To:First Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans
Health & Food Saftey Commissioner Stella Kyriakides
Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski
Environment, Oceans & Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius
Subject: Prohibiting the export of banned pesticides and the import of food produced with thesechemicals
Dear First Executive Vice President,
Dear Commissioners,
We, the undersigned civil society organisations, are writing to ask you to prohibit not only the exportof hazardous pesticides that are banned in the EU, but also the import of food and agricultural goods
produced with such pesticides outside the EU.
Export of banned pesticides
In July this year, 36 United Nations human rights experts issued a statement calling on the EU andother wealthy nations to end the “deplorable” practice of exporting banned toxic chemicals,
including pesticides, to poorer countries with weaker regulations.
An in-depth investigation has shown that, in 2018 alone, EU member states approved the export ofmore than 81,000 tonnes of pesticides containing 41 hazardous chemicals that have been bannedfor agricultural use in the EU, in order to protect human health and/or the environment.
Most exports of these hazardous pesticides went to low- and middle-income countries, which lackthe capacity to control the substances’ risks throughout their life cycle, and where they result inwidespread human rights violations and devastating impacts on human health, biodiversity,ecosystems and the environment.
Against this background, we welcome the European Commission’s commitment, under theChemicals Strategy for Sustainability, to “ensure that hazardous chemicals banned in the European
Union are not produced for export”, and under the REFIT evaluation of the Pesticides and MRLsRegulations to “use all its diplomacy, trade policy and development support instruments” topromote a global phase-out of pesticides that are no longer approved in the EU.
Whilst we recognise that an EU ban on such exports will not by itself achieve a global ban, westrongly believe that a global transition away from the use of hazardous pesticides cannot beaccomplished unless the EU takes the lead and stops these exports.
Import of food produced with banned pesticides
Some of these hazardous pesticides find their way back to Europe as residues in imported food. Infact, the countries that are the EU’s most important sources of imported agri-food products are allamong the top destinations for the EU’s exports of banned pesticides.
As recent research has shown, the residues of 74 pesticides banned in the EU were found in foodtested on the European market in 2018. Among the pesticides concerned, 22 were exported from
Europe that same year.
The import of food that has been treated with pesticides banned in the EU puts European farmers ina position of unfair competition. It also jeopardises the health of agricultural workers, of the generalpopulation and that of the environment in producing countries, and may even put the health ofEuropean consumers at risk.
The EU should ensure that no banned pesticides are allowed as residues in food and agricultural
goods placed on the European market.
French example
In 2018, France wrote into law a ban on the production, storage, distribution and export of plant
protection products that contain active substances that have not been approved in the EU forreasons related to the protection of human health or the environment, as of January 2022. This banwill also apply to the import of foods produced with such pesticides.
We are asking you to follow this example, and to urgently take steps to ban both the export of all
pesticides that are banned in the EU in order to protect human health or the environment, and theimport of food and agricultural goods made with such pesticides.
Global phase-out of hazardous pesticides
Maintaining the current practice would contradict the European Green Deal and the Commission’scommitment under the Farm to Fork Strategy - and the most recent Chemical Strategy for
Sustainability - to promote safety and sustainability standards outside the EU in order to achievesustainable food systems “not only within its borders, but also outside”.
The EU has a global leadership role to play on these issues and can help to achieve an international
consensus that these abhorrent practices, which result in discrimination and exploitation, must end.
This could be achieved by establishing a new UN mechanism to promote a phase-out of highly
hazardous pesticides globally in cooperation with FAO, WHO, UNEP and ILO.
Brussels, 05/11/2020
Signatories-international

Signatories National

Signatories (alphabetically)
InternationalAgroecology EuropeCenter for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
ClientEarth
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT)
European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC)
European Environmental Bureau (EEB)
European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER)
European Professional Beekeepers Association (EPBA)
Fair Trade Advocacy Office
Fairtrade International
Food & Water Action Europe
foodwatchGreenpeace European Unit
Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL)
Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe
Health and Environment Justice Support (HEJ Support)
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Europe (IATP)
International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE)
International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers'
Associations (IUF)
Justice Pesticides
Navdanya International
Pesticide Action Network Europe
Pesticide Action Network International
Slow Food Europe
WECF International
NationalArnika
Association de défense de l’environnement et de la nature de l’Yonne (ADENY)
Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany
Austrian Doctors for the Environment (AeGU)
Biopark e.V.
BUND/Friends of the Earth Germany
Bundesverband Naturkost Naturwaren (BNN) e.V.
Christian Initiative Romero (CIR)
Colibri Association
Coordination gegen BAYER-Gefahren
Earth Thrive
Earth Trek/Zemljane staze
ECOCITY
Ecodesign Competence Centre
Eco-Hvar
Ecologistas en Acción

Ernährungsrat München
Estonian Green Movement
FDCL - Center for Research and Documentation Chile-Latin America
FodesamFramtiden i våre hender
Generations Futures
Gen-ethische Netzwerk (GeN)GENUK e.V. [Gemeinnütziges Netzwerk für Umweltkranke]
GLOBAL 2000
GLS - Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft
GMWatchHogar sin Tóxicos (Foundación Vivo Sano)
InkotaInstitut Marquès
Integrated Resources Management Co ltd (IRMCo)
ISDE Italy
Latvian Fund for NatureNeo-AgriOxfam Germany
Pesticide Action Network Germany
Pesticide Action Network Italy
Pesticide Action Network Netherlands
Pesticide Action Network UK
POLLINISPowerShift e.V.
Public Eye
SNA- Syndicat national d'ApicultureSÜDWIND e. V. – institute for economy and ecumenism
The Cancer Prevention and Education Society
The Federation of the Romanian Beekeeping Associations (ROMAPIS)
VamosVia Pontica Foundation
WECF -France
WECF -Germany
ZERO – Associação Sistema Terrestre Sustentável