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Dear Friends and Colleagues Published today (Wed 2nd March) by Independent Science News: Many European Pesticide Approvals Are “unlawful” Says EU Ombudsman by Jonathan Latham, PhD http://www.independentsciencenews.org/news/many-european-pesticide-approvals-are-unlawful-says-eu-ombudsman/ Synopsis: Currently, 88 pesticides are approved in Europe having incomplete data sets on health and safety. Under a procedure called the Confirmatory Data Procedure (CDP) pesticides can legally be approved even where applications are incomplete. However, many of these ‘temporary’ registrations occurred over ten years ago and still have not been finalized. Therefore, according to a complaint brought by Pesticides Action Network of Europe, the EU is using the much weaker CDP registration process as a loophole and not in the manner intended. This is leading to high risks to health and the envirionment. The complaint was upheld on this and other points by the EU Ombudsman who ruled that using the CDP as a default was illegal on narrow grounds but also because it appeared to violate the precautionary principle which is the legal standard in the EU. Apologies for cross posting Yours sincerely Jonathan Jonathan Latham, PhD Executive Director The Bioscience Resource Project Ithaca, NY 14850 USA www.independentsciencenews.org and www.bioscienceresource.org [log in to unmask] Skype: jonathanlatham2 Tel: 1-607-319-0279 “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”—Edward Bernays, Propaganda