1 million EU citizens knock on EU’s door: No synthetic pesticides to save bees & farmers
Over 1 million EU citizens are asking to restore nature, provide healthy food, healthy soil and clean water. On Friday 25 November at 15:00, civil society formally will knock on the EU institutions’ door.
Representatives of the European Citizens Initiative (ECI) Save Bees and Farmers will deliver a message to Commissioners for Values and Transparency, Jourová and Health and Food Safety, Kyriakides asking to restore biodiversity and support farmers to achieve this goals.
As EU organic movement, we are fully behind the demands of this ECI, as organic is part of the solution. There can be no agriculture and food security without healthy soils, clean water and biodiversity, which is supported and encouraged through organic farming techniques.
The formal Save Bees and Farmers initiative demands are:
- A phase-out of the use of synthetic pesticides: By 2030 the use of synthetic pesticides shall be gradually reduced by 80% in EU agriculture. By 2035, agriculture in the entire Union shall be working without synthetic pesticides.
- Measures to recover biodiversity: Habitats shall be restored and agricultural areas shall become a vector of biodiversity recovery.
- Support for farmers: Farmers must be supported in the necessary transition towards agroecology. Small, diverse, and sustainable farms shall be favoured, organic farming expanded, and research into pesticide-free and GMO-free agriculture will be supported.
Since October 2022, the citizens’ initiative is officially validated and the European Commission will have to come with a formal answer. In January an official hearing in the European Parliament will follow.
Background
The European Citizens Initiative was organised by organisations from all countries in the EU. Signatures with the formally required personal data were collected in all EU Member States. Ten countries reached the minimum threshold set by the EU and the total number of valid signatures makes it an official request on the agenda of the European Commission and Parliament.
Out of the total amount of 1.18 million signature 89% was valid, so 1.05 million signatures and 10 threshold countries. The official results can be found on the website of the European Commission.
Visit www.savebeesandfarmers.eu to stay up to date, or follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.