For public health reasons and on the grounds of compliance with the REACH legislation, MEPs in the European Parliament's Environment and Public Health Committee (ENVI) on Monday 8 June vetoed two European Commission proposals to authorise or extend the authorisation of active substances in pesticides in the EU, some of which are classified as toxic and should be banned under the REACH regulation.
For example, they objected to the extension of the authorisation of 28 active substances, including flumioxazin, which was authorised in 2003 and subsequently identified as toxic to reproduction. This is the 7th request for extension.
The European Commission cited the delay in the additional assessments by EFSA - an argument that was rejected by most MEPs, as a judgment of the General Court had ruled that authorising an active substance and then including the additional data was not correct.
Although the Commission representative stressed that the mandate had been given to EFSA in December on the basis of the new criteria, that the risks were "very low for mammals and soils and that all other risks have been mitigated", it was not convincing. The objection was adopted by 43 votes to 30, with 3 abstentions.
MEPs also objected (38 votes in favour, 30 against, 3 abstentions), as they had done in March 2019, to an implementing act to partially authorise, for certain uses, chromium trioxide a human carcinogen, mutagenic, and a probable endocrine disruptor. In particular, they argued that the manufacturer had not provided evidence that there is no alternative solution, as required by the REACH Regulation (Article 60 on data to be provided in the Chemical Safety Report).
MEPs from the EPP and ECR groups voted against both objections, arguing in particular that the final product is low-risk and that companies that need it risk closure. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)