Lisbon, Dec. 5, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese environmental association, Quercus, on Friday warned of what it considers to be an "unprecedented attack" by the European Commission on pesticide legislation, accusing the institution of putting industry interests above health and the environment.
The European Commission (EC) "proposes unlimited approvals of pesticides," Quercus said in a statement, classifying the Commission's proposal as "deregulation" of the sector and calling for citizen mobilisation.
"Quercus expresses deep concern about the proposed amendment to the Omnibus Regulation on Food and Feed, which will be considered for official voting on the 16th December" by the EC, the association said in the statement.
The Omnibus Regulation consists of a series of European Union (EU) legislative proposals to simplify regulation, particularly in the area of sustainability.
In the statement, the Portuguese association says that the EC proposal, led by the EC national health authority, under the pretext of simplification, "actually represents an unprecedented attack on the pillars" of the regulation on the placing of pesticides on the market, which aims to protect citizens and the environment from the risks of pesticides.
The association points to three changes that the EC intends to approve and which it considers "extremely serious", one of which is the approval of pesticides for an unlimited period, eliminating mandatory periodic reviews, which are essential for re-evaluating substances in the light of the most up-to-date scientific knowledge.
"Without this incentive, dangerous pesticides can remain on the market indefinitely, ignoring new data on their toxicity," explains Quercus.
Another serious change is that it will no longer be mandatory for countries to consider the latest independent scientific evidence when authorising pesticide products.
And the third serious amendment, says Quercus, is the doubling of the grace periods for banned pesticides, which means that pesticides considered dangerous and banned can continue to be sold for another three years.
"This proposal represents a serious setback, threatening science and jeopardising the principal of precaution and the purpose of protecting public health and biodiversity," says Alexandra Azevedo, president of Quercus, quoted in the statement.
Angeliki Lyssimachou, director of Science and Policy at the European organisation Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe), also quoted in the statement, said that highly toxic pesticides were only banned because independent science, and not industry studies, revealed their excessive toxicity.
"It is unacceptable that, in the face of demands from European citizens to reduce pesticide use," the EC is preparing a "legislative setback that puts industry interests ahead of public health, biodiversity and water and soil quality," Quercus accuses.
The association, which is a member of PAN Europe, demands that the EC reject the amendments and calls on citizens to join the protests by sending an email to the Portuguese Commissioner, Maria Luís Albuquerque, urging her to reject the proposal, or via the PAN Europe website.
PAN Europe is a network of European organisations that seeks to reduce the use of dangerous pesticides and replace them with environmentally friendly alternatives. It brings together nearly fifty consumer, public health and environmental organisations from across the EU.
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