MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on banning neonicotinoid pesticides

25.4.2018

pursuant to Rule 133 of the Rules of Procedure

Mireille D’Ornano

B8‑0223/2018

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on banning neonicotinoid pesticides

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

–  having regard to Rule 133 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas Parliament’s own-initiative report on the EU apiculture sector, adopted on 1 March 2018, calls for a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides on the basis of both laboratory analyses and field tests, although it considered that too few field tests have been conducted and this is holding up the imposition of an overall ban;

B.  whereas in 2015 the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) confirmed that bees were being placed at risk through the use of these pesticides via leaf spraying, and on 28 February 2018 the agency confirmed there was a ‘high’ risk in the case of three neonicotinoids the use of which is currently subject to restrictions in the EU;

C.  whereas neonicotinoids, although less dangerous to bees when used in greenhouses, remain present for years in the ground and in water, and this constitutes a danger;

D.  whereas, to prevent any abusive or unlawful use of neonicotinoids and to halt the decline in bee numbers, it is absolutely urgent to impose a blanket ban on these substances;

1.  Encourages the Commission to ban all neonicotinoids immediately and without exception, in order to protect bee populations.