An own initiative report by Anthea McIntyre, Conservative MEP for the West Midlands, is due to be voted on in the European Parliament on Tuesday 11th March. The report entitled “Future of Europe's horticulture sector – strategies for growth” aims to increase production in British farming, create new employment opportunities and to help further boost the UK economy. However it focuses on a number of controversial requests including a call for the European Commission to reassess the recent ban on neonicotinoid insecticides.
Vanessa Amaral-Rogers, Buglife’s Campaigns Officer said “Neonicotinoids are related to Nicotine and target the nervous system. They were restricted on certain crops last year after even small doses were found to have harmful effects on pollinating insects such as making a honeybee not able to forage for food properly, or bumblebees laying fewer eggs. These pollinators which were helping farmers by providing an essential free service, were instead being poisoned”.
The report also suggests that the EU doesn’t allow enough pesticides to be to be used and calls for watering down of the pesticide approval laws. The Green Party are asking for a full rejection of the report when it goes to the European Parliament next Tuesday. Buglife are asking member of the public to write to their MEPs, asking them to vote against the report.
Vanessa said “If this report is passed, it will imply that the European Parliament supports the use of these chemicals and a non-environmentally sustainable way of farming. This goes against the laws passed by the European Commission to protect the health of the environment, its wildlife and its people”.
Please help us by writing to your MP.
Last year we managed to get a ban on Neonicotinoids. Now we need your help to stop this atrocious report getting approval from Parliament.
To write to your MEP…
• Visit the website https://www.writetothem.com/
• Enter your postcode
• Scroll down ‘Your Members of the European Parliament’
• Click on ‘Write to all your MEPs’ (If you have time, it’s better to write to them individually, but together is fine too)
• Let them know why you want them to vote against the McIntyre report on Tuesday 11th March. Our template letter below will give you an idea of what to include but your MEP will take more notice if it’s individually written.
Dear MEP
The European Parliament is set to vote on a report “Future of Europe's horticulture sector – strategies for growth” by Anthea McIntyre on Tuesday 11th March.
The report has extremely controversial requests including a call for the European Commission to reassess the recent ban on neonicotinoid insecticides and weakening pesticide regulation laws.
Neonicotinoid insecticides were banned because they were found to be harmful to pollinating insects such as bees. To remove this ban would be a step backwards towards saving the future of our pollinators.
We urge you to take the Green Party stance and vote against this report.
Yours sincerely
Your Name
