MEETING in Luxembourg last week, EU Farm Ministers have agreed on a compromise text prepared by the Slovenian Presidency on a new regulation dealing with the authorisation of pesticides.
Despite heavy lobbying by the UK NFUs in Brussels the outcome is disappointing as it leaves the EU Commission's strict proposals for cut-off criteria intact. The cut-off criteria relates to the approvals process for pesticides. This could outlaw an
y pesticides that contain active ingredients that are deemed hazardous, even though the risk they pose is very low.
Lobbying did secure a derogation to allow substances to remain on the market where alternative control methods do not exist, but subject to very strict criteria. The battle is far from over however as the dossier will now return to the European Parliament for its second reading.
On a related note, thanks to lobbying by the UK NFUs, MEPs voted on a second reading report on Environmental Quality Standards for water and treatment of priority substances in Strasbourg last week. The EU Parliament Environment Committee had wanted to include a number of important plant protection products such as Roundup among a list of substances that should be outlawed. The final report however was substantially amended allaying our initial fears.
The pesticide issue once again re-opens the debate where the EU Commission often seem to impose strict rules on European agriculture whilst ignoring standards in other parts of the world.
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