Nearly four years after the UK left the European Union (EU) and gained the ability to deviate from community standards, there are 36 pesticides banned in the EU but permitted on UK soil, according to a report published by Pesticide Action Network UK.
Most of these chemicals (30 of them) were permitted in EU countries when the UK broke ties with the bloc on 31 January 2020, but have since been banned, while six others have been approved by the UK Government, but not by Brussels.
One of the main causes of this situation is London’s decision to automatically extend all pesticide permits that were due to expire before December this year for three years.
“The emerging gap between UK and EU pesticide standards is extremely worrying for human health and environmental protection,” said Nick Mole, a spokesman for the organisation, in a statement.
“But this also applies to the future of UK farming, as our standards fall further and further behind those of our main trading partners. UK food exports contain pesticides that EU farmers are not allowed to use, and may be rejected,” he said. debate. .
The spokesman warned that the consequences could be “devastating” for rural areas of England, given that the European Union is the destination of around 60% of UK agricultural exports.
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