Health

The Slovenian Presidency has postponed an important vote on pesticides until June following a meeting of EU Agriculture ministers. At the meeting two sides clashed over the possible ban of a number of pesticides, such as endocrine disruptors, that allegedly have serious consequences for the environment and for human health. The Commission, along with the Parliament wishes to see the substances banned but pesticide producers and farmers argue that science do not support such claims. They are backed by the UK and Ireland that fear impact of the plan on food production in a time of financial crisis. On the other hand stands a number of other EU countries among them France, who for once finds itself in the unusual position of providing support for a Commission proposal on agriculture.