The European Commission recently announced it was initiating an infringement procedure against Romania for granting derogations to bee-toxic neonicotinoid insecticides [1]. This is the first time ever, the European Commission launches an infringement procedure against a Member State on the abuse of the 'emergency authorisation' system. The procedure is based on a ruling from the EU Court won by PAN Europe in 2023, where the EU’s highest court said that no derogations can be given to a pesticide that is banned for health or environmental reasons.
Neonicotinoids were banned for use on maize, sunflower and other bee-attractive crops in 2013 but Romania has been providing unlawful derogations every year for those crops.
Constantin Dobrescu, vice-president of Romapis, the Romanian Federation of Beekeeping Associations said: "ROMAPIS has been asking the European Commission for help for 12 years. Romanian beekeepers are ashamed of the irresponsible behaviour of their Ministry of Agriculture. We welcome this timely support from the EU as a last resort to impose our Ministry to respect EU law, and protect our bees and the environment."
Martin Dermine, PAN Europe executive director added: "PAN Europe welcomes this much awaited move from the European Commission. As the Guardian of the Treaties, citizens expect the European Commission to ensure that EU health and environment rules are respected by Member States."
In 2023, following a lawsuit against Belgian derogations for the use of neonicotinoids, the Court of Justice of the EU clarified [2], in a ruling, that Member States cannot provide derogations to a pesticide that has been banned for environmental and health reasons. This measure put a stop to derogations provided by numerous EU Member States to neonicotinoid insecticides every year. Only Romania refused to respect it.
Pr. Antoine Bailleux, PAN Europe's counsel for the 2023 EU Court ruling added: "EU Court ruling does not only concern neonicotinoids but any substance that was banned for human health or environmental reasons. The European Commission should now launch similar proceedings against Member States that issue similar derogations for other EU banned pesticides."
Martin Dermine concluded: "Since the first restrictions on neonicotinoids in 2013, PAN Europe has repeatedly requested the European Commission to take Member States to Court for abuses on emergency authorisations. Other derogations for banned pesticides are given every year, such as diquat or dichloropropene, exposing citizens to such highly toxic molecules. More infringement procedures should follow."
Background information
Member States provide dozens of 'emergency authorisations' every year, under article 53 of the pesticide regulation (EU) 1107/2009. Even after the Court ruling, some Member States keep providing such derogations [3] for highly toxic, and banned substances, such as diquat [4] or dichloropropene [5].
PAN Europe has highlighted abuses for the provision of derogations to highly toxic and non-approved pesticides since 2010 [6]. In 2018, PAN Europe brought the issue before the Belgian Council of State, which sent questions for preliminary ruling to the EU Court. In 2023, the EU Court ruled that derogations for the use of EU-banned pesticides are illegal, as priority must be given to health and the environment.
In 2024, Romapis initiated a lawsuit before the national court, against one more derogation provided by its agriculture ministry. The derogation was suspended in early 2025, based on the 2023 EU Court ruling.
Contact: Martin Dermine, Executive Director, +32 486 32 99 92, martin [at] pan-europe.info
Notes:
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_25_2077
[2] https://www.pan-europe.info/press-releases/2023/01/eu-court-justice-no-m...
[3] https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/ppp/sc...
[4] Derogations to Diquat were provided by Estonia, Latvia, Czechia, Hungary and Denmark in 2025
[5] Derogations were provided to 1,3-dichloropropene by Italy, Greece and Spain over the last years
