The European Commission will negotiate with the countries concerned to ban traces of neonicotinoids in imported products, Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said on Wednesday 22 June, when presenting legislative proposals on biodiversity and the sustainable use of pesticides.
“We are now launching discussions with Member States and third countries to ensure that imports do not contain traces of neonicotinoids”, she told reporters.
“As announced in the ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy, we want to ensure that global environmental issues are taken into account” when setting maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides, thus reducing them to zero.
The Commission clarified that these discussions are limited to clothianidin and thiamethoxam.
To justify the end of import tolerances for these substances, the Commission points to “the decline of pollinators and the accumulation of persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic substances in the environment”.
A draft regulation to this effect is currently being prepared by the Commission. Once the text is adopted, and after a transition period, products containing traces of these two neonicotinoids will no longer be allowed to be placed on the European market. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)