Request for the setting up an inquiry committee on pesticides
Text of the draft mandate
On 1st of June 2023, several European media outlets reported a new research assessing the non-disclosure of developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) studies by plant protection products when submitting applications for market authorisations. The researchers found that 9 of the 35 DNT studies submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency as part of the pesticide approval were not included in dossiers sent to the EU authorities for the same pesticides. These nine undisclosed DNT studies were produced between 2001 and 2007, up to 20 years before the submission of the most recent EU regulatory dossiers.
These undisclosed studies showed the potential risks of the substances, causing changes in brain size, delaying sexual maturation and reducing weight gain in the offspring of laboratory rats exposed to a pesticide when pregnant. The EU authorities became aware of the studies between 2017 and 2022, so only between 14 and 21 years after they were conducted. According to the researchers, these undisclosed studies could have had an impact on the decision of market authorisation for at least four substances because of the potential effect on toxicological reference values or hazard classification.
The European Parliament, representing the Union’s citizens, has to react and investigate the scale of the revelations to verify whether the EU legislation at the time was properly implemented by Member States and enforced by the European Commission. Indeed, since 1991 and Council Directive No 91/414/EEC and also since 2009 and Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, there is an obligation on producers to submit a complete list of tests and studies related to the substance for which they ask for authorisation and there is an obligation on Member States to declare applications inadmissible if incomplete.
This is why we are launching today the collection of signatures for an inquiry committee to be set-up until the end of the European Parliament mandate and investigate possible cases of maladministration.
