The NGO PAN Europe said on Monday 12 September that the Opinion of the Advocate General on 8 September regarding Belgium’s use of the urgency procedure (Article 53 of the Pesticides Regulation) to derogate from the ban on the use of certain neonicotinoid pesticides banned in the EU bodes well, if the Court of Justice follows the Advocate General.
“This could drastically reduce the possibilities of derogations for Member States and protect the health of citizens as well as the environment”, the NGO said.
In her Opinion (Case C-162/21), the Advocate General advises the EU Court of Justice to clarify that recourse to Article 53 must be exceptional and result from a thorough evaluation, demonstrating that the benefits of the use for agricultural production and food security will significantly outweigh the risks.
The Advocate General was responding to a request from the Belgian Council of State, which had received a complaint from PAN Europe and Nature et Progrès Belgium against six authorisations for the use of clothianidin and thiamethoxam pesticides.
The applicants had argued that numerous scientific studies had shown that the use of these neonicotinoids poses significant risks to bees, bumblebees and other foraging insects. They considered that the market authorisation of treated seeds and their use in the field was incompatible with EU law.
The conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/319 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)