EU may abolish regular pesticide reviews — France 24
France and the EU expect a vote at the end of October on the Omnibus X legislative package, which could abolish regular reviews of authorisations for pesticide use. Scientists, doctors and people who link their illnesses to prolonged contact with such substances warn that this could make it more difficult to remove dangerous products from the market, France 24 reports.
The European Commission has proposed a package of amendments to ten EU acts regulating pesticides, biocides, substance residues in food, animal feed and official controls. The initiative is intended to speed up regulatory procedures. The European Commission said the reform would not weaken food safety or environmental protection.
Reviews of authorisations may be abolished
Currently, authorisation to use a pesticide has a limited validity period, and the manufacturer must prove the product’s safety again in order to renew it. One of the key changes in Omnibus X envisages abolishing such periodic reassessments. The product would then remain on the market by default, while regulators or EU member states would have to initiate a procedure themselves to restrict or ban it.
Ecotoxicologist Martina Weyver called regular reviews a “safety net” necessary to take account of new scientific data. She initiated an open letter calling for the vote to be postponed until an independent assessment of the reform’s possible impact on human health and the environment is conducted. The letter was signed by 573 specialists in ecology, medicine and public health.
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The package could also extend the maximum transition period for replacing banned pesticides from 18 months to three years and ease conditions for the exceptional use of banned substances, including substances that disrupt the endocrine system.
Protests in France
In France, farmers, people with cancer, medical professionals and environmental activists have spoken out against the possible weakening of the rules. Last week, around 8,000 people gathered near a Syngenta facility in the north of the country. The French organisation Générations Futures also organised awareness actions across the country.
According to France 24, the number of applications from agricultural workers seeking official recognition of pesticide-related illnesses in France rose from 318 in 2024 to 975 in 2025. Former beekeeper José Nadan, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had his illness recognised as occupational, now helps other affected farmers.
As an example of the importance of reassessment, scientists cite the insecticide chlorpyrifos. It was authorised in the EU in 2006, but after a review, the European Food Safety Authority concluded in 2019 that it was impossible to determine a safe level of exposure to the substance. Following a decision adopted in January 2020, member states had three months to withdraw all products containing chlorpyrifos.
