesticides containing biological active substances, such as microorganisms. To this end, in October 2021, the European Commission initiated the legislative process for updating the relevant EU rules, i.e. Regulation 546/2011, Regulation 283/2013, Regulation 284/2013, and Regulation 1107/2009. The updated rules should be adopted in the first half of 2022.