BRUSSELS — Right-wing political groups are blocking the nomination of an antipesticide campaigner to the management board of the European Food Safety Authority, as conservative lawmakers continue their feud with nongovernmental organizations.
One of the seats on the management board of EFSA is always reserved for a civil society representative. The European Commission is responsible for nominating candidates that must then be approved by European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, representing member countries.
Usually the commission provides a short list of candidates, but this year it narrowed the choice down to just one: Martin Dermine, the executive director of the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe, a group that advocates for less dangerous alternatives to pesticides in agriculture. The commission justified its choice, saying he was the only candidate deemed suitable for the position among the applications received, according to two participants in the meeting.
During a meeting of political group coordinators in the Parliament’s environment committee Monday, the center-right European People’s Party and the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists opposed Dermine’s nomination, according to two participants.
