The report finds that while the UK has not significantly weakened its environmental standards since Brexit, it has failed to keep pace with the EU’s ambitious agenda. The divergence is largely passive – or “divergence by default” – as the EU moves ahead with new laws on issues ranging from air pollution and chemicals to nature restoration and circular economy.
Following this backlash and intense internal negotiations, the Commission scaled back its approach in the proposal presented today. Targeted re-assessment would now be required for substances where uncertainties or data gaps have emerged from their risk assessment
Are you suggesting that rechecking the data and risks of pesticides is wrong?
And has already come under criticism from the European Court of Auditors:
criticised the deceptive nature of HRI-1. According to the auditors, the HRI-1 shows “a risk reduction that is mainly due to lower sales of the substances in the category ‘not approved’” and should be replaced by “better risk indicators”.
From the blog post you’ve linked:
“If an organic farmer treats aphids with a plant protection product based solely on rapeseed oil, the HRI-1 calculates a risk over 1,000 times higher than if a conventional farmer treats the same area with a synthetic neurotoxin that is highly toxic for bees. This not only presents dangerous substances as harmless – and vice versa, but it is also a form of misinformation about organic farming”
So, for or against reviewing the data on pesticides (natural Vs synthetic for example)?
The wheels are turning, and progress is being made in the EU. How are the sunny uplands treating you?
Please enlighten us, how has brexit been of any benefit to us?
Got us out of the environmental disaster that is the corrupt CAP. It takes the largest share of the budget and just rewards rich landowners to pollute
The EU has lowered green standards on farming since Brexit, while we’ve increased ours. That delta is the benefit.
Restored common law to primacy. Common law is more flexible and better for regulating innovation. Roman civil law is prescriptive and dull.
Erm…
https://ieep.uk/news/news-uk-falling-behind-eu-on-environmental-regulation-warns-new-ieepuk-report/
Looks like we arent keeping up woth EU standards.
And what new laws are there that we are benefitting from?
Seems fairly balanced
Nice blog post.
Meanwhile
https://www.pan-europe.info/press-releases/2025/12/eu-commission-retreats-worst-plan-still-opens-door-unlimited-pesticide
Are you suggesting that rechecking the data and risks of pesticides is wrong?
I’m suggesting that claiming you are reducing pesticides when all that’s happened is the toxicity has increased is the worst kind of greenwashing
https://www.organicseurope.bio/news/ifoam-organics-europe-and-european-citizens-initiative-condemn-fake-pesticide-reduction/
Looks like the Harmonised Risk Indicator is relatively new https://food.ec.europa.eu/plants/pesticides/sustainable-use-pesticides/harmonised-risk-indicators_en?hl=en-GB
And has already come under criticism from the European Court of Auditors:
From the blog post you’ve linked:
So, for or against reviewing the data on pesticides (natural Vs synthetic for example)?
The wheels are turning, and progress is being made in the EU. How are the sunny uplands treating you?
The wheels are turning? Lol. Only if they get greased.
The UK is reforming it’s entire agriculture policy, not tinkering around with bullshit metrics