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 “Bruxelles va suspendre pour deux ans trois insecticides tueurs d’abeilles”. All quotes, originally in French, were translated by me.
The article reproduces the news from the previous article, as well as the reference to the letter to Syngenta. He also recalls the context:
“In January, EFSA issued an assessment of the risks presented by the three molecules to bees. Its conclusions are unsurprisingly unfavorable to agrochemists. At the end of 2003, the Scientific and Technical Committee for the Multifactorial Study of Bee Disorders (CST), set up by the French Ministry of Agriculture, had already issued a very negative assessment on imidacloprid. “
European expertise came under “intense pressure”. Syngenta “demanded, in vain, amendments to the position of EFSA, going so far as to threaten some of its prosecution officials.” On the opposite side, the NGOs Greenpeace, Avaaz and Pesticide Action Network would be very mobilized.
Nevertheless, we should put it into perspective: according to biologist David Goulson, the partial moratorium would only be a good start, it would take years before NNIs disappear from the soil, even if the moratorium was total, which is not the case.