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    Shadow zones: transparency and pesticides regulation in The European Union

    Hamlyn, Olivia (2019) Shadow zones: transparency and pesticides regulation in The European Union. Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies 21 , pp. 243-272. ISSN 1528-8870.

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    Abstract

    In recent years, pesticides have captured the attention of both policy-makers and the general public. A particular focus has been the transparency of the EU-level procedure for approving active substances, spurred by controversies surrounding the active substance glyphosate. Active substances are the ingredient in pesticides with the pesticidal effect. Once an active substance is approved at EU level, the pesticide containing that active substance must be authorised by each Member State. For this purpose, the EU’s 2009 Plant Protection Product Regulation divides Member States into three zones – Northern, Central and Southern – within which, zonal rapporteur Member States evaluate applications for authorisation. National authorisation decisions are based on these zonal evaluations. This novel system governing pesticides is under-researched. Furthermore, unlike active substance approval, the transparency of pesticide authorisation escapes public and policy scrutiny. Drawing on empirical research conducted for the European Parliament, this article evaluates the transparency of the zonal pesticide authorisation procedure. It thus contributes to the literature on transparency a detailed exploration of transparency in a highly complex, decentred and polycentric risk regulation regime. While it finds that the zonal pesticide authorisation procedure, generally speaking, does not operate transparently, it argues further that levels of transparency within the regime as a whole may vary significantly depending on multiple different factors. It introduces the concept of ‘chiaroscuro regulation’ to characterise and understand these varying levels of transparency across different elements of the regime and considers some of its implications.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The version of record is available online at the link above.
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): transparency, pesticides, risk regulation, regulation, governance, European Union
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Business and Law > Birkbeck Law School
    Research Centres and Institutes: Research in Environment and Sustainability, Centre for
    Depositing User: Olivia Hamlyn
    Date Deposited: 08 Oct 2019 11:48
    Last Modified: 04 Jun 2024 10:08
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/29346

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