Farmers will not be allowed to spray widely used insecticide blamed for declining bee population.
A widely used insect nerve agent that harms bees will be banned from use on corn and sunflowers in Europe
from the end of 2013, after member states overwhelmingly backed the
proposal in a vote on Tuesday. However, the UK once again failed to back
measures to restrict pesticide use.
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."
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