Danger! Glyphosate may Expose Weaknesses in Institutional Systems: EU Legislation and Comitology in the Face of a Controversial Reauthorisation

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-449
Author(s):  
Ton VAN DEN BRINK
Keyword(s):  
Plant Protection ◽  
Current System ◽  
Central Element ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Plant Protection Products ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Face ◽  
Legislative Choice

The 2017 glyphosate reauthorisation process has exposed key weaknesses of the EU’s institutional system. First, the role of Germany as Member State rapporteur and the subsequent decision to appoint a group of Member States to form the Assessment Group on Glyphosate (AGG) suggest that the nature of scientific assessments become blurred. These assessments are apparently not just purely objective, science-based and procedural elements of the authorization procedure, but require support from a significant number of Member States as well. Second, the arduous comitology trajectory in the glyphosate reauthorisation process has caused the Commission to initiate questionable changes to comitology. These changes would corrupt the coherence of the EU’s legislative system in general and the constitutional distinction between delegated and implementing acts in particular. Moreover, they would overlook the more obvious solution of relying more on discretion on the part of the Commission. Lastly, the glyphosate reauthorisation has questioned the dichotomy between legislation and executive rule-making, an equally central element of the EU’s constitutional order. This dichotomy is based on a distinction between essential elements that belong to the legislative domain and non-essential element which are more technical in nature. It has been claimed that weighing the economic benefits of pesticides against the health and environmental costs associated with their use is in essence a legislative choice. This claim highlights not so much the practical problem of how to draw the line between political and technical decision-making, but rather denies the very meaning of the dichotomy altogether. Yet, the current system on the placing on the market of plant protection products – based on the legislation providing the general framework and the executive applying this in concrete cases – is certainly not devoid of coherence and logic.

scholarly journals Protection possibilities of agricultural minor crops in the European Union: a case study of soybean, lupin and camelina

2019 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Matyjaszczyk
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Active Substance ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Plant Protection Products ◽  
Agricultural Crops ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Minor Crops ◽  
Chemical Products

Abstract In the central part of the European Union soybean, lupin and camelina are minor agricultural crops. The paper presents analysis of plant protection products availability for those crops in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Data from year 2019 show that availability of products is generally insufficient. For camelina in some countries, there are no chemical products available whatsoever. For lupin and soybean, there are not always products available to control some pest groups. However, the products on the market differ significantly among the member states. The results show that in protection of soybean, lupin and camelina, no single active substance is registered for the same crop in all the analysed member states. In very numerous cases, active substance is registered in one out of eight analysed member states only.

scholarly journals The role of the European Food Safety Authority in the active substance approval and renewal procedures within the EU pesticide policy

2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (90) ◽  
pp. 165-187
Author(s):  
Slađana Mladenović
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Active Substance ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Plant Protection Products ◽  
Scientific Output ◽  
European Food Safety Authority ◽  
Scientific Quality ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Eu

The EU decentralised agencies are involved in various sectorial EU policies and related composite procedures. One of the agencies, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), has a prominent role in the composite procedures within the EU pesticide policy - the active substance approval and renewal procedures. These procedures represent the initial steps in the complex administrative process of placing on the market and control of use of plant protection products. The procedures are arranged under the linear risk analysis model within which the scientific risk assessment is performed by Member States and the EFSA, while the political risk management is performed by the Commission and Member States in the comitology procedure. After a brief analysis of the key stages and outcomes of the procedures, the paper discusses two topics. The first relates to the properties of three key aspects of the EFSA's role in the procedures: 1) involvement in adopting guidance documents; 2) publishing appropriate documents and deciding on confidentiality requests; and 3) preparing and submitting the conclusion, its main scientific output related to active substance. The second topic includes five elements of confidence in the EFSA regarding the course and outcome of the procedure: efficiency, independence, transparency, high scientific quality and effective risk communication. The paper discusses the properties of the elements, the main identified challenges associated with them, as well as ongoing and future responses to these challenges, especially those introduced by the Transparency Regulation, adopted in 2019 and applicable from 27 March 2021.

