Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-25-Speech-4-131"
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"en.20030925.10.4-131"2
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"Mr President, in putting this oral question on the pressing problem of the large-scale mortality of bees to the Commission, my colleagues Dominique Souchet and Astrid Lulling are once again sounding the alarm and I back them strongly in this. Quite extraordinary problems of declining bee colonies have been observed in France for several years now, since 1995 to be precise. The situation is getting worse by the year, the geographical area and the number of hives affected is constantly growing and now we can say that many countries of Europe are affected.
It seems on investigation that this bee mortality is not the result of a conventional pathology. Several other hypotheses have been examined, such as climate, general pollution or the incorrect use of plant protection products. While these may sometimes carry some of the responsibility, however, they are far from accounting for the full scale of the disaster. On this point I do not agree with the opinion you have just expressed, Commissioner. According to experts and professionals, one principal cause has in fact been identified: the environment around the hives, when it includes fields of honey plants, colza, sunflower, maize, the seed of which has been treated with insecticides of the Gaucho or Regent type.
Of course, the industrial manufacturers reply that the link has not been formally established, but experience clearly shows that the disorders afflicting bees – loss of sense of direction, shaking, inability to gather pollen and finally death – correlate perfectly with the presence nearby of crops grown from seed treated with Gaucho or Regent. The more observations are made, the more these findings are confirmed. However, nothing decisive has yet come from the authorities apart from reassuring words, the launching of studies and a few limited measures such as the temporary withdrawal of the authorisation for Gaucho to treat sunflower seed in France.
That is why, again at the instigation of Dominique Souchet and Astrid Lulling, the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture arranged a hearing on the subject on 28 April last. The lessons we have drawn from that are alarming because the problem affecting bees could well be only the most visible part of a wider problem affecting pollinating insects, entomofauna and soil fauna. Gaucho and Regent molecules could therefore be harmful not only to bees but to a much wider environment.
Let us not stop there, either. Since these molecules are present in agricultural products used in food or animal feed, we should also be concerned about our own health. That is why, faced with this risk of widespread poisoning of the ecosystem – and perhaps of man – we are insisting that the precautionary principle be applied. I heard the Commission’s answers to Mr Souchet’s and Mrs Lulling’s oral question just now. I believe it is taking too much of a wait-and-see attitude. In our view, the precautionary principle means banning the use of the products in question, at least on all honey plants. Measures should also be taken to compensate beekeepers and enable them to repopulate their hives."@en1
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