[Pollinator] Fwd: CATCH THE BUZZ - EU Votes to Ban Neonics, Barely

Mon Apr 29 08:36:41 PDT 2013

____________________________________
 From: chip at ku.edu
To: Ladadams at aol.com
Sent: 4/29/2013 8:31:18 A.M.  Pacific Daylight Time
Subj: Fwd: CATCH THE BUZZ - EU Votes to Ban Neonics,  Barely

Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:39:30 -0500
To: <chip at ku.edu>
From:  Kim Flottum <Kim at BeeCulture.com>
Subject: CATCH THE BUZZ - EU Votes  to Ban Neonics, Barely
X-Ezezine: (1636.25823.4009)

This ezine is also available online at 
http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2013.04.29.09.39.archive.html

CATCH THE BUZZ

EU Votes To Ban Neonics, but Barely

Alan Harman

A deeply divided European Union will go ahead with a ban on the use  of 
three neonicotinoid insecticides - clothianidin, imidacloprid and  thiametoxam 
- blamed by critics for the decline in honey bee number.

The EU Commission will proceed with the suspension of their  use from next 
Dec, 1 after 15 EU countries supported the restriction, eight  voted against 
and 4 abstained.

The halt will be for at least two years.

"Although a majority of Member States now supports our  proposal, the 
necessary qualified majority was not reached," Health and  Consumer Commissioner 
Tonio Borg said in a statement. "The decision now lies  with the Commission. 
Since our proposal is based on a number of risks to bee  health identified 
by the European Food Safety Authority, the Commission will  go ahead with 
its text in the coming weeks.

"I pledge to do my utmost to ensure that our bees, which are  so vital to 
our ecosystem and contribute over ¤22 billion (US$28.8 billion)  annually to 
European agriculture, are protected."

The plan restricts the use of the three neonicotinoids  for seed treatment, 
soil application (granules) and foliar treatment on bee  attractive plants 
and flowering crops such as corn, oil seed rape and  sunflower.

Any other authorized uses must be carried out by  professionals.

Exceptions will be limited to treating bee-attractive crops  in 
greenhouses, in open-air fields only after flowering.

An EU statement says that as soon as new information is available,  and at 
the latest within two years, the Commission will review the conditions  of 
approval of the three neonicotinoids to take into account relevant  
scientific and technical developments.

Experts representing the 27 EU countries had met March 15 as  the Standing 
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health and failed to reach  a 
qualified majority to on the proposal to ban the three  neonicotinoids.

Then the vote was 13 for a ban, nine against with five  abstentions. The 
proposal was then referred to the appeal committee which also  failed to reach 
the required majority, allowing the Commission to step in and  impose the 
two-year ban.

The decision is seen as a victory for campaigners concerned  about dramatic 
declines in bees, but a defeat for the chemical companies who  make the 
products and the UK government which said a ban will harm food  production.

The UK's Soil Association Head of Policy Emma Hockridge  called the 
decision a victory not only for the bees and other pollinators, but  for 
independent science against the political, pro-pesticide position adopted  by UK 
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson and the pesticide  industry.

"There is strong evidence that a ban on neonicotinoids would  work," 
Hockridge says. "In Italy, where the government has taken decisive  action and 
banned certain neonicotinoids pesticides, deaths of honey bees in  winter 
subsequently fell by more than 50% in three years."

____________________________________

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