EU proposes to ban insecticides linked to bee decline

Three neonicotinoids, the world's most widely used insecticides
would be forbidden across the continent for two years
[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة]

Insecticides linked to serious harm in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] could be banned
from use on flowering crops in Europe as early as July,
under proposals set out by the European commission
on Thursday, branded "hugely significant" by environmentalists.
The move marks remarkably rapid action after evidence
has mounted in recent months that the [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
are contributing to the decline in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
that pollinate a third of all [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط].
Three neonicotinoids, the world's most widely used insecticides,
which earn billions of pounds a year for their manufacturers,
would be forbidden from use on corn, oil seed rape,
sunflowers and other crops across
the continent for two years.
It was time for "swift and decisive action", said Tonio Borg,
commissioner for health and consumer policy,
who added that the proposals were
"ambitious but proportionate".
The proposals will enter EU law on 25 February
if a majority of Europe's member states vote in favour.
France and the Netherlands are supportive but
the UK and Germany are reported to be reluctant.
"It's important that we take action based upon scientific evidence
rather than making knee-jerk decisions that
could have significant knock-on impacts,"
said the environment secretary, Owen Paterson.
"That's why we are carrying out our own detailed field research
to ensure we can make a decision about neonicotinoids
based on the most up-to-date and complete evidence available."
Luis Morago, at campaign group Avaaz which
took an [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
to Brussels, said: "This is the first time that the EU has
recognised that the demise of bees has a perpetrator:
pesticides. The suspension could mark
a tipping point in the battle to stop the chemical armageddon
for bees, but it does not go far enough.
Over 2.2 million people want the European commission
to face-down spurious German and British opposition
and push for comprehensive ban of neonicotinoid pesticides."
Keith Taylor, Green party MEP for South East England MEP, said:
"For too long the threat to bees from neonicotinoids
has been dismissed, minimised or ignored. It is,
therefore, good to see the European commission
finally waking up. Bees have enormous economic
value as pollinators and are vital to farmers.
Let us hope that we're not too late in halting the dramatic
decline in their population."
Scientific evidence has mounted rapidly since March 2012,
when [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] found that bees consuming
neonicotinoids suffered an 85% loss in the number
of queens their nests produced and showed a doubling
in "disappeared" bees who got lost while foraging
. Neonicotinoids have been fiercely defended by their manufacturers,
who claim there is no proof of harm in field conditions
and by [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] lobbies who say crop yields could
fall without pesticide protection. Some neonicotinoid
uses have been banned in the past in France, Italy,
Slovenia and Germany, but [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط].
A parliamentary committee is currently investigating
the impact of neonicotinoids on all pollinators and found
evidence raising "serious questions about the [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
transparency and effectiveness of EU pesticides regulation".
On 16 January, the European Food Safety Authority,
official advisers to the EC, labelled the three
[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
feeding on flowering crops and this prompted
the proposal produced on Thursday. If approved by
experts from member states on 25 February,
it would suspend the use imidacloprid and clothianidin,
made by Bayer, and thiamethoxam, made by Syngenta,
on crops that attract bees. Winter cereals would be excluded,
because bees are not active at that time,
and the suspension would be reviewed after two years.
The European commission is also considering banning
gardeners from using these neonicotinoids,
although [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
withdrawn such products from their
garden centres in the UK.
"This hugely significant proposal promises a first,
important step on the road to turning around the decline
on our bees," said Friends of the Earth's head of campaigns
Andrew Pendleton. "The UK government must throw
its weight behind it. The evidence linking neonicotinoid
chemicals to declining bee populations is growing.
It is time to put farmers and nature before pesticide
company profits. Ministers must act quickly to support
safe and effective alternatives to chemical insecticides."