欧盟提议在两年内禁止在对蜜蜂有吸引力的作物上使用吡虫啉、噻虫嗪和噻虫胺，欧洲食品安全局 (EFSA) 的一份报告指出了对蜜蜂的风险，因此采取了这一举措。
根据 1 月 31 日食物链和动物健康常务委员会会议上的提案，委员会还希望禁止销售和使用经过含有这些活性物质的植物保护产品处理过的种子。
委员会要求成员国对玉米、油菜、向日葵、棉花和谷物（冬季谷物除外）的颗粒剂、种子处理剂或喷雾剂的噻虫胺、吡虫啉和噻虫嗪实施为期两年的暂停。该规定预计将于7月1日实施。
“These are proportionate measures. We are giving the member states two years to see whether it’s working. Then we will see if we need to review the legislation in Europe,” the Commission’s spokesperson for health and consumer policy, Frederic Vincent, said on Jan. 31 in an article on the Europolitics website.
EFSA 在其 1 月 16 日发布的报告中发现，经新烟碱类处理的农作物受到污染、新烟碱类粉尘暴露以及花蜜和花粉暴露会导致蜜蜂数量减少并削弱其蜂巢。它还确定了与噻虫嗪接触玉米滴液的高风险。
先正达、拜耳 React
Basel, Switzerland-based Syngenta, which makes thiamethoxam, said it believes the EFSA “found itself under political pressure to produce a hurried and inadequate risk assessment, which even they acknowledge contains a high level of uncertainty.” A recent study cited by the company showed that without neonicotinoid seed treatment, crop yields would fall by 40% and cost the EU economy around $23.1 billion over five years.
“Seed treated with thiamethoxam has been used across millions of hectares of European crops for over ten years. When used properly the technology does not damage bee populations and this is why many EU countries have continued to support its use,” Syngenta said.
Bayer CropScience — the principal manufacturer of imidacloprid — called the proposal “draconian” and a “missed opportunity to achieve a fair and proportional solution.”
Bayer, of Monheim, Germany, requested EU member states “adhere to the principles of proportionality when addressing the Commission’s proposal and refer back to solid science before taking any measures.”
The company added: “Any disproportionate action would jeopardize the competitiveness of European agriculture and finally lead to higher costs for food, feed, fiber and renewable raw materials and have an enormous economic impact throughout the whole food chain.”