By Matt Williams - 23rd October 2007
STRASBOURG – Proposals for modernising the scrutiny of pesticides have been endorsed by parliament.
But adoption of the so-called ‘pesticides package’ on Tuesday was greeted with dismay by some MEPs who accused the centre-right of voting down curbs on the use of such chemicals.
The two reports adopted by plenary mean that carcinogenic pesticides and those which damage the immune and nervous systems will be prohibited.
Parliament agreed that the use of pesticides should be prohibited around schools, playgrounds and hospitals, but rejected an amendment calling for farmers to be required to inform neighbours in advance if they plan to spray with pesticides.
Member states will be required to set up national action plans for reducing pesticide use, but specific details of these action plans will be left to national governments. There will be no specific EU-wide figures for pesticide reduction, as proposed by the environment committee.
Hiltrud Breyer, Green deputy and author of the report on the placing of plant protection products on the market, described it as a “landmark” package.
“The reports adopted today represent a breakthrough in terms of transparency in the EU.The result will be safer foods for everyone, because the pesticides used will be safer,” she said.
“According to a Eurobarometer survey, EU citizens are more scared about pesticides in food above everything else. The vote is a beacon for EU policy making which takes people’s concerns seriously.”
Breyer also insisted the move was about better regulation, not interference in the pesticides market.
"If the dangerous pesticides are taken off the market, that will still only constitute about 5 or 6 per cent of the total figure of pesticides on the market. We have 250,000 tonnes of pesticides in Europe, yet only 4 per cent of the arable land in the world."
EPP-ED deputy Christa Klass, author of the second report adopted, on the everyday use of pesticides, was also pleased with a vote which, she says, balances stringent recommendations put forward by the environment committee.
“With this vote, the fundamentalist course of the environment committee has been corrected.I am pleased that the strict criteria for the registration of pesticides have defined. Substances that have proven harmful, toxic and dangerous, should not be permitted,” said Klass.
But angry Socialist members accused centre-right politicians of “yielding to pressure” from the pesticides industry and voting down important new EU safeguards for people's health.
Condemning Christian Democrats and their allies for rejecting plans for a 20 per cent cut in pesticide use over 10 years, Danish Socialist Dan Jorgensen said: "The voting behaviour of the centre-right was absolutely disgraceful.
"I was shocked that they put the interests of the agro-chemical industry ahead of people's health and the environment.”
A third report in the package, by Irena Belohorská and concerning the thematic strategy for the sustainable use of pesticides, will go to the vote on Wednesday.
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