Tag: pesticides

The Parliament's Environment Committee voted yesterday (12 September) for tougher authorisation procedures for pesticides, attracting fury from producers who said the rules would "lead to the disappearance of many substances that have long been used safely by farmers".

Denmark's success in reducing pesticide use over the past 20 years was the focus of a debate organised by the Liberal Democrats in Parliament on 21 March 2007.

A Parliament hearing on 5 March 2007 explored ways to minimise the pesticide residues that can still be found beyond established limits in soil or groundwater. While NGOs called for a Europe-wide reduction in pesticide use, manufacturers said that training was the best option, rather than a ban which would cripple European agriculture.

New Commission proposals seek to ban aerial spraying and substitute hazardous products with safer alternatives. Producers said the draft new rules could end up forcing dozens of substances out of the market "based purely on political perception".

At its annual conference on 17 November, the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) focused on innovation as a bridge between agricultural needs, consumer protection, environment and industrial jobs.

Trade Unions and green NGOs are challenging a decision to authorise Paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide. The Commission maintains it approved the product provided strict security conditions were met.

The Parliament adopted on 27 March the Van Brempt report, calling for stricter measures to reduce the quantity of pesticides used in the Union. The MEPs, however, voted against a proposal to set a general 50 per cent reduction target for the next ten years.

The Commission organised a major stakeholder conference to debate its future plans for a thematic strategy on pesticides use on 4 November. The conference showed big differences of opinion between the environmental groups and the crop protection industry.

The Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission has published the report of the year 2000 pesticide residue monitoring programme. The report highlights the results of the analysis of pesticide residues in 45,000 samples of fruits, vegetables and cereals.