On March 18, a majority of Dutch parliament rallied behind a motion of the Animal Welfare Party for a national ban on the use of all neonicotinoid insecticides in agriculture and retail sales. The Party for Animal Welfare has been campaigning for many years against the neonicotinoids. In early 2013 a parliamentary majority endorsed a motion of Esther Ouwehand for a European ban on the pesticides. Due to this motion the use of three types of neonicotinoids: imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam is now restricted in all 27 countries of the EU. However, the European ban on neonicotinoids only applies to selected crops which are attractive to bees like sunflowers, canola and maize; this means that as much as 80 % of crops which are treated with neonicotinoids in the Netherlands remain unaffected by the EU ban. Dutch Parliament now forced Secretary of State Dijksma to take further action. A majority of political parties: PvdA , SP, GL , D66 , 50 + and Freedom Party, endorsed a ban on ALL neonicotinoids in the Netherlands for all uses in agriculture, domestic gardens and landscape uses. The motion which was passed also demanded a complete ban on a related systemic pesticide, fipronil.
Source: Ontario Beekeepers' Association, March 2014
http://www.ontariobee.com/inside-oba/news-and-updates/dutch-parliament-…
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