The European Commission remained silent last night on accusations by NFU England that its restrictions on a range of insecticides linked to bee deaths is not justified by available scientific evidence.
The Press and Journal twice asked for a response to the union’s claims. But officials in Brussels did not provide one.
The two-year restriction on the use of neonicotinoids, which was agreed in April, is imposed on Sunday.
NFU England said the lack of an impact assessment from the commission to determine the impact of the ruling on pollinators and crop production was alarming. It said the restrictions could have serious consequences on the ability of farmers to grow produce.
British scientific evidence is at odds with that used by the commission. NFU England said the UK evidence indicated that since neonicotinoids were introduced in the 1990s, the rate of decline of bumblebees in Britain had slowed and that numbers of other wild bees had increased as a result of agri-environment measures taken by farmers to improve the flora and fauna on their farms.
NFU deputy president Meurig Raymond said: “It is alarming that we are about to see these restrictions come into force and there still hasn’t been an impact assessment done to determine whether or not there will be net environmental benefits, or what the scale of impacts on food and ornamentals production will actually be.
“The decision was made by the European Commission, and not supported by all member states because of concerns about the science behind it. It will be producers left to count the on-going cost of a decision made in haste and unsupported by the field-based evidence, which runs contrary to risk-based policy making.
“We are calling on regulators to act to evaluate and answer the key questions posed by this regulation – on the true scale and basis of pollinator decline and the real risk posed by neonicotinoids to pollinators in the wider environment. The full impacts of the restriction are still pending and there is already considerable uncertainty about oilseed rape and linseed plantings in 2014.”
Agrochemical manufacturer Syngenta in August launched a legal action against the commission as its ruling affects the thiamethoxam used in its Cruiser OSR. It has argued the commission has breached EU legislation and wrongly applied the precautionary principle.
The other neonicotinoid insectides affected by the restrictions are imidacloprid and clothianidin.
NFU England is backing the legal case which will be heard in the European Court of Justice.
President Peter Kendall last week told a conference for onion and carrot growers: “It is critical to farmers that policymakers and regulators take decisions based on sound science. We note that even the British Beekeepers Association has not supported the restrictions of neonicotinoid use, and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust described the commission’s actions as premature.
“This is critically important to farmers because maintaining a diverse range of pesticides is absolutely vital for productive and sustainable farming. Continual erosion of active ingredients on unjustifiable grounds increases the risk of pest, weed and disease resistance.”