Brussels, 15/03/2013 (Agence EUROPE)- In Brussels on Friday, EU experts at the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Welfare in the EU narrowly failed to decide on whether to ban certain three pesticides for two years that kill honey bees, a ban recommended by the European Commission in January following scientific advice from the European Food Safety Authority (see EUROPE 10806). Thirteen countries, including France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, backed the idea of a temporary ban on the most toxic bee-killing neo-nicotinoid pesticides/insecticides (imidacloprid, thiametowam and chlotiadin), but not enough to form a qualified majority and thus be able to decide on whether to go along with the idea. Nine countries voted against a ban (including Romania, Hungary and Finland) to the dismay of ecologists and supporters of sustainable farming, who have been critical of the intense lobbying from the chemical industry.
“While a relative majority of countries (including France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands and Belgium) supported the ban proposed by the European Commission, they fell short of the necessary qualified majority to make the decision binding. Nine countries voted against the ban (including Romania, Hungary and Finland), while five abstained (including the UK, Germany and Bulgaria). The Commission can now table a new proposal or refer the matter to a higher body of national representatives,” said Marco Cantiero, Greenpeace EU agriculture policy director.
The European Commission may now either submit new legislation or hand the matter over to the EU Council of Ministers to take a qualified majority vote. (AN/transl.fl)