NGOs and scientists step up mobilisation as EU pesticide debate enters a decisive phase
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The debate over the European Commission’s Food and Feed Safety Omnibus is entering a crucial phase. As the European Parliament prepares to consider the proposal, environmental organisations, scientists, farmers and civil society groups across Europe are stepping up their mobilisation, calling for stronger safeguards for health, biodiversity and food systems.
The European Commission presented the proposal as a simplification exercise to reduce administrative burdens while maintaining high standards of food and feed safety, human and animal health, and environmental protection.
However, critics argue that some proposed changes could weaken important safeguards in pesticide legislation, including the way pesticides are reassessed and how the latest scientific evidence is taken into account.
For BeeLife and many civil society organisations, the priority questions are:
Is this the right direction to simplify pesticide authorisation?
Could we not simplify procedures by making 27 EU countries work as one?
Can simplification move forward without weakening the protections on which people, farmers and ecosystems depend?
A key moment in the legislative process
The European Parliament is currently examining the proposal through its ENVI and AGRI committees. Their joint vote is currently scheduled for 5 October, although the date could still change as discussions and amendments continue.
The Council is also continuing its work on the package. While Member States have agreed a position on several elements of the broader food and feed safety proposal, discussions on the more politically sensitive pesticide provisions remain ongoing.
This means that the coming months will be important for shaping the final direction of the legislation.
Mobilisation is spreading across Europe
The debate is no longer confined to Brussels.
Civil society organisations are organising actions and public mobilisation in several European countries. France was among the first to mobilise, with demonstrations and public initiatives on 10 and 11 September as part of a broader European effort to draw attention to the potential consequences of the proposed changes.
Similar initiatives are emerging across Europe, bringing together environmental organisations, farmers, health professionals, scientists and citizens around a common concern: that regulatory simplification should not come at the expense of health and environmental protection.
Find out more at the following links https://www.generations-futures.fr/actualites/mob-omnibus-x/ https://mobilisation.pollinis.org/non-omnibus-pesticides
Take part in the demo: https://framaforms.org/signature-de-lappel-a-mobilisation-contre-lomnibus-pesticides-1783334650
Sign the Petition For Health, Bees and Farmers: https://www.bee-life.eu/for-health-bees-and-farmers
Scientists call for a pause
The mobilisation is also gaining support from the scientific community.
More than 500 scientists, practitioners and public health and environmental officials have signed a letter addressed to the European Parliament and the Council, raising concerns about the speed of the legislative process.
The letter, submitted by Professor Martina Vijver of Leiden University and co-signed by 573 other scientists, calls for a pause in the political debate until a thorough and independent assessment of the proposal’s potential health, environmental and administrative impacts has been carried out.
The signatories argue that a reform of this scale would normally require a detailed assessment of its consequences before lawmakers take a final decision.
This call comes alongside other scientific concerns already raised during the parliamentary debate. In September, Professor Vijver was the only independent scientist addressing environmental toxicity and pesticide impacts during a joint ENVI–AGRI hearing on the proposal.
Why this matters for pollinators
For BeeLife, pesticide regulation cannot be considered separately from pollinator health and the ecosystems that depend on them.
Bees and other pollinators face multiple pressures, including exposure to a cocktail of pesticides and declining habitat quality. Changes to the regulatory framework can therefore have consequences that extend beyond individual pesticide authorisations, affecting biodiversity, ecosystem resilience and the sustainability of agriculture.
The concern is not simply about maintaining existing rules for their own sake. It is about ensuring that decisions affecting health and the environment remain based on sound science, independent assessment and adequate safeguards.
Staying informed matters
As the legislative process moves forward, understanding what is at stake will become increasingly important for everyone involved in agriculture, beekeeping, environmental protection and food systems.
BeeLife and PAN Europe are working together on a webinar to explain the political landscape around the Food and Feed Safety Omnibus, the next steps in the legislative process and what they could mean for pesticide regulation, pollinators and agriculture.
We'll share more information about the webinar soon.
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