Farmers in Europe have hailed a victory after the European Commission has withdrawn a planned cut in pesticide use by the end of this decade.
The Commission has withdrawn out of its legislative proposal that sought to halve pesticide use by 2030 as part of the EU's green transition.
It also recommended that net emissions be reduced by 90% by 2040, compared to 2015 levels - but without the stipulation that agriculture would need to slash emissions by 30% from 2015 levels in order to comply.
The move follows mass protests across the bloc, with tens of thousands of farmers rallying against such environmental proposals, as well as surging costs and low prices.
Farmers have been protesting in countries including France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Poland and Greece, and more recently Spain and Italy.
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the issue of environmental regulations had become a "symbol of polarisation".
"Our farmers deserve to be listened to," Ms Von der Leyen told the European Parliament.
"I know that they are worried about the future of agriculture and their future as farmers."
She added that she would ask the European Commission to formally withdraw the pesticide proposal.
The EU had aimed to slash the use of the chemicals by the end of this decade as part of its 'Green Deal', which seeks to tackle climate change.
The bloc's proposal also included a pesticide ban in other areas, such as public parks, gardens and schools.
The announcement has been welcomed by EU-wide farming co-operative, COPA-COGECA.
Its president, Christiane Lambert said that the EU Commission had "finally acknowledging that the approach was not the right one".
Ms Lambert wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "This top-down proposal...was poorly designed, poorly evaluated, poorly financed, and offered little alternatives to farmers."
