This page is a part of the corpus (Annexe 1) used to write Stéphane Foucart and neonicotinoids.
Here, I relate what the journalist said in his article “Les experts européens aggravent le cas des pesticides tueurs d’abeilles”. All quotes, originally in French, were translated by me.
An EFSA expert report published on August 26 a study evaluating that the 3 NNIs already targeted by the moratorium and the 2013 study (clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid) represented “high risks” for bees in spraying (the moratorium and the previous study focused on their use in seed coating).
According to Marco Contiero, agricultural policy officer at Greenpeace Europe, this confirms “what has already been shown by abundant scientific evidence: neonicotinoids are a serious threat to bees and the future of agriculture”. They should be banned all the more as “viable non-chemical alternatives exist and the European Union should encourage farmers to use them.”
With the 2-year moratorium coming to an end, EFSA will reassess the affected NNIs. Continuation of the ban would not be straightforward, as EFSA recently cleared sulfoxaflor, another neurotoxic insecticide, even as the report acknowledged: “With the assessments available, a high risk to bees is not excluded and a high long-term risk is indicated for small herbivorous mammals, for field uses on cotton and vegetables”.
The authorization aroused the ire of beekeeping organizations and NGOs.