Chlorpyrifos, an insecticide blamed for genotoxicity and neurotoxicity, will be permanently banned in the European Union in 2020, after Member State experts decided not to renew its marketing authorisation on Friday 6 December (see EUROPE 12314/3).
“Today we had a decision in the standing committee on plants, animals, food and feed which supported the Commission's proposal to ban the use of chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl. These are pesticides which have been deemed by the EFSA to adversely affect health”, said a spokeswoman for the European institution.
Already banned in eight Member States, chlorpyrifos is an insecticide used for fruit and vegetable crops, whose licence in the EU expires at the end of January 2020. Once Friday's decision is formally adopted, States will have to withdraw the substances concerned. A maximum period of 3 months may be provided to eliminate stockpiles of these products. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)