early in 2013, the european food safety authority issued a declaration that three specific neonicotinoid pesticides pose an acute risk to honeybees, and the european commission (ec) proposed a two-year ban on them. david goulson, who led one of the key 2012 studies at the university of stirling said that the decision "begs the question of what was going on when these chemicals were first approved." the chemical manufacturer bayer said it was "ready to work with" the ec and member states.