Contentious pesticide restrictions come into force

摘要

EU efforts to phase out pesticides posing the greatest danger to human health and the environment have succeeded in removing some 65 per cent of active substances from the market, the European Commission claimed, as new rules came into force last week. At the latest count, some 353 entries remain on the list of approved substances, compared to around 1,000 in use before 1993, when the EU launched its efforts to set up the positive list of permitted substances and to phase out harmful items. On 14 June updated rules came into force tightening the authorisation criteria for active substances.