EU bans disputed pesticides in bid to protect ailing bees
Three types of seed treatment to be banned
The European Commission will in the coming weeks enact a ban on three types of seed treatment pesticides that it is feared might be harmful to bees, after member states failed to block the proposal at a meeting on Monday (29 April).
A majority of member states – 15 – voted to approve the Commission’s proposal in the appeal committee. Although this was not enough to achieve a qualified majority based on weighted voting, the result gives the Commission a mandate to enact the ban on neonicotinoid treatments. A first vote last month had also delivered no qualified majority for or against the proposal, and under the rules governing such committees, this second vote on the subject empowers the Commission to act.
Following the vote, Tonio Borg, the European commissioner for health, said, “Since our proposal is based on a number of risks to bee health identified by the European Food Safety Authority, the Commission will go ahead with its text in the coming weeks.” The ban would be imposed initially for two years and reviewed in 2015.
Germany’s backing
Crucial to the outcome was a decision by Germany to back the Commission’s proposal. The country had abstained last month, but changed its position this week. Italy, Austria and the UK were among the countries opposing a ban.
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The position approved by the majority of member states largely mirrors the Commission proposal, but the deadline for the start of the ban has been moved from 1 July 2013 to 1 December. The member states also amended the proposal so that they could put in place more severe restrictions if they wish.
The proposal was put forward after a report by the European Food Safety Authority published in January found that the neonicotinoids, used to treat seeds before they are planted, could be responsible for a decline in bee populations. The welfare of bees is closely monitored because of their role in plant pollination, and because of fears that disruption could negatively affect biodiversity.
The three neocotinoids affected by the ban are made by agrochemical companies Bayer and Syngenta. The companies say that the EFSA report is inconclusive, and that a switch from seed treatment to plant treatment would mean more pesticide use and therefore more harm to the environment.
Mark Titterington, a spokesman for Syngenta, said the failure to achieve a qualified majority meant there were still major doubts about the science used to justify a ban.
“The European Commission has again failed to win the necessary support for its proposed ban on this vital technology,” he said. Syngenta wants the Commission to continue negotiations with member states rather than forcing through a ban.
Environmental campaigners urged the Commission to act quickly. “Any further delay would mean giving in to the lobbying muscle of Bayer and Syngenta,” said Marco Contiero of Greenpeace.
Further EFSA reports on non-neonicotinoid pesticides thought to be harmful to bees are expected in the future, including a report on fipronil, which may come out in the coming weeks.
Anti-pesticide campaign group PAN-Europe welcomed the outcome of the vote, but expressed disappointment that an exemption would be allowed for seed-coating winter cereals, because they are not attractive to bees.
They said this treatment would still contaminate the ground, meaning that crops that were planted in it later – which might be attractive to bees – might contain the pesticides.