EU: Pesticides in food: what is the European Parliament doing to help?

Europeans are concerned about pesticide residues in food and their
potential effect on health. Find out how MEPs are tackling the issue.

About 50% of the food tested by the European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA) in 2016 contained pesticide residues, with 3.8% exceeding legal
limits.

In the EU, pesticides and the active substances in them are
carefully monitored, but in recent years, concern has been raised over
the approval procedure, especially after controversy about the renewal
of glyphosate approval in 2017.

To better protect people’s health the European Parliament wants action to improve the management of pesticide use in the EU.

More transparent pesticide approval procedure

In February 2018, Parliament appointed a special committee to look into
the EU’s authorisation procedure for pesticides. On 16 January, MEPs
backed the committee’s final report pushing for more transparent
procedures to ensure political accountability.

MEPs recommend that:

*The public should be granted access to studies used in the authorisation procedure

*Manufacturers asking for substance approval should register all
regulatory studies in a public register to ensure all relevant
information is taken into account

*Scientific experts should review studies on carcinogenicity of
glyphosate and maximum residue levels for soils and surface water should
be set

*Pesticides and their active substances should be tested thoroughly,
taking into account cumulative effects and long-term toxicityPesticides
should no longer be used over a wide area near schools, childcare
facilities, playing fields, hospitals, maternity hospitals and care
homes

Better access to studies on food chain safety

In December 2018 Parliament voted in favour of an update of the general
food law regulation covering food safety in EU at all stages of the food
chain, including animal health, plant protection and production.

The proposed new rules aim to improve public access to studies used by
the European Food Safety Agency in the risk assessment of food products,
and to ensure the studies are reliable, objective and independent.

A common European registry would be set up for commissioned studies, so
the European Food Safety Agency can check whether companies are
suppressing any unfavourable studies. If there is reason to doubt the
evidence provided by the applicants, the agency could request additional
studies.

Read more at:
EU: Pesticides in food: what is the European Parliament doing to help?

European Banking Industry: EU Commission wants fees cut on cross-border payments and transfers - by Irene Kostaki

Banks in the European Union will have to cut fees on cross-border payments, according to legislative proposals put forward by the European Commission on March 28.

European Commission Vice President for the Euro Valdis Dombrovskis’ plan is to make banks lower their consumer costs in the banking sector. The move is expected to reduce profits mostly for banks outside the 19 Eurozone member states, while the sector suffers from stiff competition from FinTech firms.

The EU’s second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), which came into force at the beginning of the year, lowers charges or has no fees for trans-national payments in euros within the Eurozone. Charges remain higher, however, for cross-border transactions from other EU countries outside the Eurozone.

Currency conversion fees will be capped for three years to put an end to excessive charges when EU citizens withdraw money or use their payment cards abroad or online for payments in or into euros.

“With today’s proposal we are granting citizens and businesses in non-euro area countries the same conditions as euro area residents when making cross-border payments in euro,” Dombrovskis, said on Wednesday.

When EU citizens buy abroad and decide to use the option provided and pay in their home currency, a local bank or other payment service providers will convert the amount of the transaction on the spot in exchange for a fee, a system known as a dynamic currency conversion fee.

“While dynamic currency conversion allows consumers to know immediately how much they have to pay, the use of this service is often more expensive than with their bank,” according to the European Commission.

The lack of necessary information to make the best choice often results in consumers being unfairly led towards the more expensive currency conversion option. The European Banking Authority will be tasked with drafting the necessary Regulatory Technical Standard to implement the new regulations, according to the EU executive

The EU Commission proposes a three-year transition period, after which, banks, credit cards, and other payment services will have to show currency conversion fees to consumers before they pay to allow each customer to determine whether it is cheaper to pay the conversion offered by their bank or the dynamic conversion service.

Read more: EU Commission wants fees cut on cross-border payments and transfers

Terrorism: U.K. Extends Passport Powers To Block Teenagers Joining Terrorist Groups - by Jack Moore

British parents will be able to request the cancellation of the passports of their older teenage children if they have fears that they are being radicalized and might travel abroad to join a terrorist group, Prime Minister David Cameron will announce on Monday.

Parents already have had the ability to request the cancellation of the passports of their children aged under 16—a measure that Cameron's office said has been used a number of times, according to the BBC—and new proposals extend the measure to children aged 17 and under.

The aim of the extension of the power is to prevent teenagers traveling to join terrorist groups, particularly in Iraq and Syria, such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda-linked groups such as the Nusra Front.

Note EU-Digest: Excellent move: should be adopted throughout the EU 

Read more: U.K. Extends Passport Powers To Block Teenagers Joining Terrorist Groups