Bayer appeals against partial bans on insect repellents

A bee approaches Bayer Chemical Society has announced an appeal against partial bans of neonicotinoids allegedly harmful to the bee population (Photo: Lisa Mayor / Keystone) [19659005] (afp) Appeal against partial bans of allegedly harmful neonicotinoid bees announced. A good two months earlier, the EU court upheld the partial ban in a decision. Bayer said Friday that the decision could have "far-reaching consequences" for the legal certainty of drug approvals in the EU beyond this individual case. The company therefore claims to "ensure that some general interpretations of the Plant Protection Act are revised, which Bayer considers to have no legal basis". At the same time, the company claimed that it accepted the recent decision of the EU member states to severely restrict the use of certain neonicotinoids in agriculture, even though this practice was "Scientifically unfounded". As a result, Bayer has removed the dossier on the active substance clothianidin as part of the ongoing re-authorization process.

In 2013, the European Commission banned the use of neonicotinoids harmful to bees with the active substances clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid on a large scale. On the other hand, Bayer and the Swiss manufacturer Syngenta complained of the cancellation of the bans. Syngenta also claimed damages of at least 367.9 million euros. The EU court in Luxembourg dismissed the lawsuits "in their entirety" in mid-May. He also invoked the precautionary principle that protective measures could be taken "without having to wait until the presence and severity of those risks have been fully demonstrated".

Aurelia German Foundation for Bee Protection criticized Bayer's decision to appeal on Friday. The group wanted to "remove the primacy of protecting the environment from economic interests," said the foundation in Berlin