EU Member State representatives gave the green light on Tuesday 27 September to a European Commission proposal for a regulation to lower the maximum residue levels (MRLs) of two bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides in food, whether produced in or imported into the EU (see EUROPE 12978/22).
These are clothianidin and thiamethoxam, the use of which is banned in the EU based on an assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that they are toxic to bees (see EUROPE 13019/5, 12011/9).
The EU27 representatives on the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF Committee) approved the proposal by qualified majority.
For food and feed imports, the new rules will lower maximum residue levels to the lowest level that can be measured with the latest technology.
This regulation will enable environmental aspects to be taken into account when assessing applications for import tolerances for pesticides banned in the EU, while respecting World Trade Organization (WTO) standards and obligations. The WTO was consulted before the EU Member States took a decision.
Now approved in the PAFF committee, the regulation will be submitted to the EU Council and the European Parliament, which have two months to respond. If the two institutions do not object, the regulation will be adopted in early 2023. Food operators and third countries will have sufficient time to adapt to the new rules.
“Once the rules approved today are in place, imported products will no longer be able to contain residues of these two neonicotinoids”, said the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides, welcoming an EU contribution “to the transition towards sustainable food systems, including on the global stage”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)