PreprintCC BY 4.0HAL
EU Omnibus proposal increases pesticide risks
29 affiliations
- 1Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- 2Ecologic Institute, Berlin, Germany
- 3Department of Environmental and Geosciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- 4Department of Exposure Science, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- 5Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- 6Centre for Agri-Environmental Research (CAER), School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, Reading University, Reading, UK
- 7Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- 8iES Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, RPTU University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau, Germany
- 9Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
- 10Institute of Mathematics, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
- 11School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- 12Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
- 13Department of Political Science, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany
- 14Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- 15Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
- 16Faculty of Biology, Ecotoxicology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- 17Research Center One Health Ruhr, University Alliance Ruhr, Essen, Germany
- 18German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- 19Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
- 20Department of Biodiversity and People, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- 21Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- 22Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region’s Eco-Environment, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
- 23State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- 24Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- 25Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- 26Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- 27Department of Agricultural, Forest, and Food Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
- 28Université de Bourgogne Europe, Institut Agro Dijon, INRAE, UMR Agroécologie, Dijon, France
- 29Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Abstract
The European Union (EU) has one of the most comprehensive systems for risk assessment of pesticides. However, pesticides continue to cause ecological damage and pose risks to human health (1). Additionally, regulatory assessments are often delayed, slowing the market entry of new substances (2). To address such delays and simplify procedures and requirements for pesticide marketing, the European Commission proposed an “Omnibus Simplification package” on food and feed safety on 16 December 2025. Here, we explain how implementing the Omnibus package would amplify rather than resolve shortcomings of current environmental risk assessment. This would jeopardize the Omnibus’s goal to maintain high standards for the protection of human and environmental health, as well as the EU’s long-term environmental objectives and international commitments to restore ecosystems. We provide actionable recommendations for improving environmental risk assessment for stronger biodiversity protection while limiting regulatory burden.
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BibTeX
@misc{wintermantel2026omnibus,
title = {{EU Omnibus proposal increases pesticide risks}},
author = {Dimitry Wintermantel and Denicia Kassie and Lindsey Hendricks‐Franco and Jessica Knapp and Annika Jahnke and Tom D. Breeze and Mark J. F. Brown and Carsten A. Brühl and Justine Dewaele and Manon Fiévet and Andreas Focks and Antoine Gekière and Dave Goulson and Gregor Hagedorn and Timo Huelsduenker and Claudia Ituarte‐Lima and Alexandra‐Maria Klein and Alicia Kling and Joachim R. de Miranda and Denis Michez and Paul N. Ozoh and Robert J. Paxton and Guy Pe’er and Simon Geoffrey Potts and Antonia Riedel and Josselin J. Rouillard and Maj Rundlöf and Ralf Bernhard Schäfer and Andreas Schäffer and Fabio Sgolastra and Daniel Slunge and Christopher John Topping and Simone Tosi and Adam J. Vanbergen and Julia Osterman},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1126/science.aeg8744},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05678718v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - EU Omnibus proposal increases pesticide risks
AU - Dimitry Wintermantel
AU - Denicia Kassie
AU - Lindsey Hendricks‐Franco
AU - Jessica Knapp
AU - Annika Jahnke
AU - Tom D. Breeze
AU - Mark J. F. Brown
AU - Carsten A. Brühl
AU - Justine Dewaele
AU - Manon Fiévet
AU - Andreas Focks
AU - Antoine Gekière
AU - Dave Goulson
AU - Gregor Hagedorn
AU - Timo Huelsduenker
AU - Claudia Ituarte‐Lima
AU - Alexandra‐Maria Klein
AU - Alicia Kling
AU - Joachim R. de Miranda
AU - Denis Michez
AU - Paul N. Ozoh
AU - Robert J. Paxton
AU - Guy Pe’er
AU - Simon Geoffrey Potts
AU - Antonia Riedel
AU - Josselin J. Rouillard
AU - Maj Rundlöf
AU - Ralf Bernhard Schäfer
AU - Andreas Schäffer
AU - Fabio Sgolastra
AU - Daniel Slunge
AU - Christopher John Topping
AU - Simone Tosi
AU - Adam J. Vanbergen
AU - Julia Osterman
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/18
PB - HAL
DO - 10.1126/science.aeg8744
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05678718v1
AB - The European Union (EU) has one of the most comprehensive systems for risk assessment of pesticides. However, pesticides continue to cause ecological damage and pose risks to human health (1). Additionally, regulatory assessments are often delayed, slowing the market entry of new substances (2). To address such delays and simplify procedures and requirements for pesticide marketing, the European Commission proposed an “Omnibus Simplification package” on food and feed safety on 16 December 2025. Here, we explain how implementing the Omnibus package would amplify rather than resolve shortcomings of current environmental risk assessment. This would jeopardize the Omnibus’s goal to maintain high standards for the protection of human and environmental health, as well as the EU’s long-term environmental objectives and international commitments to restore ecosystems. We provide actionable recommendations for improving environmental risk assessment for stronger biodiversity protection while limiting regulatory burden.
SN - 0036-8075
SN - 0193-4511
SN - 1095-9203
ER -