permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

Bee activist: EU ban on neonicotinoids undermined by national derogations |
EurActiv
http://www.euractiv.com/sections/agriculture-food/bee-activist-eu-ban-neonicotinoids-undermined-national-derogations-308578
Bee activist: EU ban on neonicotinoids undermined by national derogations
 *Published:* 22/09/2014 - 09:18

The European Commission's 2013 decision to ban some neonicotinoid
insecticides is not working, as some member states have provided derogation
for their farmers, says Martin Dermine.

*Martin Dermine is honeybee project coordinator at PAN Europe, an NGO which
is working to replace harmful pesticides with ecological alternatives.
Dermine answered questions by EurActiv's Henriette Jacobsen.*

*In 2013, the Commission banned some neonicotinoids because of their
suspected harmful effect on bees. One year on, how is this ban working?*

The partial ban on neonicotinoids and fipronil was a fantastic victory for
the environment, even though we would have liked to see a full ban on these
bee-harmful chemicals. From the information we have, the ban is properly
applied by member states. Unfortunately, several member states, such as
Finland, Romania, Germany, Latvia and Estonia have provided derogations to
their farmers to keep using neonicotinoids on certain major crops. This
annihilates the benefit of the ban for bees.

*What kinds of derogations did the ban leave for the pesticide industry?*

Member states provide 120 days derogations for forbidden pesticides on a
regular basis, in response to a request from farmers, or the pesticides
industry.

European pesticide regulation clearly states that derogations can be given
where no alternative exist, but member states do not actually respect this
principle. For instance, in 2014, Romania provided a derogation for the use
of thiamethoxam on maize, whereas Italy has banned its use since 2008, and
has shown that it did not reduce yields. Furthermore, non-toxic
alternatives exist on the market.