AreaEuropean Union

Commodity GroupOilseeds, oils and meals

CommodityNeonicotinoid-based insecticides

Date01/05/2017

Policy CategoryConsumption and marketing

Policy InstrumentPesticide regulation

DescriptionConsidered converting the EU’s temporary moratorium on neonicotinoid-based insecticides (which used to be widely employed in rapeseed cultivation) into a permanent ban.

NotesThe European Commission is considering to convert the EU’s existing temporary moratorium on neonicotinoid-based insecticides into a permanent ban. The allegedly bee-harming pesticides are widely used in the cultivation of rapeseed, sugar beet and other crops. In recent months, farmers’ representatives and industry groups disputed the results of studies linking the insecticides to bee declines. They also claimed that producers rely on neonicotinoid products to kill disease-spreading aphids that are resistant to other pesticides (see also MPPU Feb.’17). Experts also pointed out that the proposed ban could lead to other types of pesticides being overused, potentially allowing pests to develop resistance to them.