The European Commission's planned abolition of pesticide protection standards is unlawful. This is shown by a legal opinion published today.
The legal opinion, commissioned by the Aurelia Foundation, ClientEarth, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Deutscher Naturschutzring, foodwatch, Pesticide Action Network and Umweltinstitut München, warns that the EU Commission's plans would "significantly lower the level of protection in the fields of health and environmental protection”. Furthermore, there are "serious doubts" about its compatibility with the precautionary principle and the high level of protection for health and the environment guaranteed under European law. The organisations are therefore calling on EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to stop the plans and provide for better protection of farmers, citizens and nature against the effect of dangerous pesticides. The associations are also calling for all MEPs as well as Member States to clearly reject the proposal in the European Parliament and at the EU Council meeting on 2 February.
With the so-called "Food and Feed Safety Simplification Omnibus" legislative package, the EU Commission proposes to abolish the current mandatory regular risk assessments for pesticide active ingredients. This way, the majority of agricultural toxins will be approved indefinitely. Even if new studies provide evidence of cancer risks or groundwater contamination, for example, the pesticide authorisations would only be reviewed if the Commission decides to trigger a reassessment, which could take many years. In addition, the Commission wants to extend the periods during which a substance that has been proven to harm health or nature can still be used even after it has been banned.
According to the expert opinion, the planned changes also clearly contradict the case law of the European Court of Justice. In its landmark Blaise ruling in 2019, the Court clarified that when enacting regulations on the placing on the market of pesticides, the EU legislator must follow the precautionary principle and ensure a high level of health protection. This includes, in particular, the obligation to take into account the latest scientific findings.
The legal opinion also criticises the Commission for pushing the proposed legislation through in a fast-track procedure – without the mandatory impact assessment and without the usual democratic opportunities for public participation by experts, organisations and associations in the form of a public consultation. The Commission has ignored critical comments, according to the report, even though "significant environmental and health impacts are to be expected".
The environmental and consumer organisations are calling on all Member States to put their people before profit and reject the proposed legislation in the EU Council.
Thomas Radetzki, Aurelia Foundation: "The EU Commission plans to abolish fundamental protective mechanisms for humans and nature. Once approved, pesticides will be virtually unassailable. New scientific findings on risks will no longer need to be taken into account retrospectively – even if authorities or independent institutions demand this. Under the banner of “reducing bureaucracy”, the protection of humans, biodiversity and bees is at risk of being systematically undermined. We call on the European Commission to ensure that the precautionary principle, science-based risk assessment and the ability to review pesticide approvals are binding."
Elisabeth Koch, Lawyer at ClientEarth: "The proposed changes undo decades of progress in pesticide regulation, putting the health of farmers, consumers and nature at risk. It also ignores the case law of the European Court of Justice, which clearly states that risk assessments must incorporate the latest scientific findings on human protection and strike a balance that prioritises the precautionary principle over economic interests. Instead of 'simplification', this omnibus package creates legal uncertainty and health risks that only benefit companies."
Martin Dermine, Executive Director of Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe): "With this proposal, the EU Commission puts industry interests above our health and the environment. This is a 30-year regression to the old chemical era. They should move in the other direction and ban the most problematic pesticides now to protect us and our children from the cocktail of toxic chemicals we’re exposed to on a daily basis."
Jürgen Resch, Federal Managing Director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (DUH): "The omnibus legislative package is political mislabelling: under the guise of reducing bureaucracy, the EU is systematically dismantling the protection of people and nature from pesticides. Unlimited approvals for active substances, even in the face of new scientific findings on risks, and longer use-up periods even for substances of concern are nothing more than a free pass for dangerous agricultural toxins. Anyone who waves this through is willingly accepting damage to the environment and health. We expect the Federal Government to take a clear stance in the Council. This legislative proposal must be rejected. What we need is a return to genuine risk control, rather than ever more deregulation."
Fabian Holzheid, Managing Director of the Munich Environmental Institute: "With this omnibus legislative package, the EU Commission would be sending a dangerous signal: pesticides would be allowed to remain on the market permanently, even if new scientific findings indicate significant risks. This is illegal and irresponsible. Ursula von der Leyen must withdraw the plans – and the German government must not agree to them."
Annemarie Botzki from the consumer organisation foodwatch: "The EU Commission clearly considers the profits of BayerMonsanto and Co. to be more important than the health of us citizens. Ursula von der Leyen is willing to accept that even more residues from agricultural toxins will end up in our food."
Sources and further information:
- Food and Feed Safety Omnibus: https://food.ec.europa.eu/horizontal-topics/simplification-legislation_en
- Legal opinion available for download HERE.
Press contacts:
- Foodwatch e.V: Andreas Winkler (presse [at] foodwatch.de) Mobile: +49 (0)174 / 3 75 16 89
- ClientEarth: George Kontou (gkontou [at] clientearth.org)
- PAN Europe: Martin Dermine (martin [at] pan-europe.info) Mobile: +32 486 32 99 92
