Press releases
Today, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe and its members ClientEarth, Générations Futures, GLOBAL 2000, Pesticide Action Network Germany and Pesticide Action Network Netherlands challenge the European Union’s approval of glyphosate before the European Court of Justice.
Today, the European Parliament’s environment committee gave the green light to start trilogue negotiations on the update of EU water pollution standards. While this formal approval to proceed towards adoption is welcome and long-awaited, the multiple delays that have plagued this file risk jeopardising meaningful action on water pollution for the coming decade.
EU Commission Set to Propose Ban on Pesticides Due to TFA pollution
Insect law fails to block a single pesticide in 22 years - review
Governments still using guidelines ghost-written by the chemical industry despite crashing ecosystems
EU food safety agency now hiring chemical industry consultants to further weaken environmental protections
Officials have failed to block a single pesticide under EU laws supposed to protect crashing insect populations, according to an independent review published today.
Recent measurements by De Watergroep show that concentrations of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a persistent PFAS, are very high in the Belgian region of Flanders. The figures show the need for urgent action to protect our health and the environment. To PAN Europe, Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Velt and Natuurpunt, a ban on the use of PFAS-containing pesticides seems inevitable for this. Yet Environment Minister Brouns proposes just the opposite: a TFA standard no less than seven times higher than those in Wallonia and the Netherlands.
Flufenacet, a top-selling PFAS Bayer and BASF pesticide, is harmful to humans and the environment, according to the latest scientific opinion of the EU Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The herbicide acts as an endocrine disruptor, affects brain development and releases the major water contaminant, Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA). Its widespread use on common crops puts both farmers and consumers at risk.
A quarter million Europeans signed a new petition that urges the European Commission to prioritise pesticide reduction. It was presented today, ahead of the hearings for the incoming Commissioners.
The petition was conducted by environmental activists platforms Ekō and WeMove, in collaboration with Pesticide Action Network Europe. In less than three months more than 260.000 people signed the petition.
Every year, concerned citizens reach out to Velt (Flemish environmental NGO) because they are exposed to pesticide sprays. This is the reason Velt carried out the ‘SOS Bedroom’ citizens survey. “The goal was to see if we find pesticides in our bedrooms. And if so, in what quantity”, explains Geert Gommers, pesticide expert at Velt.
Today marks two years since the European Commission published its proposal to update the lists of EU priority pollutants that should be monitored and regulated in EU waters. With a number of harmful substances still not regulated under these lists, posing high risks for human health, this update to protect Europe’s precious waters is needed urgently, but EU institutions are delaying action.
Hazardous pesticides banned in Europe are making their way into European consumers’ diets, according to a new report by PAN Europe. Many of these toxic pesticides are produced by European companies and exported to third countries with weaker safety regulations, only to return as residues in imported food. Some are even detected in EU-grown food, indicating illegal use or that Member States are exploiting ‘emergency’ exemptions to continue their use after their ban.
