During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs debate on the report by Christa KLASS (EPP, DE) on biocidal products.

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

use of pesticides and herbicides (T)

RIVASI, Michèle (Greens/EFA, FR)

JØRGENSEN, Dan (S&D, DK)

SEEBER, Richard (EPP, AT)

LEPAGE, Corinne (ALDE, FR)

SARTORI, Amalia (EPP, IT)

KLASS, Christa (EPP, DE)

Biocidal products: extracts from the debate on the report by Christa KLASS (EPP, DE)

SOUNDBITE (German), Christa KLASS (EPP, DE), These biocidal products need to be effective but of course if they're used in the wrong way they become dangerous, that's why we need stricter, tighter regulation. We need to balance carefully the advantages and the dangerous side of these products; we need to make sure that we handle these products in a sensible and proper way. We need a strategy for the sustainable use of biocidal products and we need information about alternatives to these products.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christa KLASS (EPP, DE), Nanoparticles are an important issue; they can actually affect us greatly through the skin. Research should be promoted; we need to have studies also in biocidal products in water; all of that needs to be encouraged because we have very little data to date.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christa KLASS (EPP, DE), For the very first time we are looking at the registration of biocidal products as well and yet that make perfect sense; we need to have this at European level, we need to make sure that we have a central formal organisation; this will be beneficial for the internal market and for consumers. We need to have an EU wide authorisation for all of these products for the year 2017, that's the requirement from the Parliament today.

SOUNDBITE (French), Antonio TAJANI, Commissioner, We do acknowledge that national exemptions in the context of mutual recognition can be justified in certain circumstances although we do believe that they have to be examined on a case by case basis by the Commission; allowing these exemptions without having any monitoring by the Commission would risk jeopardising the functioning of the internal biocides market which the regulation is supposed to promote.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Amalia SARTORI (EPP, IT), I am pleased because, although it's bit by bit, there will be the possibility for central authorisation for all categories of products. I would ask Commissioner Tajani how much work still needs to be done to handle the large number of dossiers which of course these products will require.

SOUNDBITE (German), Richard SEEBER (EPP, AT), We need to look into the situation bearing in mind that the precedent one was simply untenable; we need to be able to get back to a properly working internal market for the producers. The big problem in doing that was that there was no community authorisation for biocides like this so we need to cover as many different groups of biocides with this legislation as possible; otherwise it would be a waste of time.

SOUNDBITE (Danish), Dan J&#216;RGENSEN (S&amp;D, DK), It's very important that we substitute harmful substances with less harmful substances, that is the real issue! If at the same time we can have less bureaucracy well then that's all well and good but this is not our priority.

SOUNDBITE (French), Corinne LEPAGE (ALDE, FR), Some of these substances are really toxic, like pesticides. I endorse what Mr J&oslash;rgensen just said about the impact that certain products can have on health and the environment; for that reason we will reject any provisions which will call into question the quality of products evaluation or water down the system that seeks the substitution of the most dangerous substances.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mich&#232;le RIVASI (Greens/EFA, FR), We do disagree on the practical means for the European Chemicals Agency (ECA). The tasks of this agency is supposed to be to evaluate and authorise biocides; now it's being asked to extend the scope of its mission and we agree with that, so we've got to give it the resources needed to do its work properly. We can't ask it to do a whole lot more, to do its evaluations faster and give it less resources!