Scottish agriculture MEP Alyn Smith has welcomed a partial ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, announced earlier in the week by Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Tonio Borg. Three chemicals in the family of pesticides, commonly used in seed treatments, have been implicated in bee decline.

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The Commissioner told farming ministers gathered at an EU Farm Council meeting on Monday that, in the light of conclusions published earlier in the month by the European Food Safety Authority, the Commission will take "decisive action" on neonicotinoids. Health watchdog EFSA, backed up by the European Environment Agency (EEA), found neonicotinoid pesticides pose an "unacceptable" risk to bees.

The EFSA findings were released in mid-January, following a review of evidence on the controversial chemicals. However, Pesticide Action Network policy officer Nick Mole told a UK government inquest last year that over 30 peer-review studies have come to similar conclusions as EFSA since 2009.

Commissioner Borg said legislators will introduce "harmonised and legally binding measures inspired by the 'precautionary principle' but also by the principle of proportionality."

Alyn Smith, a member of the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, welcomed the news. He said, "Last week's report by the EEA was hugely critical of the lack of precautionary action by the Commission and it seems that the strong language has finally hit home. Action at last. The importance of bees to our food producers has been overlooked for too long, and the alarming numbers of colony collapses are extremely worrying. What is becoming clear, however, is that the link between pesticides and these collapses is in desperate need of further examination.

"With the annual value of pollination by bees being put in the region of EUR 15 billion, we simply cannot afford to just wait and see. I am glad that the Commission has finally woken up to the reality of what the decline of bees really means. Better late than never."

This week, three major high street retailers have announced they will stop stocking products containing neonicoitinoid pesticides identified as harmful by the EFSA. The chemicals are already subject to suspensions and heavy restrictions in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia.

Update 12:20

The Commission announced on Thursday that it will push for a two-year suspension of neonicotinoids on certain crops.

Frederick Vincent, spokesperson for Commissioner Borg's office, said "We are requesting member states suspend for two years the use of this pesticide on seeds, granulates and sprays for crops which attract bees."