European Commission proposes two year partial ban on neonicotinoids

摘要

The European Commission has proposed banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on crops attractive to honeybees for a period of two years, starting from July 1. Three neonicotinoids - clothianidin, imidaclo-prid and thiamethoxam - pose "a number ofrisks" to the pollinators, EFSA concluded in a long-awaited risk assessment on the chemicals earlier this month (see AE2549,22.01.13). The sale and use of seeds treated by plant protection products containing any of the three substances should thereforebe suspended for two years, the Commission proposed at a Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) meeting last Thursday (January 31).