REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sustainable use of pesticides
Date: 2024-06-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, environmental impact, environmental protection, pest, pesticide, pesticide residue, plant health control, public health, vocational training

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.6.2024  COM(2024) 229 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sustainable use of pesticides  
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Directive 2009/128/EC1 establishes a common legal framework for achieving a sustainable 
use of pesticides, taking account of precautionary and preventive approaches. It was adopted 
in 2009 and had to be transposed into national laws of Member States by 26 November 2011. 

This Directive establishes a framework to reduce the risks and impacts of pesticide use on 
human health and the environment and to promote the use of integrated pest management 
and of alternative approaches or techniques. 

The  Directive  empowers  the  Commission  to  adopt  delegated  acts  and  imposes  on  it  an 
obligation to report to the co-legislators on the exercise of the delegated powers it contains. 

2. 

LEGAL BASIS 

This  report  is  required  under Article  20a(2)  of  Directive  2009/128/EC.  Pursuant  to  this 
provision,  the  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  concerning  the  matters  listed  therein  is 
conferred  on  the  Commission  for  a  period  of  five  years  from  26  July  2019  and  the 
Commission is required to prepare a report in respect of the delegation of power not later 
than nine months before the end of the five-year period. 

As set out in Article 20a(2), the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts referred 
to in Articles 5(3), 8(7), 14(4) and 15(1) of Directive 2009/128/EC. 

Article  20a(2)  of  that  Directive  lays  down  that  the  delegation  of  power  shall  be  tacitly 
extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council 
opposes  such  extension  not  later  than  three  months  before  the  end  of  each  period,  while 
Article 20a(3) states that the delegation of powers referred to in Articles 5(3), 8(7), 14(4) 
and 15(1) of Directive 2009/128/EC may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament 
or by the Council. 

3. 

EXERCISE OF DELEGATION   

During  the  reporting  period,  the  Commission  did  not  exercise  any  empowerments  under 
Articles 5(3), 8(7), 14(4) and 15(1), referred to in Article 20a(2) of Directive 2009/128/EC. 
This period coincided with the preparation and negotiation of a proposal for a regulation on 
the  sustainable  use  of  plant  protection  products2.  At  the  time  this  report  was  due,  the 
Commission could not draw definitive conclusions as to whether the delegated powers under 
Directive  2009/128/EC  would  need  to  be  extended  as  there  would  have  been  no  need  to 
extend the delegated powers if the Directive had been repealed.  

On 27 March 2024, the Commission approved the withdrawal of the proposal and this was 

1 
Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a 
framework  for  Community  action  to  achieve  the  sustainable  use  of  pesticides,  OJ  L  309,  24.11.2009,  p.  71, 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2009/128/oj. 
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COM(2022)305 final. 

1 

 
 
 
included in the list of withdrawn proposals published on 6 May 2024.3 

4.  CONCLUSION 

With this report the Commission complies with its reporting obligation under Article 20a(2) 
of Directive 2009/128/EC. The implementation of Directive 2009/128/EC is advancing and 
scientific  and  technical  progress  is  ongoing  which  may  warrant  the  adoption  of  further 
delegated acts in the future in order to keep the legal framework up to date. The Commission 
invites the European Parliament and the Council to take note of this report. 

3 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3117/oj. 

Withdrawal of Commission Proposals, OJ C, C/2024/3117, 6.5.2024, 

2