Bees; Biodiversity; EU law; Environmental law; Pesticides; Pollinators; Environmental Chemistry; Geography, Planning and Development; Ecology; General Medicine
Abstract :
[en] Actions potentially harmful to the environment that are otherwise illegal are sometimes permitted in cases of emergency. How to define an emergency can therefore be both controversial and highly consequential. In this article, we explore one such contemporary controversy: when the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, banned in the EU, can nevertheless be granted an emergency authorization. We analyse several questions, currently before the EU Court of Justice in the ongoing Pesticide Action Network Europe and Others case, that will determine the scope of an "emergency" in the context of derogating from the Pesticide Regulation, and that may impact how "emergencies" are defined in other legal contexts. We argue that the circumstances do not support a legal finding that emergency authorization is justified in this case, and that, in general, "emergencies" must be narrowly defined when justifying measures that involve risks to human health and the environment.
Disciplines :
Agriculture & agronomy Public law Entomology & pest control
Author, co-author :
Epstein, Yaffa ; Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study and Department of Law, Uppsala University, Östra Ågatan 19, 753 22, Uppsala, Sweden. yaffa.epstein@jur.uu.se
Chapron, Guillaume; Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden ; Inst. För Ekologi, Grimsö forskningsstation, 739 93, Riddarhyttan, Sweden
Verheggen, François ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Language :
English
Title :
What is an emergency? Neonicotinoids and emergency situations in plant protection in the EU.
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