By Peggy Corlin - 12th July 2006
Brussels has announced stricter and streamlined rules for the approval of pesticides for use in EU agriculture.
The European commission, on Wednesday, set out plans to ensure safer use of pesticides and to reduce red tape in authorisation procedures of plant protection products.
"The proposed regulation will strengthen and improve the rules on pesticides throughout the EU, to the benefit of EU citizens and stakeholders” declared European health commissioner Markos Kyprianou
“It will ensure an even higher level of protection for human and animal health and the environment, while also offering more choice to farmers and boosting competitiveness for the industry in this field."
Although necessary in agriculture, some pesticides have proved harmful for human health, animals, and the environment making it necessary to set authorisation measures.
Five years after launching a consultation on the issue, the commission has decided to split the administrative burden of control procedures into three zones presenting the same ecological features.
Under the new rules pesticides allowed in one of the three zones will be authorized in all member states from that zone without new checks to be required.
The commission has also decided to raise the level of protection needed for pesticides with stricter criteria to be respected by the industry to get the commission’s green light.
Brussels plans in particular to strengthen tracking of pesticides among users and to make the system more transparent for the drinking water industry.
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