Scientists and pesticide victims fear EU rollback of pesticide rules
The EU is set to vote in late October on "Omnibus X", a legislative package that could make it harder to ban harmful pesticides. Scientists and victims warn it would scrap the regular re-evaluation of pesticides.
The European Union is expected to vote at the end of October on a legislative package known as "Omnibus X", which would amend ten EU laws covering pesticides, biocides, food residues, animal feed and official controls. Scientists, doctors and pesticide victims in France fear it will make it harder to ban harmful chemicals. The European Commission, which proposed the package, says it aims to speed up procedures and cut red tape without compromising food safety or environmental protection.
What the amendments would change
The most criticised proposal is to scrap the periodic re-evaluation of pesticides. Currently, a pesticide's approval expires on a set date and the manufacturer must show again that the product is safe. If approvals no longer expired, products would stay on the market by default, and regulators such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or individual member states would have to raise the alarm. The package would also extend the maximum grace period for replacing banned pesticides from 18 months to three years and loosen the conditions for exceptional use of banned substances, including endocrine disruptors.
Ecotoxicologist Martina Vijver wrote an open letter on 17 September urging the European Parliament to pause the vote until an independent investigation of the health and environmental effects is carried out. A further 573 experts signed it. She calls periodic review a "safety lock". As an example, she points to the insecticide chlorpyrifos, approved in the EU in 2006; in 2019 EFSA concluded that no safe exposure level could be set, and the substance was banned in January 2020.
Victims speak out
In France, José Nadan, 69, a former beekeeper, treated a cider apple orchard for years with a product containing glyphosate. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer six years ago, and the illness was officially recognised as an occupational disease. Denis Benoit, 65, and retired doctor Edmond Leduc have also been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Requests by agricultural workers for recognition of pesticide-related illness rose from 318 in 2024 to 975 in 2025.
Last weekend, 8,000 people protested outside a Syngenta factory in northern France. The organisation Générations Futures is running awareness events across the country.
