Recently, the European Parliament overwhelmingly rejected two decisions proposed by the European Commission that would have eased residue limits on certain pesticides banned in the EU in imported food.

The rejected proposals concerned the pesticides Cyproconazole, Spirodiclofen, Benomyl , Carbendazim and Thiophanate-methyl. These pesticides are banned in the EU, but the Commission previously proposed to allow the setting of import MRLs for Cyproconazole, Spirodiclofen in a large number of products (e.g. cereals, seeds, meat, liver and kidneys) and for Benomyl , Carbendazim and Thiophanate-methyl in certain products (e.g. lemons, limes, citrus and okra/turf).

MEPs emphasized that imports of agricultural products from non-EU countries must be subject to the same standards as local production in the EU to ensure fair competition while protecting the health of EU citizens and the population of the producing country. They argued that allowing higher pesticide residue limits for imported products would jeopardize public health.

In two separate votes, more than 500 MEPs supported the opposition to the European Commission's decision, far exceeding the 359-vote veto threshold required. This result demonstrates the European Parliament's strong position on food safety.

The European Parliament asked the European Commission to withdraw the original proposal and submit a new draft. The new draft should reduce the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for all relevant pesticides to the limit of detection (LOD) or to a default value of 0.01mg/kg, while rejecting any request for relaxation of import MRLs.