Poll finds broad opposition to easing EU pesticide rules

The survey of more than 7,000 people in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania and Spain found support for unlimited pesticide approval at 4 to 6 percent in six of the countries, and 10 percent in Romania. Support for phasing out pesticides entirely ranged from 68 percent in Spain to 80 percent in Romania.

Opposition to increased pesticide use crossed political lines, the poll found. Conservative and centre-right voters were only marginally more supportive of deregulation than green and left-wing voters.

The findings contrast with the European Commission’s “Food and Feed Safety” proposal, tabled last December, and with the position of leading members of the European Parliament who want to deregulate more than the Commission. The proposal would make unlimited approvals for pesticide active substances the norm, ending regular safety reviews. Since EU pesticide rules took effect in 2011, those reviews have enabled 54 harmful substances to be banned.

Under the current system, pesticides receive approval for a limited period and must be reassessed every 10 to 15 years. “The message is clear: unlimited pesticide approvals have no public support, not even from conservative and far-right voters,” said Salomé Roynel, a policy officer at PAN Europe. She said MEPs seeking to weaken safeguards were “out of step with the people they represent.”