Press releases

In 2014, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a negative opinion on Dow agroscience’s new Sulfoxaflor insecticide. The pesticide was qualified as ‘highly toxic to bees’ by the Authority and it identified crucial toxicity data gaps, which makes a proper risk assessment for bees impossible. The chemical is similar to the "neonicotinoids", the pesticides upon which EU has put a "moratorium" due to their toxicity to bees. Despite these facts, DG Sante and the EU member states authorised Sulfoxaflor on 27 July 2015, completely bypassing the pesticide regulation. PAN Europe requests the European Court of Justice to cancel this unjustified approval.

Fifteen of the pesticides that the European Commission is currently evaluating for market approval are of “critical concern” regarding their endocrine disrupting properties - the European Food Safety Authority reported last Wednesday.

EFSA concluded in March 2015 that the pesticide Sulfoxaflor is highly toxic to bees and several required safety tests are missing (exposure of bees via nectar and pollen…). Despite this opinion, Sulfoxaflor was approved by the European Commission for use in agriculture and the approval was published on July 27.

Preventing the down-fall of the EDCs policy: Bringing back the science on EDCs to the European Parliament for open discussion (EDCs Roundtable 30th June 2015, 15:00-18:00).

Hier, Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) a organisé en collaboration avec Velt, Inter- environnement Bruxelles, Greenpeace Belgique, inter-Environnement Wallonie, Natagora, Adalia, le Pôle de Gestion Différenciée, Apis bruoc Sella, et Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), la toute première conférence sur les villes sans pesticides, afin d'aider les villes et communes belges à mettre en place des alternatives à ces produits toxiques.

Gisteren heeft Pesticide Action Network Europa (PAN Europe) samen met de Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), Velt, Inter-Environment Bruxelles, Greenpeace Belgie, Inter-Environnement Wallonie, Natagora, Adalia, Pôle de Gestion Differenciée en Apis bruoc Sella afkomstig van alle drie de regio’s in België, de eerste conferentie georganiseerd over gifvrije steden en gemeenten, om hen op weg te helpen.

Yesterday, Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) has together with Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), Velt, Inter-Environment Bruxelles, Greenpeace Belgium, Inter-Environnement Wallonie, Natagora, Adalia, Pôle de Gestion Differenciée and Apis bruoc Sella from all three regions of Belgium, has organised the first ever conference on pesticide free towns, assisting towns on the move.

In 2010, EU Commission granted DG Environment (DG ENV) the lead on the development of the criteria for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC's). But EU health service SANCO (now SANTE) was disloyal to this decision. In 2012, SANCO secretly collaborated with DG Enterprise to undermine the work of DG ENV and mandated Food Authority EFSA to redo the work done by DG ENV and the EU Joint Research Center (JRC).

Field monitoring shows that neonicotinoids are currently eliminating natural pollinators from our agricultural land. Wild bees are necessary for 86% of crop pollination. In the meantime, the European Commission deliberately delays the enforcement of new rules that would avoid that such harmful pesticides are authorised on the market. Furthermore, the Commission closes its eyes to the numerous derogations provided to farmers in Member States.

For the first time a coalition of national and European NGOs have taken the initiative to bring together the voices of the victims of pesticide poisoning by launching today - the first day of the 10th Pesticide Action Week - a new website dedicated to telling their stories.