09/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - Bee mortality is taken into account. On Tuesday 9 October, European Ombudsman P. Nikiforos Diamandouros welcomed measures taken recently by the European Commission to combat increased bee mortality in the EU, which is potentially linked to certain insecticides. This follows a complaint from the Austrian Ombudsman Board, alleging that the Commission failed to take into account new scientific evidence arguing in favour of restricting the use of these insecticides. In its opinion, the Commission listed a whole series of measures that it has taken recently to resolve the problem of rising bee mortality. These measures include an EU reference laboratory for bee health, a study on the extent of bee mortality, review of the risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as regards all neonicotinoids, and an EFSA evaluation expected in December 2012. (LC/transl.jl)