Syngenta and Bayer challenge EU neonicotinoid pesticide bans

摘要

Pesticide manufacturers Syngenta and Bayer CropScience have lodged legal challenges against the European Commission decision to partially ban their neonicotinoid products across the EU due to concerns over falling bee numbers. The companies are contesting the two-year moratorium on the use of their widely-used insecticides - Syngenta's thiamethoxam and Bayer's imidacloprid and clothianidin - on crops attractive to bees and other insects from December 1. Both see the forthcoming bans, which were decided on by the Commission in April, as unjustified, with Syngenta claiming that many farmers are concerned that they will have to use "much less sustainable" alternatives.