This position paper deals with the role of public interest groups in the process of the evaluating and authorizing pesticides and with PAN Europe’s demands on the pesticide registration process in the framework of EU legislation and the forthcoming review of Directive 91/414.
On a national and international level it is increasingly recognised that public interest groups can and should play an important role in the formation of opinions and decision-making processes relevant to health and environmental protection. Authorities in a modern democracy should encourage and welcome public interest groups and set up structures that make effective participation possible. There is considerable public concern in Europe on how pesticides are assessed since many are commonly found as residues in food and water or are banned in some EU Member States because of their dangerous properties. Nevertheless, compared to other policy areas (e.g. chemicals or protection of the marine environment), transparency and participation in the way pesticides are authorised at EU and national levels is still very limited. Steps towards improving transparency and public participation will soon be undertaken in certain Member States, such as Germany and UK, as well as at European level. This paper presents PAN Europe’s point of view on these issues.