Brussels, 29/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission may shortly put forward a proposal for a ban on member states' use of three neonicotinoid pesticides which pose a high risk for bees (see EUROPE 10769). On 16 January this year, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said that the use of the three - thiamethoxam (the main active ingredient of “Cruiser”), clothianidin and imidacloprid, marketed by the Syngenta and Bayer groups - had an adverse effect on bees (see EUROPE 10765).
The Commission may, therefore, suggest that EU countries ban the use of such products on crops that are “attractive” to bees, such as rape, sunflowers and maize. It will be proposing “ambitious but proportionate” legislative measures during the meeting of the EU standing committee on such matters, scheduled for Thursday 31 January.
Rapid and decisive action is needed.
Tonio Borg, the European commissioner for health and consumer protection, therefore announced to European agriculture ministers, who met in Brussels on 28 January, that the Commission would be taking action. He said they are proposing that the European Commission call for “harmonised and legally binding measures inspired by the precautionary principle but also by the principle of proportionality”. He added that a certain number of such substances do not endanger the health of bees, according to EFSA, and that a total ban would therefore not be warranted. For example, the treatment of sugar beet and greenhouse crops presents little danger for bees. If member states validate the proposal, the ban would not come into force until 2014, as most of the farmers have already bought their seeds for this year. About one third of that seed, it is estimated, is treated by the molecules in question.
The so-called systemic insecticides, which are applied either in granular form or directly on seed, diffuse in the treated plant throughout its period of growth, making the whole plant toxic, to protect it against attacks from harmful insects. The insecticide molecules, therefore, appear in the pollen and nectar of the flowers that are pollinated by the bees.
Some member states have already taken measures against these products. One such is France, which withdrew marketing approval for Cruiser OSR used on rapeseed last July. However, its use on maize is authorised. In Italy and Germany, use of the incriminated products is banned for maize only, and in Slovenia for all crops.
In the longer term, the European Commission would like to make an in-depth review of the methods of evaluating these molecules to better take into account their impact on bees before marketing.
“There is a real problem with the pesticides”, said the French minister for agriculture, Stéphane LeFoll, on the sidelines of the Council, going on to say: “But we are waiting for a European decision to avoid problems of competition distortion” (our translation). The Commission's action was supported by the Dutch, Belgian, German, Danish, Polish and Greek delegations. Three countries show more reticence. Spain has called for the EFSA study to go further. Hungary considers that the adverse effects on bees are due above all to the incorrect use of insecticides. The United Kingdom hopes the results of a national study on the ground will be made known before action is taken. (LC/transl.jl)