The EU Pollinators Initiative aims to combat their decline and contribute to global conservation efforts, but, for the MEPs of the Parliament's Environment Committee, it does not sufficiently address the main root causes of pollinators’ decline. This is what they said on 21 October, in Strasbourg.
For this reason, they intend to ask the future Commission about its intentions to remedy this situation. An oral question was unanimously adopted for an oral answer to be given by the institution during a plenary debate scheduled for December.
The text was prepared by Mairead McGuinness (EPP, Ireland), István Ujhelyi (S&D, Hungary), Frédérique Ries (Renew Europe, Belgium), Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA, Germany), Luisa Regimenti (ID, Italy), Pietro Fiocchi (ECR, Italy) and Kateřina Konečná (GUE/NGL, Czech Republic). Thus, MEPs will ask:
. How will the Commission ensure coherence between the Pollinators Initiative and the Biodiversity Strategy and post-2020 measures, the next MFF and the new Common Agricultural Policy? Does the Commission support the inclusion of a new Pollinators index in the CAP?
. How does it intend to improve the implementation of the ‘Pesticides’ Regulation (1107/2009), the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive (2009/128/EC) and stimulate innovation in the field of alternative products and integrate them into the CAP? How does it plan to support the development of low-risk pesticides, including organic pesticides that are harmless to pollinators?
. Does it intend to apply the precautionary principle by prohibiting the production, sale and use of all neonicotinoid-based pesticides throughout the EU without derogation?
. How does it plan to examine the legality of emergency derogations currently allowing the use of banned pesticides and which follow-up measures are planned?
. Does it intend to require Member States to make available to the public the precise records that professional users of pesticides are required to keep under the Pesticides Regulation?
. When will it publish its overdue report on the traceability of pesticide use? (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)