Europe swings an axe at periodic reviews of pesticide ingredients

A proposal to scrap periodic reviews of pesticide active ingredients and allow them to remain on the European Union (EU) market indefinitely has outraged environmental groups and ecologists.The European Commission on Dec. 16 unveiled details of a proposal to “simplify” legislation related to food and feed safety. It says the package of measures, which includes the new plan for pesticide reviews along with other measures, could save over €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in annual compliance costs and speed up the transition to pesticides that are more environmentally friendly.As part of the package, the commission would remove requirements for the periodic reassessment of approved agricultural and antimicrobial pesticide ingredients from two EU regulations on plant protection products and biocidal products.Pesticide active ingredients are currently subject to a systematic review every 10–15 years. The commission says this eats up valuable administrative resources. As a consequence, the assessment of new active substances and first-time authorizations of innovative pesticide products consistently face delays of 5–10 years.The European Environmental Bureau (EEB), which represents over 180 organizations across Europe, calls the proposal “a slap in the face of science and citizens.” The group says mandatory reevaluations are a “cornerstone” of EU pesticide law and the “primary mechanism for identifying emerging risks.”Contrastingly, the European Crop Care Association (ECCA) says more targeted reassessments will make the laws run more efficiently. The proposal “brings our industry closer to strengthening the competitiveness of European agriculture, while maintaining scientific scrutiny to protect health and the environment,” ECCA general manager, Paolo Marchesini,