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Fighting for safer food Newsletter, 2 February 2011  photo: kara brugman European Food Safety Authority serves up documents for ClientEarth Good news for EU citizens concerned about toxic chemicals in our food chain. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has bowed to legal pressure from ClientEarth and Pesticides Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) and released long-withheld documents on the interpretation of EU pesticides law. Last year we took a case to the European Court of Justice because EFSA’s guidance disregards evidence from independent scientists when allowing agricultural pesticides to reach the market. EFSA now admits it was violating regulations on access to environmental information. Health and environment lawyer at ClientEarth Vito Buonsante said: “We hope that this case will pave the way for a greater culture of transparency at EFSA, who we all rely on to make sure that the food on our tables is safe. However, our concerns are not all addressed. We are still taking EFSA to the European Court to clarify their obligations and citizens’ rights regarding transparency.” The development was widely covered in the chemicals and agriculture press, including Chemical Watch  photo: john & mel kotsEuropean Parliament votes on access to documents Last year, ClientEarth's EU Aarhus Centre - along with Access Info Europe, Greenpeace, and supported by 131 NGOs and investigative journalists - started a campaign for Members of the European Parliament to protect transparency in EU policy-making. We believe openness and transparency in lawmaking is crucial if we are to effectively protect our planet and people's health. EU citizens also have rights to access documents - under the Lisbon Treaty and confirmed by the courts. These are some of the rights which we set out to defend. In December the European Parliament voted on the reform of the EU’s access to documents rules proposed by the Commission. ClientEarth supported the Parliament's amendments to secure and advance transparency in line with citizens' right of access to documents. The vote had some positive outcomes, and some proposed amendments which would have restricted transparency were also defeated. ClientEarth’s Anais Berthier said: “We welcome the vote of the Parliament, it is reassuring to see that the majority of MEPs support a transparent and open society. It will however, be different within the Council, so there is still a lot of work to do." To find out more about our access to justice and access to information work, visit our EU Aarhus Centre website here  photo: dezz Sustainable seafood on the rise This week the Guardian wrote about the rise in sustainable seafood sales in the UK, quoting ClientEarth CEO James Thornton on consumer behaviour. You can read Sandy Luk's blog about this and what we're doing with the Sustainable Seafood Coalition on our Hot Air blog  photo: octal European Commission releases proposal for the revision of the Public Procurement Directive How can Europe’s public bodies contribute to the promotion of sustainable development and environmental protection through their purchasing power? In October ClientEarth released a briefing series, Identifying Opportunities for Sustainable Public Procurement, which identified how this challenge could be addressed. In late December the European Commission's proposal for a revised Directive on public procurement was released and ClientEarth will be seeking to ensure that the issue of strategic purchasing remains at the top of the agenda. ClientEarth’s Janet Meissner Pritchard said: “We are pleased to see that the proposed legislation allows public bodies to specify what must or must not have happened at the production stage. This clarification was sorely needed, since many environmental and social impacts happen at this stage." “The proposal could have done more, however, to ensure that public procurement promotes sustainable development goals. Existing legislation skews procurement decisions towards the cheapest possible options at the point of sale. The revision has not satisfactorily addressed this issue and so leaves the door open to short-term thinking.” You can read more in Euractiv Read some of our latest blog posts... James Thornton on climate change reporting - here Feja Lesniewska on deforestation in West Africa - here Nathalie Faure on forest governance - here Giuseppe Nastasi on de-carbonising Britain's power sector - here |
