The Environment Committee of the European Parliament supports the objection of Dutch MEP Anja Hazekamp (Party for the Animals) against the extension of the EU approval for the agricultural pesticide Mancozeb. The European Commission wants to extend the authorization of this fungicide for another year.
The European approval for Mancozeb originally expired three years ago. Since then, the European Commission has repeatedly extended the approval, pending an opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). With its latest proposal, the European Commission wants to extend the current approval, which expires on January 31, for another year.
In a motion, Hazekamp points out, among other things, that Mancozeb consists of several components that have previously been banned in the EU due to health and environmental risks.
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Toxicologists associate Mancozeb with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. The Dutch television program Zembla reported in September on a higher number of people with Parkinson’s living in rural areas where Mancozeb or similar pesticides are used. Mancozeb is the most sold fungicide in the Netherlands. Figures obtained by Greenpeace Netherlands from the government show that 2.5 million kilograms of the substance were sold in the Netherlands in 2017.
The motion of the Environment Committee will now be placed on the agenda of the plenary session of the European Parliament, scheduled for the third week of December in Strasbourg.