The European Commission responds to the European Citizens’ Initiative “Save the bees and farmers!”
April 13, 2023
The European Citizens’ Initiative “Save the bees and farmers!”, which calls on the EU to regulate pesticides, restore biodiversity and support the farmers to a sustainable transition, has now reached over a million signatures across member states. The European Commission welcomes the initiative and calls on the European Parliament and the Council to find agreements on already proposed legislation.
The European Citizens’ Initiative
The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) was first launched in 2012 and has to date received 125 request to launch initiatives. In order to invite the Commission to propose legal action following an ECI the threshold of signatures is one million from at least seven different member states, nine ECIs have so far surpassed the threshold and have therefore been submitted to the Commission.
Save the bees and farmers!
The most recent initiative having reached the Commission is the “Save the bees and farmers!” initiative. The initiative in question voices concerns surrounding the sustainability of European agriculture and calls on the Commission to phase out synthetic pesticides by 2030, restore biodiversity in agriculture and support farmers in the transition to sustainable farming.
The Commission welcomes the initiative
Whilst 80 percent of crop and wild flowering plants in the EU depend on animal pollination, one in three bee, butterfly and hoverfly species are on decline. 50 percent of EU agricultural land runs risk of pollination deficit, which threatens both food security and life on the planet. The Commission therefore welcomes the initiative and acknowledges the importance of the Europeans Citizens’ Initiative.
According to the Commission the above one million signatures send a clear signal that the high ambitions of the Commission have public support and should be maintained. Rather than proposing new legislature the Commission calls on the European Parliament and the Council to swiftly reach agreements on legislative proposals already submitted by the Commission and that offer a comprehensive response to the requests made in the “Save the bees and farmers!” initiative.
The Commissions European Green Deal actions
Within the European Green Deal the Commission has proposed a handful of actions corresponding to the ECI. Some of the most noteworthy ones are; the EU Farm to fork and the Biodiversity strategies, the Nature Restoration Law, Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation, revised EU Pollinators' Initiative ‘the New Deal for Pollinators', and the new EU common agricultural policy.
For instance, the proposed regulation on pesticide use consists of a reduction of chemical pesticide use in EU agriculture by 50 percent by 2030. The proposal for nature restoration law sets specific targets for the restoration of agricultural ecosystems which will also help with the reversal of pollinator population decline.