On 31 January the EU Commission recommended that three neonicotinoid pesticides be withdrawn on 1 July. The ban is to be valid for two years initially. The affected insecticides are Clothianidin and Imidacloprid produced by BAYER as well as Thiamethoxam made by SYNGENTA. The member states are to vote on this proposal at the end of February. While the Coalition against BAYER Dangers (CBG) has welcomed this announcement as a “step in the right direction”, it demands a permanent ban. Moreover, the manufacturers would have to be liable for any damages caused. Philipp Mimkes, board member of the Coalition against BAYER Dangers (CBG), said: “Since 1998 we have been demanding a ban on neonicotinoids because of their dangers for bees. BAYER and SYNGENTA have made billions with these substances. It is unacceptable that the corporations are now pocketing the profits while the general public has to pay for the damages caused!”.
In the past 15 years the CBG has repeatedly submitted counter-motions to the BAYER AGM and protested against the continued use of the pesticides together with beekeepers from three continents. “BAYER and SYNGENTA must take neonicotinoids off the market globally – a double safety standard for Europe and the rest of the world is not acceptable” said Mimkes.
The EU ban is to include the most important crops (sun flowers, rape/canola, corn and cotton). The CBG challenges the governments of Germany and the UK to back the EU proposal wholeheartedly. According to media reports it was these two countries in particular that opposed a ban.
Following the massive bee deaths in 2008 the CBG filed criminal charges against the board of BAYER for “knowingly endangering bees, wild insects and birds.” More than a million signatures for a selling ban were submitted to the board at the Bayer AGM in 2012.
Source:
Coalition against BAYER Dangers (CBG), Press Release
February 5, 2013
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