The European Ombudsman‘s inquiry into the approval[1] of pesticides by the European Commission highlights concerns with the Commission's practice (known as the confirmatory data procedure) of approving the safe use of an active substance before it gets all of the data necessary to support that decision.

The Ombudsman notes the Commission's general acceptance of her proposals, made in June 2015, on how to improve the approval process for substances contained in pesticides but has asked for a follow-up report from the Commission by 18 February 2018 in order to fully verify compliance.

Emily O'Reilly stated: "I note the Commission's intention to improve the process of approving and placing pesticides on the market, in particular by restricting the practice of approving a substance while simultaneously requesting data expected to confirm its safety, but before it receives the requested data.

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