European Commission urged to act decisively to halt decline of bee population

Campaigners have handed in a letter to the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, calling on him to support the banning of more pesticides which harm the bee population.

The European Commission has already banned three pesticides because of their impact on the declining bee population, but campaigners want the commission to go further.

They have drawn up a list of other pesticides which they have urged the commission to ban.

Petitions were also handed in to agriculture ministries in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Latvia and Italy in advance of World Bee Day, which is on May 20th.

It also coincides with a meeting of the European Commission’s Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed. It will vote on a proposal by the European Food Safety Authority’s bee guidance which was produced in 2013 and recommended the banning of a wide range of pesticides because of their impact on the bee population.