EEB

Press Release

UK and Germany lobby against controls on dangerous pesticides

COMMENT

25th May 2011

EEB member PAN Europe has reported that German and UK governments have produced a joint position paper on pesticides regulation which appears to undermine the EU’s new regulation regarding dangerous pesticides and sidelines the European Commission's task to propose EU criteria for these very high concern chemicals by 2013.

The so-called ‘cut-off’ regime would allow regulators to ban endocrine disrupting pesticides which are very harmful to health. PAN Europe says this approach needs protecting as previous regulations allowed producers to propose unlimited amounts of different evaluation methods for suspicious pesticides which would often lead to dangerous types being classified as safe.

PAN Europe says, Germany and the UK now propose to fully overturn the new rule and to bring back the traditional risk assessment approach.

PAN Europe has written to Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik and Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli urging them to stick with the ‘cut-off’ rule and resist industry, British and German pressure to return to the old, ineffective system which will fail to protect the environment and European citizens.

PAN Europe also released their position paper setting out core elements of science-based criteria to determine the properties of endocrine disrupting chemicals. The paper says discussions on safe or acceptable exposure levels should be rejected so these pesticides are effectively removed from the market.

Read PAN Europe’s press release here, plus find links to their position paper and letter