Syngenta takes legal action on EU’s decision of thiamethoxam ban

BASEL, SWITZERLAND: Syngenta has submitted a legal challenge to the European Commission’s decision to suspend the use of thiamethoxam on bee attractive crops. The Commission took the decision on the basis of a flawed process, an inaccurate and incomplete assessment by the European Food Safety Authority and without the full support of EU Member States.

“We would prefer not to take legal action but have no other choice given our firm belief that the Commission wrongly linked thiamethoxam to the decline in bee health. In suspending the product, it breached EU pesticide legislation and incorrectly applied the precautionary principle,” said John Atkin, Chief Operating Officer, Syngenta.

“Since the EU suspension of thiamethoxam was announced, farmers and farmer organizations have expressed great concern that an extremely effective, low dose product will not be available to them and will have to be replaced by much less sustainable alternatives. Modern products like thiamethoxam are essential to address the challenge of increasing European food production and reducing the reliance on imports,” added Atkin.

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