EU scraps pesticide proposals in another concession to protesting farmers

Farmers insisted that measures such as the one on pesticides would only increase bureaucratic burdens (Jean-Francois Badias/AP)

The European Union’s executive arm has shelved an anti-pesticides proposal in yet another concession to farmers after weeks of protests blocked major capitals and economic lifelines across the 27-nation bloc.

Although the proposal had languished in EU institutions for the past two years, the move by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was the latest indication that the bloc is willing to sacrifice environmental priorities to keep the farming community on its side.