Press releases
European citizens are highly concerned about the use of pesticides and its effect on health and the environment. This is shown in a survey in six member states of the European Union - Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Romania and Spain. The survey was conducted by the European Public Affairs team of the market research agency Ipsos and published by the Pesticides Action Network (PAN) Europe.
All recent science needs to be taken into account
Threat of re-approval based on misinformed risk assessment
The EU Commission's proposal to renew the authorisation for the herbicide glyphosate is published today (1). The proposal is for 10 years, so if a qualified majority of Member States agree, glyphosate use in the EU would be allowed until 2033. This would be in stark contrast to the will of the Europeans. Five years ago 1 Million citizens formally asked for a ban and a recent IPSOS opinion poll in 6 EU countries shows that only a mere 14% of citizens agree with prolonged use.
85 social and environmental organisations urge Ursula von der Leyen and the European Commission to hold true to the European Green Deal commitment to ensure that hazardous chemicals banned in the EU will no longer be produced for export.[1]
Today, the European Parliament approved new quality standards for surface and groundwater and sent a clear message on the need to curb water pollution in the EU.
A vast majority of MEPs (495 of 631) across all political groups voted in favour of the Environment Committee’s position to update the list of surface and groundwater pollutants against which chemical status under the Water Framework Directive is assessed.
Scientists show how two EU regulatory agencies failed to fulfil their role as foreseen in EU pesticide law. A new scientific study reveals that ECHA dismissed important carcinogenicity findings and neglected evidence that glyphosate induces oxidative stress, a recognised mechanism that can lead to cancer. EFSA in its conclusion wrongfully relied on ECHA's classification of glyphosate as 'noncarcinogenic'.
What do European citizens think of pesticide use, and more specific: what do they think about glyphosate? We have asked IPSOS to conduct an online representative public opinion poll in six countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Romania and Spain. The results of the full poll will be presented later in September.
Glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA are found in surface waters across 11 out of 12 countries spanning Europe, even during the end of the pesticide application season. From Poland to Portugal, from Belgium to Bulgaria, our waters are polluted by the herbicide. This is the disturbing finding in a new report by PAN Europe and the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament.
The European Commission just released[1] its latest indicators on pesticide use and risk for the year 2021. This comes on top of its publication[2] in July of the EU 2021 results towards Farm to Fork pesticide reduction targets. According to both publications, the use and risk of chemical pesticides would have decreased by 6% in 2021 compared to 2020. Yet, these figures are clashing with Eurostat's[3] most recent data on sales for all pesticides which highlight an increase of 2.7% in 2021 compared to 2020.
