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Brussels, 7 september 1995
Need for an integral water policy!
Given the increasing cost of purifying drinking water due to increases in pollution from nitrates, pesticides, etc., EURO COOP supports the claims made by the European Parliament's Environment and Consumer Protection Committee and by the Environment Ministers for the adoption of an integrated approach towards the European Union's policy on water.
The existing specific directives have not been able to ensure the maintenance of the drinking water standards nor the application of the "polluter pays" principle. It has therefore become urgent to oblige the large scale water polluters, starting with the farmers, industry and waterway transporters, to respect a global water policy.
Taking this into consideration, the Common Agricultural Policy may no longer subsidise mass production, which is an incentive to use excessive amounts of fertilisers and plant protection products. The Commission's proposed list of pesticides for authorisation must be reviewed; it actually contains several products which are considered to be carcinogenic, such as atrazine, simazine, lindane, etc.
The Member States and the European Commission should put a stop to the recent attempts made by the manufacturers of phytosanitary products to bring about the lowering of the strict limit value in the drinking water directive, since it weakens "the innovative capacity" of the European phytosanitary industry. Those areas which are amongst the most thickly populated regions of the world must not become an experimental field for the manufacturers of pesticides.
The standard currently in force of a maximum of 0.1 micrograms per litre of any individual pesticide must not be infringed, given that according to recent information, it is not only the quantity but the presence alone of certain pesticides that can be carcinogenic. With this in mind EURO COOP reaffirms its views expressed in its Opinion of 11.10.1993. It is extremely regrettable that the limit value of 0.5 micrograms applicable to the total level has been abolished, while numerous pesticides are in fact used.
The existing directives are often applied far too late in the Member States and sometimes in varing manner and not always fully. Therefore, the Council should adopt a Regulation which fixes strict rules for the different economic sectors as well as regularly controlled standards, the non-respect of which should be subject to deterrent sanctions. Up to now, it is in fact the victim that always pays, i.e. the consumer and not only with money but also with his health !
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