30/04/2013

In an act of determination by the European Commission, a ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides will come into force across Europe at the end of this year. After the latest vote failed to produce the necessary majority either way, the final decision lies with the Commission, which has been proposing a suspension of the use of three neonicotinoids, following advice from its food safety authority. A two-year ban will start in December. No member state can opt out. Anna Hill gauges reaction from all sides of the debate - disappointment from the NFU, relief from Friends of the Earth and an insistence from Defra's farming minister David Heath that the UK has not been overruled and will continue to research the causes of the decline in bees.