Decision No 135 of 12 March 2019 approving the National Action Plan on reducing risks associated with the use of plant protection products.

The National Action Plan on reducing risks associated with the use of plant protection products, set out in the Annex forming an integral part of this Decision, is hereby approved.
The National Action Plan is aimed at: establishing the institutional framework for achieving the sustainable use of plant protection products; reducing dependence on plant protection products use; reducing the risks and effects of using plant protection products in relation to human health and the environment; promoting the integrated management of harmful organisms as well as alternative approaches and techniques, such as non-chemical methods. The implementation of the objectives and measures set out in the National Action Plan also has to be aligned with the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy and with the linked sectoral policies in the fields of health and environmental protection.
General objective highlighted in this text is to reduce the risks associated with the use of plant protection products in order to protect public health and the environment in general; the text sets out other specific objectives and measures designed to reduce dependence on chemical methods of combating harmful organisms, thus providing professional users and the public at large with specific information regarding the integrated management of harmful organisms and alternative, non-chemical methods. Reducing dependence on chemical methods of plant protection will lessen the impact of plant protection activities on wild flora and fauna and will help preserve biodiversity, in particular by laying down specific measures for promoting appropriate agri-environmental concepts such as crop rotation and similar. Specific measures are here listed as follows: to train and certify professional users, distributors and advisors; to comply with requirements regarding the marketing of plant protection products; to comply with requirements regarding the handling and storage of plant protection products and the management of its deriving packaging and waste; to reduce the risks for consumers by controlling pesticide residues; to promote the integrated management of harmful organisms; to reduce the risk of water, soil and air contamination; to organize the system for the inspection of plant protection products application equipment; to reduce the effect of course deviation in aerial spraying; to reduce plant protection products use or the associated risks in particular zones; to carry out information and awareness-raising programmes on reducing the risks associated with the use of plant protection products; to reduce the impact on pollinating insects. For each specific objective, measures are proposed in the following areas: protecting human health by reducing risks for professional users and distributors who use or distribute plant protection products, other agricultural workers, residents, passers-by, and other users; preserving biodiversity and protecting the environment by reducing the risks of water, soil and air pollution by plant protection products; regulating issues regarding the storage, marketing and use of plant protection products, and ensuring the competitiveness of Romania’s agricultural sector.
An important element for measuring the objectives under the National Action Plan is the definition of risk indicators permitting the periodic monitoring of progress made over the its implementation period. The results achieved through implementation of the measures under the National Action Plan on reducing risks associated with the use of plant protection products will be made available to the European Commission and to the other Member States on request.