Letters

March 2024

EU Standing committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed - 20-21 March - position of Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe

Dear members of the PAFF committee,

On 20 and 21 March, you are invited to the EU Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed to discuss and/or adopt opinions on several proposals of the European Commission. In advance of this meeting, please find below PAN Europe's position on certain issues that relate to the protection of human health and the environment, for which we kindly request your particular attention.

March 2024

Joint letter to the EU Commission to reconsider the loosening of the CAP’s green architecture

We, the undersigned European coalitions 1 and civil society organisations, who work every day for an agroecological and fair transition toward sustainable food systems, including a better Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in line with the European Green Deal, are deeply concerned by the latest measures taken by the European Commission and the recent announcements made by both the EC and the Belgian Presidency of the Council regarding the green architecture of the CAP.

March 2024

Nature-based water resilience cannot wait

Dear European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,

We are writing to you as a group of stakeholders, united by our concern for healthy freshwater and marine ecosystems, to express our regret at the decision to delay the EU Communication on water resilience. 

Continue reading.

March 2024

Joint call for food system transformation and a legislative framework for sustainable food systems in the next mandate

Dear President von der Leyen,

We, the undersigned organisations, are urging you to call on the next Commission to make the transition to sustainable food systems a high political priority. The next Commission must uphold a holistic food systems approach to policy-making, relying on a multi-DG governance structure, and bring forth the long-awaited proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems.

February 2024

European citizens face increasing exposure to cocktails of PFAS pesticides through their food - Urgent call to ban PFAS pesticides in the European Union (UE)

Dear Commissioner Kyriakides, 

With this letter, PAN Europe would like to bring to your attention the concerning findings of our report about PFAS pesticides in EU food ‘Toxic Harvest: the rise of forever pesticides in fruit and vegetables in Europe’ published yesterday. We urge you to take immediate action to address this source of PFAS exposure safeguarding the health of citizens and our environment. 

February 2024

Joint Statement: The EU must make pesticide reduction a reality

We, the undersigned 125 organisations, condemn the failure of the European Parliament, Council and Commission to deliver on a crucial element of the Green Deal: pesticide reduction. On February 6th 2024 the European Commission announced it would withdraw its proposal for the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR), delaying by years urgently needed action to reduce the use and risks of synthetic pesticides in Europe. 

February 2024

CEFIC event letter to De Croo

Dear Prime Minister De Croo,

We are appalled that today the Belgian Presidency of the EU is organising, alongside the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) and its Belgian industry member Essenscia, a closed event for chemical and other intensive industrial energy users and high-level political leaders at BASF’s chemicals plant in Antwerp.

February 2024

Joint statement of the undersigned organisations in solidarity with farmers in Europe

On 1 February 2024, civil society organisations gathered in Brussels in front of the European Parliament in solidarity with peasants. In response to a call from the European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) and the Belgian farmers’ union Fédération Unie de Groupements d’Eleveurs et d’Agriculteurs (FUGEA), organisations expressed their support for food sovereignty, organic agriculture, agroecology, peasant rights, and fair food prices.

February 2024

The Commission’s proposal to extend Derogations to GAEC 8 under CAP will not truly support farmers, and further harm biodiversity and citizens

Dear Ministers,

We write to you to express our deepest concerns regarding the proposal of the Commission to further extend the derogation to GAEC 8 under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Granting this derogation would go directly against farmers’, citizens’ and future generations’ interests. Preservation of biodiversity in agricultural areas, which has been collapsing at an alarming rate, is key to preserving the ecosystem services on which farming fully depends. 

January 2024

Letter to the EU Standing committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed - position of Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe - 30-31 January

Dear members of the PAFF committee,

On 30 and 31 January, you are invited to the EU Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed to discuss and/or adopt opinions on several proposals of the European Commission. In advance of this meeting, please find below PAN Europe's position on certain issues that relate to the protection of human health and the environment, for which we kindly request your particular attention.

Agenda issues:

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Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the European Union, European Commission, DG Environment, LIFE programme. Sole responsibility for this publication lies with the authors and the funders are not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.