In a written answer to MEP Daniel Buda (PPE) on 9 July 2026, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Olivér Várhelyi reiterated the Commission's commitment to ensuring that essential active substances are not withdrawn before affordable, effective alternatives are available. The response directly addresses farmers' concerns that premature bans undermine production and competitiveness, and signals a policy shift toward conditional phase-outs.
The answer clarifies that the Commission's December 2025 Food and Feed Safety Simplification Package includes a proposal to modify Article 4(7) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. The amendment would allow active substances that fail certain approval criteria to be approved for five years if they are needed to control a serious plant health danger and no equally effective, affordable alternatives exist—chemical or non-chemical. The derogation excludes substances with the most severe health or environmental hazards and requires risk mitigation measures to minimise human and environmental exposure. Additionally, Member States could grant grace periods of up to three years for distributing and using plant protection products containing active substances whose approval could not be renewed.
Várhelyi's answer builds on the Commission's Vision for Agriculture and Food (COM/2025/75), which announced that further pesticide bans would be carefully considered if alternatives are not yet available, unless the pesticide poses a threat to human health or the environment. The new rules aim to balance environmental and health objectives with the practical needs of farmers, providing a transition period that avoids economic disruption.
instead of farmers having to show they need a substance, the Commission would have to demonstrate that viable alternatives exist before withdrawing approval. This represents a significant policy orientation toward protecting agricultural competitiveness and food security, while maintaining safeguards for health and the environment.
Institutional follow-up is expected as the European Parliament and Council consider the simplification package. The Commission's answer signals that future pesticide approvals will be more closely tied to the availability of practical alternatives, with a focus on affordability and effectiveness across all Member States.