Farmers will not be allowed to spray widely used insecticide blamed for declining bee population
A widely used insect nerve agent will be banned from use on corn and sunflowers in Europe from the end of 2013 as part of an effort to protect bees, after member states overwhelmingly backed the proposal in a vote on Tuesday.
Fipronil is used in more than 70 countries and on more than 100 different crops, but in May the European Food Safety Authority labelled it a "high acute risk" to honeybees. A similar assessment by the EFSA on three other neonicotinoid insecticides, based on increasing scientific evidence of harm, also preceded the suspension of their use in the European Union in April.
Tonio Borg, European commissioner for health said: "In the aftermath of the restriction on use of neonicotinoids, I pledged to do my utmost to protect Europe's honey bee population and today's agreement with member states, not only delivers on that pledge but marks another significant step in realising the commission's overall strategy to tackling Europe's bee decline."
Bees and other pollinators are essential in the growing of three-quarters of the world's crops, but have seen serious declines in recent decades due to habitat loss, disease and pesticide use. In Tuesday's vote, only the UK, Slovakia and the Czech Republic abstained and only Spain – the biggest user of fipronil – and Romania voted against. The UK was also one of eight of the 27 EU member states that unsuccessfully opposed the EC neonicotinoid ban.
Fipronil, which is also used for cockroach and termite control, is manufactured by the German chemical company BASF. "Sound data from field studies that underpin the safe use of our product for bees were not considered sufficiently," said Jürgen Oldeweme, at BASF Crop Protection. "We are certain that Europe can achieve both – the protection of pollinators and the support of European agriculture – but for that all stakeholders must engage in a comprehensive action plan to address the real root causes of the decline in bee health." Reported by guardian.co.uk 13 hours ago.
A widely used insect nerve agent will be banned from use on corn and sunflowers in Europe from the end of 2013 as part of an effort to protect bees, after member states overwhelmingly backed the proposal in a vote on Tuesday.
Fipronil is used in more than 70 countries and on more than 100 different crops, but in May the European Food Safety Authority labelled it a "high acute risk" to honeybees. A similar assessment by the EFSA on three other neonicotinoid insecticides, based on increasing scientific evidence of harm, also preceded the suspension of their use in the European Union in April.
Tonio Borg, European commissioner for health said: "In the aftermath of the restriction on use of neonicotinoids, I pledged to do my utmost to protect Europe's honey bee population and today's agreement with member states, not only delivers on that pledge but marks another significant step in realising the commission's overall strategy to tackling Europe's bee decline."
Bees and other pollinators are essential in the growing of three-quarters of the world's crops, but have seen serious declines in recent decades due to habitat loss, disease and pesticide use. In Tuesday's vote, only the UK, Slovakia and the Czech Republic abstained and only Spain – the biggest user of fipronil – and Romania voted against. The UK was also one of eight of the 27 EU member states that unsuccessfully opposed the EC neonicotinoid ban.
Fipronil, which is also used for cockroach and termite control, is manufactured by the German chemical company BASF. "Sound data from field studies that underpin the safe use of our product for bees were not considered sufficiently," said Jürgen Oldeweme, at BASF Crop Protection. "We are certain that Europe can achieve both – the protection of pollinators and the support of European agriculture – but for that all stakeholders must engage in a comprehensive action plan to address the real root causes of the decline in bee health." Reported by guardian.co.uk 13 hours ago.