D) Monitoring and control of the effective implementation of the SUD At EU level, stakeholders stress the absence of a monitoring system for progress under the SUD (Croatia – trade unions), indicating whether EU legislation has led to greater implementation of IPM systems. Stakeholders have put forward practical monitoring recommendations such as "model farms" or European pesticides advisors (Spain – various activities). Monitoring and enforcing compliance with the law is also considered a shortcoming of the SUD, as well as a lack of sanctions for those who do not comply with the regulations, both at EU and national levels (Spain – trade unions, Sweden). Swedish participants believe that penalties for countries that do not respect the rules should be enforced.
At national level, other monitoring shortcomings vary from one Member State to another. In Bulgaria, stakeholders point out the lack of control on the purchase of substances: any individual can buy PPPs in a store without any background checks. Therefore, stakeholders highly recommend that pesticides should only be available based on a prescription by an agronomist (Bulgaria – various activities). Bulgarian national authorities also indicate difficulties in inspecting the machinery and equipment used in agriculture for pesticides, even though general controls for safety are being carried out (Bulgaria – public authorities). In Croatia, PPP pesticides users are considered reluctant to allow public inspections, making it difficult for the competent authorities to exercise control (Croatia – public authorities). Spanish stakeholders highlighted the need to strengthen surveillance programmes, in particular plant health surveillance networks (Spain – various activities and employers).
The shortcomings in monitoring and control of the use of PPPs are being exacerbated by a lack of relevant data both at EU and national levels. The information available only provides numbers on pesticides production and sales, and not on the actual quantity of PPPs used (Croatia – various activities, Bulgaria – various activities).
