January 31, 2013 BRUSSELS (AP) -- An attempt to protect Europe's
bee population has kicked up a hornets' nest. On Thursday, the
EU's commissioner for health and consumer policy, Tonio Borg,
proposed to restrict the use of three pesticides -- called
nenicotinoids -- to crops to which bees are not attracted. The
three pesticides were clothianidin, imidacloprid and
thiametoxam; the crops from which they would be banned include
sunflowers, rapeseed, cotton and maize. The policy would take
effect July 1 for the EU's 27 nations and be reviewed after two
years. But while environmentalists welcomed Borg's proposal as
an important first step, Borg's spokesman, Frederic Vincent,
confirmed that some countries reacted unenthusiastically,
preferring further study to immediate action. He declined to
identify them. Marco Contiero of the environmental group
Greenpeace said Britain was firmly opposed, and Germany and
Spain were either opposed or wanted more time to consider. Luis
Morago of the advocacy group Avaaz, meanwhile,