Where the world is on fire with various wars, the EU is continuing an invisible chemical war, exporting tonnes of banned, toxic pesticides to all corners of the world. Today, the “End Toxic Pesticide Trade Coalition” (1) demands to EC President Ursula von der Leyen, alongside more than 600 organisations, to keep its 2020 promise and put an end to the EU production, export and residue imports of those banned pesticides.
Following an action on Tuesday 24 June in Brussels, a broad coalition of NGOs and trade unions launched a Joint Statement co-signed by 600+ organisations worldwide (2). The action was organised in collaboration with a coalition led by CNCD-11.11.11, which is opposing the EU-Mercosur trade deal in its current form, as it would permit the export of pesticides banned in the EU.
End of May, the Bishops from both Europe and Africa jointly advocated in Brussels “for an immediate ban on the export to and use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Africa.” (3) They point out the injustice that chemicals which are banned in Europe are still produced there and sold to African farmers. “This double standard must end.” They will repeat the same message during the 6th African Union (AU) – European Union (EU) Agriculture Ministerial Conference in Rome, coming Friday (4).
Also, UN rapporteurs - Marcos A Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights and Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights - called for “European institutions to show leadership at the regional level and act to ban the export of banned pesticides.”
Angeliki Lysimachou, Head of Science and Policy at Pesticide Action Network (PAN), said: “If human rights and international agreement have any value, the EU should act with urgency on this file as it should have 5 years ago.”
Medius Bihunirwa, Head of Programmes, PELUM Association, Uganda, said: “These banned pesticides should not be exported to Africa. They are doing too much damage here and pollute our water, make farmers, woman, children sick; As well as consumers via dangerous residues on our food. They destroy our soils and biodiversity upon which we derive our food and livelihoods. We do not want to be the dumping grounds for what Europe doesn’t want itself. We have our own solutions using agro-ecological techniques, and use bio-pesticides with local ingredients.”
Hans van Scharen, researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), said: “Instead of keeping its promises the European Commission is listening too much to the short-term economical interest of the chemical sector, whereas an export ban would lead to innovation and less harm. This is why the problem of massive exports from the EU has doubled since 2018, when total exports were already at 80.000, including the UK. The Commission needs to stop meeting almost exclusively with those industry lobbyists fighting against the export ban, and instead implement firewall measures to protect its decision-making from corporate capture.”
For more information:
- Dr Angeliki Lysimachou (PAN Europe): angeliki [at] pan-europe.info - +32 496 39 29 30
- Hans van Scharen (Corporate Europe Observatory): hans [at] corporateeurope.org - +32 484 729776
Notes:
(1) The “End Toxic Pesticide Trade Coalition” is composed of: ActionAid France, Broederlijk Delen, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), Child Rights International Network (CRIN), Dreikönig- saktion der Katholischen Jungschar (DKA Austria), Ekō, European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Fondation pour la Nature et l’Homme (FNH), Foodwatch, Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace EU, Humundi, Le CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe), Pestizid Aktions-Netzwerk e.V. (PAN Germany), Public Eye, Slow Food, and Veblen Institute for economic reforms.
(2) Find the Joint Statement in EN, FR, SP, GR, PT, NL, IT and DK HERE
(3) More about the Statement from EU and African Bishops (Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, SECAM, and Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, Comece) HERE
(4) 6th African Union (AU) – European Union (EU) Agriculture Ministerial Conference
