European Union: “Save the bees and the farmers” will be the 7th European Citizens’ Initiative.
European Union: “Save the bees and the farmers. Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment“ has reached the one million mark in declarations of support from European citizens, as the European Commission admitted on October 10.
It is thus 3 years after its registration that the Commission is finally required to consider new legislation including the objective carried by the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), namely to phase out synthetic pesticides by 2035, to restore biodiversity and to help farmers during this transition phase.
The validation of the initiative paved the way for a strict timetable to be followed. First, the Commission received on November 25 the leaders of the ECI save bees and farmers to discuss the initiative in detail. Then, within three months, the ECI will be presented at a public hearing in the European Parliament.
Finally, the Commission has until April 7, 2023 to present its formal response, outlining what action it intends to take: propose legislation, take other non-legislative measures, or take no action at all.
While the ECI obliges the Commission to seriously consider the requests of European citizens, it is not obliged to act on them. The organizers will have no recourse against it.
We strongly hope that the European authorities will be supportive of these public health and environmental issues.
justicepesticides.org