European justice has decided. All member states of the European Union no longer have the right to use seeds treated with neonicotinoids, even in exceptional situations. As a reminder, in 2018 the European body banned the use, for all crops, of three neonicotinoids: clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid. These substances were accused of accelerating the massive decline of bee colonies. Despite this prohibition, several states, including France, had adopted ” emergency permits to slow the fall in yields, but these will no longer be valid.
Also read – Neonicotinoids: Are there really no alternatives for the sugar beet sector?
The European Court of Justice has ensured, however, that governments have the right “ in exceptional circumstances, that is to say, when a danger or threat that compromises plant production or ecosystems cannot be controlled by other reasonable means, temporarily authorize phytosanitary products that do not meet the established conditions. by European texts.
The possibility of a repeal in France by 2023 is being questioned
As for France, the National Assembly had authorized the temporary return of this type of insecticide in 2020. The aim is to help the beetroot sector, victim of disease-carrying green aphids. The text of the law specified that exemptions could only be granted, until July 2023, for sugar beet seeds. This text had received the support of the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau, who recently took the position in favor of a new repeal for the year 2023.
This decision was welcomed by the director of PAN Europe, Martin Dermine. He praised “ a great day for Europe’s pollinators which reminds us that the law must take precedence over the interests of the pesticide industry and agribusiness lobbies. “.
Source : Le JDD
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