 |
 |
|
|
News Releases Leading agricultural charities lodge complaint with EU Ombudsman on new European pesticide rules 12 December 2008 The British Crop Production Council and the Royal Agricultural Society of England have today jointly lodged a complaint with the EU Ombudsman on the European Commission's handling of the proposed EC Pesticide Authorisation Regulation. Both organisations claim that the European Commission has abused its power in failing to provide a comprehensive impact assessment on new hazard based pesticide cut off measures in the proposed Regulation, which is likely to be agreed following a vote in the European Parliament in January. The Prime Minister entered the debate on this issue last week confirming that the "UK did not support the adoption of a Council Common position on this Regulation earlier this year precisely because of the lack of a proper impact assessment". Commenting on the complaint to the EU Ombudsman, Dominic Dyer, Chief Executive of the Crop Protection Association said: “We welcome and support this complaint. Despite continued calls from national governments and food chain stakeholders across Europe, the European Commission has refused to carry out an EU wide impact assessment on the pesticide cut off measures. We are now facing a serious risk of introducing legislation which in Gordon Brown’s own words "will damage agriculture and food production without securing meaningful benefit for health or the environment". The Ombudsman must rule on the admissibility of the complaint within a month before taking up the complaint with the European Commission. |
|
For further information contact: |
 |
|
| © BCPC |