Member States may not derogate from express bans on the marketing and use of seeds treated with plant protection products containing neonicotinoids, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Thursday 19 January (Case C-162/21).
In Belgium, two anti-pesticide associations are challenging six authorisations issued by the Belgian authorities for the use of plant protection products containing clothianidin and thiamethoxam for the treatment of seeds of certain crops, including sugar beet, as well as for the placing on the market of these seeds and their sowing in the open.
Belgium invokes the derogation regime (Article 53) provided for in Regulation 1107/2009 governing the placing on the market of plant protection products.
Since 2018, through European Commission implementing regulations (2018/784 and 2018/785), these controversial active substances can be used under very strict conditions, namely the cultivation of seeds treated with bee-killing neonicotinoids in permanent greenhouses throughout the life cycle. Exceptionally, authorisations are also possible in the event of danger to plant production or ecosystems that could not be controlled by other reasonable means.
The Belgian Council of State referred the case to the Court for a preliminary ruling, which found in favour of the plaintiff associations on the basis of the opinion of the Advocate General (see EUROPE 13019/5).
According to the Court, Member States may, in exceptional circumstances, authorise the placing on the market of plant protection products containing substances which are not covered by an approval regulation. However, the Article 53 derogation does not allow them to derogate from the express prohibition to place on the market and use seeds treated with such products.
EU law aims to ensure a high level of protection for human and animal health and the environment and is based on the precautionary principle, the Court recalls.
Furthermore, the Court stresses that Member States must take all necessary measures to promote low pesticide-input pest management, giving priority to non-chemical methods. Professional pesticide users should therefore switch to practices and products with the lowest risk to human health and the environment.
On behalf of the NGO PAN EUROPE, one of the plaintiffs in the case, Hans Muilerman welcomed a “landmark ruling, which puts an end to 10 years of abuse by Member States with the blessing of the European Commission”. The organisation recently published a report detailing the abuse of emergency derogations by Member States - led by Austria, Finland and Denmark - to authorise pesticides banned in the EU (see EUROPE 13098/4).
See the Court’s judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/4yu (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)