Brussels, 03/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - Labels for honey sold in Europe should give information on the quality of the honey in the jar and where it came from, and there should be no less than 50% pure honey in each jar of honey. This is the call from the European Parliament (EP) agriculture committee in a motion for a resolution on the situation in the beekeeping sector. The issue will be debated in the plenary session in Strasbourg at the end of November.
According to the draft resolution endorsed by the EP agriculture committee, the beekeeping sector worldwide is “gravely threatened”, recording losses in 2010 of between 100 and 1,000 times worse than normal. In many regions, bee mortality is an increasingly serious problem due to the convergence of a number of factors: bee diseases, weakening of bees' immunity to pathogens and parasites, climate change, change in land use, eradication of melliferous plant species, use of pesticides and more. The EP committee notes, too, that a link between decreasing numbers of colonies in some member states and the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) cannot be made with any certainty as “(GMO) cultivation is insignificant for the moment”.
Labelling change. The motion for a resolution brought forward by Paolo De Castro, who chairs the agriculture committee, states that 40% of the European honey market comes from imports. MEPs say that the EU's lack of independence in honey supply “results in significant volatility in prices”. Furthermore, opening up the European honey market to honey from third countries “has placed beekeepers across the EU at a competitive disadvantage”. Thus MEPs call on the Commission, as part of the legislative proposal on agricultural quality policy, to give consideration to changing the rules of origin labelling for honey in order to avoid misleading information to consumers, especially on blends of EU and non-EU honeys.
The proposed regulation highlights the need to improve the product's health conditions by harmonising border controls, especially with regard to third country imports. Low quality honey imports and honey substitutes distort the market and exert constant pressure on prices and the final quality of product on the EU's internal market, according MEPs. The committee considers that the name of the product or any graphic or other visual element on the label or packaging should only make reference to honey “if at least 50% of the sugar content originates from honey”.
Tackling Varroa mites. The EP committee calls on the Commission to draw up three-year programmes based on statements by member states of the actual number of hives registered rather than on estimated numbers. MEPs say that there is a need to provide effective veterinary treatments against Varoa mites and other parasites and bee diseases. The Commission is asked to introduce common guidelines on the veterinary treatment in the sector.
The motion for a resolution also calls on the Commission to: - adapt the scope and financing of European veterinary policy to take account of the specific nature of bees and beekeeping with a view to ensuring more effective bee disease control; - establish an action plan for tackling bee mortality; - ensure that existing support of the apiculture sector and the future of this policy is maintained and strengthened in the common agricultural policy (CAP) after 2013.
The European Commission already supports national aid programmes for the beekeeping sector. €26 million have been allocated for the period from 2008 to 2010 and €32 million will be made available for 2011 to 2013. (L.C./transl.rt)