The Transition to a New EU Plant Protection Regime – Legal Problems in the Regulatory Field

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-414
Author(s):  
Gérardine Garçon
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Plant Protection Products ◽  
Common Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Past ◽  
Legal Problems ◽  
Council Directive ◽  
The Common

The plant protection law within the European Union has been continuously developed over the past two decades. Whereas harmonized provisions for the placing of plant protection products on the common market were introduced by Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 (hereinafter the “Directive”), almost two decades later, a revision of the Directive has been passed which takes, in order to ensure consistency throughout the Member States and to provide for simplification, the form of a regulation. Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (hereinafter the “Regulation”) was adopted on 21 October 2009.

scholarly journals Euroskepticism, a Multifaceted Phenomenon

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Bijsmans
Keyword(s):  
Central Element ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Maastricht Treaty ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Member States ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Key Questions ◽  
Broad Overview

In an age of Brexit, Euroskepticism has become a central element in debates about Europe. It is generally believed that there has been an increase in criticism on and opposition toward the European Union (EU) and its policies since the 1991 Maastricht Treaty. Yet, criticism was already present at the start of the integration process, also among mainstream parties in the six founding members. With the EU’s recent crises, Euroskepticism has become embedded in contestation in most member states, affecting politics at the national and European level. Consequently, it is important to understand Euroskepticism in contemporary Europe and to gather a broad overview of its development, its meaning, and its wider consequences. Euroskepticism is a diverse, multifaceted phenomenon that varies across time, member states, and policies. Exploring the history of Euroskepticism helps to contextualize contemporary developments and to understand some of the main debates and issues in the field, including conceptual challenges, but also debates about the reasons for Euroskepticism and what kind of impact it might have. One of the key questions in this respect is whether Euroskepticism should be seen as a problematic phenomenon or as an essential element of a democratic Europe. While conventional negative connotations associated with Euroskepticism suggest the former, research finds a broader variety of criticism and opposition to the EU and its policies that may be conducive to a more democratic EU debate.

The Church as a Sacrament in a Time of Pandemic: The Philippine Experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-280
Author(s):  
Rhoderick John Suarez Abellanosa
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Social Instability ◽  
Presence Of God ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

The declaration of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in various provinces and cities in the Philippines did not impede the Catholic Church from celebrating its sacraments and popular devotions. Mired with poverty and various forms of economic and social limitations, the presence of God for Filipinos is an essential element in moving forward and surviving in a time of pandemic. Predominantly Roman Catholic in religious affiliation, seeking the face of God has been part of Filipinos' lives whenever a serious disaster would strike. This essay presents how the clergy, religious and lay communities in the Philippines have innovatively and creatively sustained treasured religious celebrations as a sign of communion and an expression of faith. In addition to online Eucharistic celebrations that are more of a privilege for some, culturally contextualised efforts were made during the Lenten Season and even on Sundays after Easter. This endeavour ends with a reflection on the Church as the sacrament of God in a time of pandemic. Pushed back to their homes, deprived of life's basic necessities and facing threats of social instability, unemployment and hunger, Filipinos through their innovative celebrations find in their communion with their Church the very presence of God acting significantly in their lives.

Integration of CAD/CAE/RP Environment for Developing a New Product in Medical Field

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (9A) ◽  
pp. 1276-1282
Author(s):  
Nabeel I. Allawy ◽  
Amjad B. Abdulghafour
Keyword(s):  
Maxillofacial Surgery ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Severe Trauma ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Oral And Maxillofacial Surgery ◽  
Virtual Surgery ◽  
Multiple Fractures ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Mesh Model ◽  
The Face

Reconstruction of the mandible after severe trauma is one of the most difficult challenges facing oral and maxillofacial surgery. The mandible is an essential element in the appearance of the human face that gives the distinctive shape of the face, holds. This paper aims to propose a methodology that allows the surgeon to perform virtual surgery by investing engineering programs to place the implant by default and with high accuracy within the mandible based on the patient's medical data. The current study involved a 35-year-old man suffering from a traffic accident in the mandible with multiple fractures of the facial bones. Basically, an identification of the steps required to perform virtual surgery and modeling images from the CBCT technology has been done by using the software proposed in the research. The implant model is designed as a mesh model, allowing the patient to return to a normal position. Moreover, an application of FEA procedures using the Solidworks simulation software to test and verify the mechanical properties of the final transplant.

scholarly journals Effect of the Application Date of Fertilizer Containing Silicon and Potassium on the Yield and Technological Quality of Sugar Beet Roots

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 370
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Artyszak ◽  
Dariusz Gozdowski ◽  
Alicja Siuda
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Beet ◽  
Foliar Application ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Plant Protection Products ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Yield Increase ◽  
Time Of Application ◽  
Technological Quality

Water shortage and drought are a growing problem in Europe. Therefore, effective methods for limiting its effects are necessary. At the same time, the “field to fork” strategy adopted by the European Commission aims to achieve a significant reduction in the use of plant protection products and fertilizers in the European Union. In an experiment conducted in 2018–2020, the effect of the method of foliar fertilization containing silicon and potassium on the yield and technological quality of sugar beet roots was assessed. The fertilizer was used in seven combinations, differing in the number and time of application. The best results were obtained by treating plants during drought stress. The better soil moisture for the plants, the smaller the pure sugar yield increase was observed. It is difficult to clearly state which combination of silicon and potassium foliar application is optimal, as their effects do not differ greatly.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document