Brussels, 26/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the Swedish government repeated its criticisms of the European Commission for authorising the use of herbicides containing paraquat, a particularly dangerous chemical. Paraquat has been banned in Sweden since 1983. It is used in herbicides for olive trees, vines and hazelnut trees. At the beginning of the year, the Swedish government took a case to the European Court of Justice to annul the Commission's decision adding paraquat to the list of authorised chemicals in the EU under Directive 91/414/EC (see Europe of 7 February 2004).
Anders Kruse, an official at the Swedish foreign ministry, said that paraquat was a highly dangerous chemical. It is fatal and there is no antidote - a single spoonful is enough to kill a human being, leading to certain and very painful death. All indications are that it can also cause nerve damage and Parkinson's Disease. He told AFP that Sweden wants the Court of Justice to annul the Commission's decision and wants the Commission to reassess paraquat. In Sweden's view, the initial assessment was unsatisfactory. Kruse explained that the Commission's authorisation of paraquat was based on a Spanish study which found that the product was not dangerous, but the Commission had ignored studies proving the opposite. Kruse said that Austria, Denmark and Finland had joined Sweden in calling for paraquat to be banned.