International environmentalist organisation Greenpeace has launched a Europe-wide campaign to secure a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides in light of evidence that the chemicals are having a marked impact on bee health.

In January, EU health watchdog EFSA declared that several neonicotinoids, the most widely used family of pesticides worldwide, present an "unacceptable risk" to bees following a review of the evidence around neonicotinoids.

Although the European Commission expressed its intention to introduce a partial ban, covering use of neonicotinoids on crops attractive to bees, upon the release of EFSA's assessment, negotiations over such a ban have twice broken down since the beginning of the year. Health Commissioner Tonio Borg has suggested he may override the council and implement a partial moratorium if an agreement cannot be reached.

On Tuesday (9 April), Greenpeace released a report, Bees in Decline, which examines the state of pollinating insects and agriculture in the EU.

The report looks at the economic and ecological value of bees and concludes that the insects are suffering declines across Europe for a number of reasons, including the effects of disease and parasites, habitat loss and climate change. However, it specifies that neonicotinoid use is also affecting bees, leaving them weakened, disturbing their foraging patterns, and altering their behaviour as a result of sub-lethal poisoning.

xpanding on the list of products EFSA previously recommended for restriction, Greenpeace called for measures to restrict use of seven "priority bee-killer pesticides". These include Bayer’s imidacloprid and clothianidin, Syngenta’s thiamethoxam, BASF’s fipronil, and clorpyriphos, cypermethrin and deltamethrin produced by other agrochemical companies.

Committee of MPs slams lack of action on controversial chemicals

The report comes just days after the UK government's Environmental Audit Committee delivered the conclusions of its inquiry into Westminster's handling of evidence on pollinators and pesticides. EAC was highly critical of the government's "extraordinarily complacent approach to protecting bees."

In line with EFSA's pronouncements, the committee demanded the Coalition government, which, along with Germany has been blocking progress of EU Commission measures, introduce "a precautionary moratorium on three pesticides linked to the decline of pollinators - imidacloprid, clothianidin and TMX – that suspends their use on flowering crops attractive to pollinators."

EAC chair Joan Walley said on Friday, "We believe that the weight of scientific evidence now warrants precautionary action, so we are calling for a moratorium on pesticides linked to bee decline. If farmers had to pollinate fruit and vegetables without the help of insects it would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and we would all be stung by rising food prices. Defra Ministers have refused to back EU efforts to protect pollinators and can’t even come up with a convincing plan to encourage bee-friendly farming in the UK."

Upon publishing its own report on Tuesday, Greenpeace said it is launching a Europe-wide campaign to "save bees and to promote ecological agriculture which… provides healthier habitats for domesticated and wild pollinators." The organisation is calling on EU leaders to:

• as a first step, support the ban on three bee-killer neonicotinoid pesticides, as proposed by the European Commission on 15 March;
• endorse ambitious Europe-wide action plans to ban all pesticides that are harmful to bees and other vital pollinators and
• shift funding away from chemical-intensive agriculture and promote ecological farming.

Greenpeace spokesperson Matthias Wüthrich said on Tuesday, "The science is clear: the negative impacts of bee-harming pesticides by far exceed any presumed benefits. Our bees and wild pollinators are too precious to lose.

"The dramatic decline of bees is just a symptom of a failed agricultural system based on the intensive use of chemicals, serving the interest of powerful corporations like Bayer and Syngenta. We need to urgently embrace modern ecological farming. This is the only long-term solution to save the bees and agriculture in Europe."

In response to the EAC's indictment of UK government policy on Friday, Bayer CropScience said the company was "disappointed" with the committee's recommendations. A spokesperson for Bayer, one of the EU's major neonicotinoid manufacturers said, "We remain convinced neonicotinoids are safe and effective when used as directed on the product label. Bayer CropScience made it clear before, during and after the hearing that the real problems with bee health are habitat loss, viruses and parasites."

However, EAC chair Joan walley remained stalwart; she retorted, "Pesticide companies often try to pick holes in studies linking their products to bee decline, but when pushed to publish their own research and safety studies they hide behind claims of commercial sensitivity. The industry must open itself to greater academic scrutiny if it wants to justify its continued opposition to the precautionary protection of pollinators."