Brussels, Belgium
July 17, 2007
A recent court ruling in the EU
has set a new regulatory precedent and illustrates a need for
greater clarity and efficiency in the way pesticides are
regulated in the European Union (EU). The Court of First
Instance of the European Communities has ruled to annul the
European Commission’s decision allowing Member States to
authorize paraquat, a herbicide active substance which was
granted re-registration in December 2003.
CropLife International
(CropLife) supports the need for thorough regulation of
pesticides and believes that regulation must be founded in
science and sound risk assessment. The court’s judgment and the
choice of the judicial route to challenge the scientific
authority of the European Commission and its scientific agencies
and committees, illustrate a lack of confidence in the approval
process. “This is regrettable; agriculture and its partner
industries need predictable regulatory systems and decisions
grounded on authoritative and credible scientific assessments
and a common approach to risk management,” says Christian
Verschueren, Director-General of CropLife International.
Approval of all crop protection products results from a
detailed, comprehensive scientific review, including full
consideration of the views of EU Member States and stakeholders.
Extensive human and animal health and environmental impact
studies are part of this process. CropLife expects the
Commission to stand behind its regulatory decisions and notes
that it has the right within the next two months to appeal the
court’s decision. It also expects that the European Commission,
Parliament and Council will use the opportunity of the on-going
review of current regulations to further improve the regulatory
system.
CropLife and its members are willing to work with the
authorities to achieve improvements that result in greater
clarity and efficiency in the regulatory system including the
interpretation and application of the regulations and the pace
with which assessment takes place. “A comprehensive, balanced
risk assessment is best conducted by competent authorities with
their scientific experts reaching conclusions by weighing the
relative importance of all scientific evidence and the
conditions of use of the product, not through judicial courts
setting new standards for risk assessment”, concluded Christian
Verschueren.
Thorough science- and risk-based regulation is only one element
in pesticides risk management. Stewardship of products in
manufacture, use at farm level and beyond is the other important
element of managing those risks. The industry encourages farmers
to chose its products with care, use them only when needed, and
use only as much as needed. CropLife and its members run
extensive stewardship programs to train millions of farmers in
the responsible use of plant science products.
Pesticides exist to improve people’s lives, protecting food from
moulds, crops from weeds, insects and diseases, and homes from
vermin. With growing demands on food, animal feed, fiber and now
energy, the pressure on agriculture is mounting to deliver these
sustainably. Plant science technologies make an essential
contribution to increasing production, limiting the use of land
and water resources and reducing soil erosion and carbon dioxide
emissions.
CropLife International is the global federation representing
the plant science industry. It supports a network of regional
and national associations in over 90 countries, and is led by
companies such as BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences,
DuPont, FMC, Monsanto, Sumitomo and Syngenta. CropLife
International promotes the benefits of crop protection and
biotechnology products, their importance to sustainable
agriculture and food production, and their responsible use
through stewardship activities. |
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