[Workshop] EU Pesticides Law and Governance: Legal, Political, and Epistemic Challenges

The regulation of pesticides stands at the crossroads of environmental protection, public health, and agricultural sustainability. As the European Union faces increasing pressure to refine its chemical safety frameworks, the EU Pesticides Law and Governance workshop at UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles offers a critical platform for interdisciplinary analysis.

This two-day scientific seminar delves into the legal, political, and epistemic challenges that define current pesticide governance. By bridging the gap between legal scholarship and political science, we aim to unpack the tensions inherent in risk assessment methodologies, the influence of scientific expertise on policy-making, and the evolving judicial oversight within the EU.

Why This Workshop?

• Legal Frameworks: Analyzing the robustness of EU regulations in the face of emerging ecological data.
• Epistemic Challenges: Understanding how “uncertainty” is managed within scientific expertise and regulatory decisions.
• Political Governance: Examining the power dynamics between EU institutions, member states, and stakeholders in the pesticide authorization process.

Programme of the workshop

(Download the PDF)

Thursday, 19 March 2026

17:00 – 17:15 | Opening remarks

17:15 – 18:30 | Regulatory science: context and blind spots

• Five methodological updates of the Danish Pesticide Load Indicator to support EU-wide pesticide risk reduction policies – Noé Vandevoorde (UCLouvain), Per Kudsk (Aarhus University), Yannick Agnan (UCLouvain), and Philippe V. Baret (UCLouvain)
• The Epistemic Blind Spot of the “Lawful Cocktail”: Rethinking Responsibility in EU Pesticide Governance through a One Health Lens – Elvira Bacci (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies)
• Some strengths and weaknesses of the EU regulatory system for pesticides from a natural science perspective – Axel Mie (Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet) and Christina Ruden (Stockholm University)

Friday, 20 March 2026

09:00 – 09:15 | Welcome with coffee and croissants (P12 at UCLouvain SLB)

09:15 – 10:15 | The role of the regulated industry in pesticides governance

• Access and agency in the Pesticide Regulatory Ecosystem: a case study of the pesticide industry strategies and tactics for system capture during 40 years of glyphosate regulation – Alice Livingston Ortolani (University of Sussex)
• Global epistemic capture? How the “mode of action” and “human relevance” criteria of pesticide approval landed in Europe – David Demortain (LISIS, INRAE)

10:15 – 10:30 | Coffee break (P12 at UCLouvain SLB)

10:30 – 12:15 | Pesticides litigation before national and EU courts

• Judging pesticides: Framing (il)legality of pesticide use in Dutch litigation – Edwin Alblas, Emma Turkenburg, Vincent Latjes, Sophie Boerman, and Louis Kotzé (Wageningen University)
• National Courts’ Judicial Review of Plant Protection Product Authorisations – Pietro Mattioli (University of Liège)
• Trust but Verify: National Authorities and National Courts in EU Pesticides Governance after PAN EUROPE (Closer) – Laurianne Allezard (Lund University)
• Judicial Review, Discretion and Pesticide Regulation before the CJEU: Lessons from the Cypermethrin Case – Alessandra Donati (CJEU and University of Luxembourg)

12:15 – 13:15 | Lunch (P12 at UCLouvain SLB)

13:15 – 14:45 | Intersecting legal frameworks in EU pesticides governance

• When Pesticides Become “Forever Chemicals”: Regulatory Gaps at the Intersection of EU Pesticide and Chemicals Law – Ifigeneia Tsakalogianni (Hasselt University)
• Is the Food and Feed Omnibus at odds with the Non-Regression Principle? A Precaution-Inflected Proportionality Analysis under EU Law – Matthias Hasler (EUI) and Vania González Campos (University of Amsterdam)
• A Toxic Relationship for Insects: The Use of Pesticides in light of the Habitats Directive – Siemen Kalders (Hasselt University)

14:45 – 16:15 | Roundtable: EU pesticides regulation under pressure
Moderator: Antoine Bailleux (UCLouvain); Speakers: Alessandra Arcuri (University of Rotterdam), Klaus Berend (European Commission) and Martin Dermine (PAN-Europe)

16:15 – 16:30 | Closing remarks and publication plans

Practical Information

• Venue Address: P02 at UCLouvain – Saint-Louis Bruxelles Boulevard du Jardin Botanique 43, 1000 Brussels (Building Préfecture).
• Entrance: Please enter via 119 Rue du Marais (through the parking entrance) and follow the arrows.
• Room: The workshop is held in Rooms P02/P12, located in the “Préfecture” building (first room on the right once inside).

How to Reach Us:

• From Gare du Nord: A 10-minute walk south on Rue du Progrès.
• From Gare Centrale: Take Metro line 1 or 5, change at Arts-Loi for line 2 or 6, and exit at Botanique or Rogier.
• By Metro: Closest stops are Rogier and Botanique (Lines 2 & 6).
• Registration: Interested in attending? Please register via this form