More transparent pesticide approval procedure

In February 2018, Parliament appointed a special committee to look into the EU’s authorisation procedure for pesticides. On 16 January, MEPs backed the committee’s final report pushing for more transparent procedures to ensure political accountability.

MEPs recommend that:

The public should be granted access to studies used in the authorisation procedure

Manufacturers asking for substance approval should register all regulatory studies in a public register to ensure all relevant information is taken into account

Scientific experts should review studies on carcinogenicity of glyphosate and maximum residue levels for soils and surface water should be set

Pesticides and their active substances should be tested thoroughly, taking into account cumulative effects and long-term toxicity

Pesticides should no longer be used over a wide area near schools, childcare facilities, playing fields, hospitals, maternity hospitals and care homes







Better access to studies on food chain safety

In December 2018 Parliament voted in favour of an update of the general food law regulation covering food safety in EU at all stages of the food chain, including animal health, plant protection and production.

The proposed new rules aim to improve public access to studies used by the European Food Safety Agency in the risk assessment of food products, and to ensure the studies are reliable, objective and independent.

A common European registry would be set up for commissioned studies, so the European Food Safety Agency can check whether companies are suppressing any unfavourable studies. If there is reason to doubt the evidence provided by the applicants, the agency could request additional studies.







Endocrine disruptors

Endocrine disrupting chemicals are used in agriculture to protect plants from pests by interfering with growth or reproduction. They may affect human health and be linked to hormone-related cancers, diabetes and infertility.

Read how the EU fights cancer

In October 2017, MEPs blocked the European Commission’s proposal that would have exempted some chemicals in pesticides from being identified as endocrine disrupting chemicals, even though some were actually designed to attack an organism’s endocrine system.







Promoting alternatives

Europeans bought €30.7 billion worth of organic food in 2016, an increase of almost 50% from 2012. In 2018, MEPS updated existing rules on organic production and labelling in response to major changes to the sector.

In 2017, MEPS adopted a resolution calling on the Commission to draw up proposals to fast-track the evaluation, authorisation and registration of low-risk pesticides.