Many EU countries continue to allow the use of pesticides banned in the EU through the widespread abuse of emergency derogations, according to a report published on Thursday 12 January by the NGO PAN Europe (Pesticide Action Network Europe).
Of the 24 banned pesticide substances investigated between 2019 and 2022, 236 emergency authorisations were granted for 14 substances. Pesticides that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, genotoxic, have a strong negative impact on the environment and are highly toxic to bees (neonicotinoid pesticides account for half of all authorisations) are therefore still used in food production. Austria is the ‘champion’ of this practice (with 20 derogations), followed by Finland (18), Denmark (17), Romania, the Czech Republic and Greece.
Only Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Malta have not allowed any derogations for these highly toxic substances.
Under the European regulation on the market authorisation of pharmaceutical products (EC 1107/2009), essential use exemptions are allowed for up to 120 days, but only for limited and controlled use to contain a harmful organism that cannot be controlled by any other reasonable means (Article 53 of the regulation).
Most derogations are requested by the pesticide industry and many Member States give in. “This widespread abuse makes the EU pesticide legislation as leaky as a sieve”, deplores Martin Dermine, the Executive Director of the NGO.
The report: https://aeur.eu/f/4ut (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)