S&Ds: Today’s approval of the EU pesticides report is just the beginning of our fight to ensure human health and food security in Europe
Date
16 Jan 2019
Sections
Climate & Environment
The final PEST report voted today in plenary by an overwhelming majority calls on the European institutions and member states to make the authorisation system for pesticides in the EU more transparent, better financed and fully independent from private interests. Human health, environment and food safety always come first, highlights the S&D Group. This is the major outcome of 9 months of Committee work, led by its president, S&D member Eric Andrieu.
S&D shadow rapporteur on the report, Simona Bonafé, said:
“The European authorisation procedure for pesticides has clearly shown shortcomings. The report approved today by the European Parliament and endorsed by the pesticides committee can dramatically improve the current system and ensure citizens’ health, environment and food safety. The Glyphosate case must stop being synonymous with the lack of transparency, lack of resources, and private interests overcoming public ones, and instead turn into the example of an opportunity seized by the EU to make human health and the environment a paramount priority. This is what we have strongly fought for, and we will continue to fight for full and decisive implementation.”
S&D pesticides coordinator, Pavel Poc, stated:
“Our regulatory system to harmonise and monitor the placing of plant protection products on the EU internal market is very complex, however it does not fulfil its objectives related to public and animal health and the environment. It is not only because of its insufficient implementation at both EU and national level, but also because it does not properly address various aspects of pesticides and their impact. This can change if our recommendations are put into practice. The work of the pesticides committee may be over, however that does not mean that our work is done.”
Background note:
Following the publication of the Monsanto Papers and the controversy that arose around the glyphosate renewal, deep concerns over the transparency, the accuracy and the independence of the EU’s pesticides authorisation procedure grew among European citizens. As a result, in February 2018, the European Parliament decided to set up the Special Committee on the Union’s authorisation procedure for pesticides (PEST). After 9 months used to assess and study EU and national pesticides authorisation procedures, question and audit experts and stakeholders, the committee has come up with a report with specific recommendations to both the EU Commission and member states to ensure a higher level of protection of human health, food safety and environment.