The rift between European Populars and Socialists on pesticide issues looks set to become a chasm. The former have expressed their opposition to the halving of the use of pesticides, promoted by the European Commission (see EFA News), but clashed with the vice president of the Commission, Frans Timmermans .

"Current forms of food production contribute significantly to biodiversity loss, but are also directly threatened by it, which is why we need to replace half of the chemical pesticides with alternatives", Timmermans said during  a conference in Germany on sustainable agriculture, insisting that "farmers must have the opportunity to work with these latest technologies".

Lamenting that the "food system continues to push many consumers towards unhealthy foods", Timmermans added, "We will never tell people what to eat but people should be told about the consequences of their decisions so they can decide for themselves," and " the healthy and sustainable choice should be the easy choice".