Press releases
In February 2016 EU Ombudsman ruled that the European Commission health service DG SANTE violated the precautionary principle by approving pesticides with serious data gaps and high risks. Data gaps observed by Food Authority EFSA and high risks should have made it impossible for DG SANTE to conclude that harmful effects to humans are absent as well as unacceptable effects to the environment. Still they did and most pesticides were approved with data gaps and high risks for the environment.
Today, Joël Labbé, Senator of Morbihan and Vice-President of the Commission of Economic Affairs in France, has launched an EU proposal for banning pesticides use outside agriculture. Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe warmly welcomes this initiative, as pesticides are not only used in the agricultural sector, but also in private gardens, public parks, playgrounds, sidewalks, graveyards, sport fields, railways, to name a few. Continue reading>>
Tomorrow, 27 March 2017, another Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA) conference, jointly organized by the European Landowners Organisation (ELO) and Syngenta, will be hosted at the Square in Brussels. As this year’s topic is ‘time for solutions’, it would be the right moment to also talk about the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as CAP reform discussions have already started.
Today, 23 March 2017, the European Commission has presented to the Member States its draft regulations to ban neonicotinoids. A vote by Member State could take place in May.
Today, 23 March 2017, the European Commission has presented to the Member States its draft regulations to ban neonicotinoids. A vote by Member State could take place in May.
Monsanto and other glyphosate manufacturers appear to have distorted scientific evidence on the public health impacts of glyphosate in order to keep the controversial substance on the market, according to a new report released today by GLOBAL 2000 (Friends of the Earth Austria, member of PAN Europe) with the support of Avaaz, BUND, Campact, CEO, GMWatch, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe, PAN Germany, and Umweltinstitut München.
Eight years have already passed since the Plant Protection Product Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 entered into force and the European Commission has yet to ban a single pesticide active substance that could cause harm according to the law’s provisional endocrine disrupting criteria, also known as ‘interim criteria’[1].
On the UN World Water Day (22nd March) and 3d day of the Pesticide Action Week1, PAN Europe takes the opportunity to highlight that pesticides are one of the main sources of pollution of European waters, causing degradation of our aquatic ecosystems and jeopardizing the future of EU water supplies.
Today, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food will present a report[1] before the UN Human Rights Council on the many issues posed by pesticides. Inefficient to guarantee food safety, toxic to human health and the environment, it is part of an agricultural model that is outdated and benefits only to multinationals and trade while EU farmers struggle to survive
Today, 12 years have passed since the Regulation on pesticide residues in food (Reg. 396/2005) was adopted and Commission, Council and EU parliament jointly decided that the harmful effects of mixtures of pesticide residues in food have to be taken into account in standard setting (Art.14.2[1]). Food Authority EFSA was assigned to develop the methods to assess mixture effects, but up to this day these methods are not published and mixture effects not taken into account. Current EU food standards for pesticide residues therefore are not safe.
