Parliament set to back new EU agri-chemical rules

MEPs meeting in Strasbourg are expected to endorse tough new rules on the use of pesticides.

Legislation submitted to parliament for approval deals with the placing on the market of new pesticide products and the day-to-day use of pesticides.

Deputies will vote later on Tuesday on a package of proposals agreed in negotiations with member states in December.

The proposed legislation will increase the number of pesticide products available in member states, while in due course banning the use of certain dangerous chemicals in these products.

Speaking ahead of the vote, UK Conservative deputy Robert Sturdy branded the proposals as "ludicrous".

He said, "We must have safer pesticides that are used responsibly, but banning products that are safe when used correctly will add to already volatile food prices and food shortages.

"Food security is already becoming a pressing issue, so it is ludicrous that we would bring in a law that would put our crops in real danger."

UK farmers agree, warning that the new rules could "seriously threaten" British food production, while the UK National Farmers’ Union said it could wipe out the carrot industry and seriously affect many other crops.

The British government is among those opposing the law, which critics also say would cause rising prices.

However, the Soil Association backs the EU’s bid to cut the use of chemicals it says can cause cancer and infertility.

Changes in the way pesticides are authorised for use on crops are part of an overall EU objective to cut the use of toxic products in farming by 50 per cent by 2013.

The plans include assessing products for protecting plants on the basis of "perceived hazard" instead of scientific evidence.

But the legislation has already been scaled back after Europe’s influential pesticides industry warned the new standards would remove from the market products that had been used without problems for years.

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