Health and Environment Alliance | Press Releases: Pesticides

Worrying news for health: MEPs reject watered down and hollowed out pesticides law

23rd November 2023

Members of the European Parliament voted against the draft text for a Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR), following a substantial hollowing out of the draft law. This is worrying news for health.

Press note: Good and bad news for health as the ENVI Committee votes on pesticides

24th October 2023

The European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), voted on the draft proposal for a Sustainable use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR) and the non-binding objection to the renewal of the widely used pesticide glyphosate. While the objection for non-renewal of glyphosate failed, the SUR was adopted, but in order to truly protect health more ambition is needed.

Press note: Health groups react to European Commission’s failed attempt to reauthorise glyphosate for 10 years

13th October 2023

Today, the European Commission failed to get enough support for its proposal to reauthorise the use of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used pesticide which is associated with risks of cancer and other health disorders, for another ten years.

Press note: EU government representatives to discuss glyphosate renewal 12-13 October

10th October 2023

On 12-13 October 2023, EU member states’ representatives convening in the European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCoPAFF) are expected to discuss and potentially vote on the Commission’s proposal to renew glyphosate’s market license for a period of 10 years.

Press release – Victory for health: European General Court upholds ban for chlorpyrifos-methyl

4th October 2023

Today the General Court of the European Court of Justice ruled that the 2019 EU-wide ban of the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos-methyl remains in force. This follows a legal case against the European Commission by Ascenza Agro and Industries Afrasa, manufacturers of the pesticide, which challenged the quality and the legality of the scientific assessment that led to the ban.

373 civil society groups urge leaders to take ambitious action to phase out world’s most dangerous pesticides

25th September 2023

373 civil society and Indigenous Peoples organizations from 74 countries urged leaders at a historic global conference to act with urgency to phase out Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), a particular group of pesticides that cause the most severe harm to human health and the environment and are considered too dangerous for use.

Press note: Health groups concerned about EFSA statement suggesting absence of health concerns in the renewal assessment of probable carcinogen glyphosate

6th July 2023

A statement published today by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide on the planet, does not pose unacceptable risks for human health, despite independent scientific evidence to the contrary. More...

Environmental health groups welcome introduction of European harmonised hazard classes for endocrine disruptors

19th December 2022

The European Commission has today released its proposal for the creation of dedicated hazard classes for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) under the EU legislation for classification, labelling and packaging of…

David vs Goliath: French farmer victim of pesticide poisoning brings the story of his legal battle against agri-giant Bayer-Monsanto to Brussels to support pesticides phase out

8th December 2022

Today, French farmer Paul François is in Brussels following the release of another national court ruling, as part of his decade-long legal battle against agribusiness giant Bayer-Monsanto.

European Commission mustn’t abandon hazardous chemical exports ban commitments made in EU Green Deal

1st December 2022

Ahead of the Global No Pesticides Day on 3 December, more than 325 civil society organisations from across the globe, institutions and trade unions are publishing today a Joint Statement demanding a ban on the export of hazardous chemicals that are forbidden in the EU.

Current pesticide reduction measures fail to protect vulnerable groups from pesticide pollution, new study from Italy shows

4th October 2022

A study carried out in the Italian province of Bolzano-South Tyrol reveals that despite measures taken by local authorities to reduce pesticide pollution, synthetic pesticides that can harm health and the environment are still detected in nearby children's playgrounds and schoolyards.

Today: HEAL in European Court of Justice to defend the ban of health-harming pesticide chlorpyrifos-methyl

8th September 2022

The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) will appear in the European Court of Justice today to support the European Commission in its defense over the ban of chlorpyrifos-methyl and the scientific assessment that led to it.

Health groups welcome Europe’s plan to reduce pesticide dependency but demand stronger protection measures

22nd June 2022

Responding to the European Commission's delayed proposal for a Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products Regulation (SUR), HEAL and several health groups caution that the measures set by the new plan will not achieve a meaningful reduction of Europe's dependency on synthetic pesticides.

Scientific evidence of glyphosate link to cancer dismissed in ongoing EU assessment, new report reveals

8th June 2022

A HEAL report published today shows that scientific evidence that glyphosate is carcinogenic has so far been dismissed in the EU scientific assessment that will form the basis for the re-approval discussion of its EU market license.

Health and environmental groups raise alarms over EU Chemicals Agency’s failure to classify glyphosate as a carcinogen for human health

30th May 2022

Health and environmental organisations have expressed severe concerns after the European Chemicals Agency’s Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) concluded that the widely-used pesticide-active substance glyphosate does not meet the criteria to be labeled as a carcinogenic or genotoxic agent.

Delay to EU Pesticide Reduction Exposes Citizens to Increased Health Risks

23rd March 2022

Responding to the European Commission’s deferral [1] of today’s College discussion on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products Regulation (SUR) proposal contrary to what was originally announced [2], the…

Joint statement: The EU Commission must do better to transition away from synthetic pesticides

28th February 2022

70+ organisations have published ten demands to be urgently taken on board by the EU Commission for the revision of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive.

European Parliament recognises the European Green Deal as a significant contributing factor to cancer prevention in Europe

17th February 2022

The European Parliament has adopted its non-legislative report responding to the publication of the EU Commission 2021 communication on Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, recognising the EU Green Deal is a key tool to limit people’s exposure to pollution and prevent cancer.

Glyphosate: EU toxicity assessment report still fails to address health risks of world’s most-used pesticide

25th November 2021

A review of the EU assessment report from the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) on the toxicity of the popular pesticide glyphosate confirms that the evaluation is still mostly based on studies and arguments provided by the chemical industry.

Glyphosate: Health and cancer groups ask France to publicly clarify contradictory position regarding the health effects of the world’s top-selling herbicide

4th November 2021

Is France making a dangerous U-turn on its position on glyphosate? In an open letter published today, HEAL, the Association of European Cancer Leagues and La Ligue contre le Cancer urge the French government to publicly clarify its position regarding the health risks posed by the substance.