This week, it was confirmed that a deal has been struck bringing the UK into dynamic alignment with EU food and farming standards, including on pesticides. Full details of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement have yet to be announced, but with pesticides in scope, PAN UK welcomes the news. This should signal an end to the overall weakening of pesticide standards that we’ve seen since Brexit.
PAN UK’s new briefing outlines where the UK and EU have diverged, and highlights the key benefits that realignment will bring.
In summary, the agreement should mean:
- Adoption of all current EU approvals for pesticide active substances including their conditions of use.
- Removal of approvals for any active substances that are currently allowed in the UK but have been withdrawn by the EU.
- UK Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) aligned with the EU’s, whose are often stricter.
- Electronic recording of pesticide use in the UK, as is already required in Northern Ireland and the EU.
However, we want to see the agreement (or related processes) allow for UK pesticide standards to go further than EU restrictions in future, particularly in the context of worrying developments with the EU Omnibus discussions.
We have already seen industry lobbyists complain about the UK having to meet tougher standards, following the agreement. Their arguments tend to focus solely on economic impacts and fail to acknowledge that active substances are banned for good reason. We also know that where pesticide approvals have been withdrawn in the EU, many farmers have innovated with non-chemical alternatives. It’s not a case of having to choose between chemicals or catastrophe.
For more information on how the UK currently differs from the EU on pesticides, and the opportunities that realignment brings, check out our briefing.
