AUTHORS: Marc Pallemaerts
The European Commission and the agrochemical industry suffered a severe setback as the EU Court of First Instance, in a 33-page judgment issued on 11 July, criticised the flaws of the risk assessment procedure for the herbicide paraquat, conducted within the framework of Directive 91/414/EEC on plant protection products, and decided to annul the resulting Commission Directive adding this substance to the positive list of active substances whose use is authorised in pesticides placed on the market in the EU.