Environment Committee votes for tougher rules on pesticides

The regulation aims to revise the criteria and procedures for approving pesticides. A positive list of "active substances" (the key ingredients of pesticides) would be drawn up at EU level and new pesticide products would then be authorised at national level. 

 

 

A key point of the Commission text was to divide the EU into three geographical zones (north, centre and south): any pesticide authorised by one Member State within a zone would be approved by the other countries in that zone under the principle of mutual recognition. However, the Environment Committee voted against this system, preferring a single EU-wide system of mutual recognition within which Member States would reserve the right to confirm, reject or restrict the approval depending on their national circumstances.

 

 

The committee backed the Commission's plan to ban substances that are genotoxic, carcinogenic, toxic to reproduction or endocrine disrupting, but further restricted even the minor exceptions the Commission would allow. It also added substances with hormonal, neurotoxic or immunotoxic effects to the banned category and called for special account to be taken of vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, foetuses and children. 

 

 

MEPs essentially backed the "substitution principle" contained in the draft regulation, under which new products must not be approved so easily if they contain substances that could be substituted by others that are "significantly safer for human or animal health or the environment". Member States must check on this by making "comparative assessments" of substances, weighing up the risks and benefits. The committee also tightened up the proposed rules on animal testing, saying this should only be used "as a last resort". 

 

 

The Environment Committee's first-reading report, drafted by Hiltrud Breyer (Greens/EFA, DE), was adopted by 43 votes to 12 with 3 abstentions.  After the vote Mrs Breyer said "This vote has created a win-win situation: reducing risk for consumers, users and the environment, while at the same time stimulating innovation in the chemical industry".  However, Erna Hennicot-Schoepges (EPP-ED, LU), speaking on behalf of her group, said negotiations would be needed before the plenary vote to thrash out a number of points.

 

 

This regulation is part of a "pesticides package" designed to give the EU up-to-date rules governing the whole life-cycle of pesticides, which consists of three phases: the placing on the market of new pesticides (the Breyer report); the day-to-day use of pesticides; and the end-of-life (or "waste") phase.  The Environment Committee adopted two reports on the "use" phase in June (see link below) and the whole package comes before Parliament's plenary in late October.