Economy
EU to ban pesticides linked to bee deaths
The European Union is set to impose a two-year ban on three pesticides suspected of contributing to the global decline in the number of bees.
Fifteen countries voted to allow the European Commission to restrict the use of the insecticides from December 1.
They failed to reach the weighted majority needed to adopt the ban outright, meaning the decision passed to the European 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,” EU health commissioner Tonio Borg said after the vote.
“I pledge to do my utmost to ensure that our bees, which are so vital to our ecosystem and contribute over 22 billion euros annually to European agriculture, are protected.”
The insecticides – imidacloprid and clothianidin and thiamethoxam – are used to treat seeds, and applied to soil or sprayed on bee-attractive plants and cereals.
Supporters of the ban argue the pesticides are harmful to bees, which account for 80 per cent of plant pollination by insects.
Without the bees, many crops would be unable to bear fruit or would have to be pollinated by hand.
Eight nations including the United Kingdom voted against the plan, agreeing with chemical companies that the scientific data is insufficient or inconclusive, and there were four abstentions.