At the close of the Agriculture Council on 22 and 23 September in Brussels, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, stated in response to the press that, in line with the ‘vision for agriculture and food’, the European Commission intends to ban imports of agricultural products containing residues of pesticides banned in the European Union.
“We are determined to put forward this proposal. I am working on this list with my colleague Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Health”, he added. This measure could be included in the ‘omnibus’ of simplification proposals on food safety that the Commission plans to present in November (see EUROPE 13715/3).
The Commissioner also stressed the need to facilitate the authorisation and marketing of more sustainable alternatives to pesticides. “This is an absolute priority, which will benefit not only the competitiveness of our farmers, but also that of industry”, he added.
This political signal comes as a joint investigation by Public Eye and Unearthed, published on 23 September, reveals that, in 2024, European companies exported almost 122,000 tonnes of banned pesticides to third countries.
According to this report, 75 substances banned in the EU because of their risks to human health and the environment were notified for export - almost double the 41 pesticides exported in 2018. The authors denounce a paradox: these molecules, banned in Europe, continue to be used elsewhere to treat crops that are ultimately reintroduced onto the European market.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/ioa (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)