The European Union exported pesticides banned in the EU to Mercosur countries to the tune of more than 500 million euros in 2018, according to a study by the University of São Paulo commissioned by The Left Group in the European Parliament and published on Tuesday 11 May.
These hazardous substances are contained in agricultural products imported by the EU. They endanger people on both sides of the Atlantic and threaten biodiversity, according to the study’s authors.
They warn of a sharp increase in the export of banned pesticides after the signing of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.
“The results of this study are alarming enough to reiterate that the EU-Mercosur agreement must be stopped”, said MEP Helmut Scholz (The Left, Germany).
In March, MEPs on Parliament’s Committee on Environment questioned the European Commission about these exports of pesticides banned in the EU, deeming them “neither in line with EU values nor in the EU’s interest” (see EUROPE 12684/4).
The Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) organisation called on the EU in December 2020 to stop exporting banned pesticides (see EUROPE 12621/17).
See the study: https://adobe.ly/3vUYqCU (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)