The approval renewal of glyphosate as an active substance for pesticides in the EU has also kept the Court of Justice occupied.

The article “Case C-616/17 Blaise and Others: The precautionary principle and its role in judicial review – Glyphosate and the regulatory framework for pesticides” was published on the Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law by Sabrina Röttger-Wirtz, Assistant professor of EU law at Maastricht University.

To fully understand the complexities and the controversies around the application of the precautionary principle, the RECIPES project conducted nine case studies. The aim was to understand and explain the potential differences in the application depending on the topic and the context. A comparison across the different cases indicates that the application of the precautionary principle had positive effects on innovation and contributed to more responsible pathways.

How can we ensure that innovative products and solutions are fostered and encouraged when their impacts on human health and the environment are not fully known? The Precautionary Principle (PP) enables authorities to take precautionary measures by means of pre-damage control when scientifically plausible but uncertain that a new technology or product may cause harm.